It feels like Valentine’s Day has only just vanished in a puff of wilted roses and chocolate wrappers and now Mother’s Day is just around the corner; the one day of the year we make the most important woman in our lives the most important woman in our lives.
But if you’ve left it to the last minute (again), worry not. There are plenty of gifts that will cement your status as the golden child, and the best part is you can pick them all up in your lunch hour.
Have a card up your sleeve
Mum is certainly the word at Oliver Bonas this month. The affordable fashion and accessories and homewares boutique has a huge range of foil printed scarves, bright bags and purses, statement jewellery, along with little trinkets and candles for the home. The spring range of muted nude and metallic accessories will suit any wardrobe and they stock a great collection of cards that say everything you didn’t during those angsty teenage years.
3, 6 Great New St EC4A 3BF
Say it with silk
Spun in the last remaining family-owned quality silk mill in Como, ’ 100% silk scarves are like wearable pieces of art. The Elephant Array Pink Silk Shawl features the brand’s hallmark elephant design in eye-catching hot pink, perfect for brightening up an outfit in time for spring.
27 Royal Exchange EC3V 3LP
Drive her spa
Pamper mum from head to toe with a treatment package from one of Ajala’s exclusive luxury day spas around the City. The 55-minute Indulgence Package includes a foot spa ritual, express facial and a deep and relaxing head and shoulder massage while the hour-long Pamper Package includes a deep tissue massage and a sole re-energiser plus all-day use of the pool, steam room and sauna.
Indulgence Package £60, Pamper Package £75.
Go by the book
Whether your mum is an obsessive bookworm or has a fat stack of must-reads on her bedside table, a well-chosen book can show a lot of love for a little cash. Browse Daunt’s specialist travel section for a coffee table book or guide to her favourite destination, or let one of the expert staff help you make the perfect selection from the best sellers. If in doubt, opt for ‘The Mother’, a curated book bundle of surefire winners featuring Laura Thompson’s new biography of the Mitford sisters, Take Six Girls, Isabel Allende’s critically acclaimed The Japanese Lover, and Maria Dueñas’ The Seamstress. The Mother £26.99.
61 Cheapside EC2V 6AX
Use your un-common scents
Give mum the gift of a signature scent with Experimental Perfume Club’s ‘Mum & I’ fragrance workshop. EPC founder Emmanuelle Moeglin will help you determine likes and dislikes, then guide you through the steps of perfume creation from nine pre-made blends that cover a wide range of olfactory (smell) families. Depart with your personal ‘scent profile’ and your very own bottle of fragrance plus a formula for refills.
£125 for two people, 26 March 10.30am until noon.
EPC Lab, 29 Bentley Road N1 4BY
Flower power
If those wilted blooms in Tesco are looking a bit forlorn, pay a visit to the green-fingered team at WildAbout, which is parking up in Spitalfields Market for a special Mother’s Day pop-up. The Clerkenwell-based florist will be leading workshops over the weekend for you to design posies of beautiful blooms or simply buy a bunch that says it best.
Flower Bouquet Workshop £60 per person, from 11am on 25 & 26 March. Old Spitalfields Market, Horner Square E1 6EW
Say cheese
Get in mum’s gouda graces with a selection of top quality cheeses from Cheese at Leadenhall. The dairy Kings and Queens of the City can help you put together a gift basket to suit any taste, or go one step further and book her on one of their famous cheese tasting tours, which begin with London’s cheesy history, and end with several wedges and a few glasses of plonk. Cheese Tours from £35 for two.
4-5 Leadenhall Market EC3V 1LR
Hit a home run
Few mums would fail to recognise Jo Malone’s iconic cream box with black trim. Refill her favourite fragrance, take a punt on a new one or play it safe and go for one of the carefully curated gift sets. For a mother who enjoys her creature comforts, you can’t go wrong with the Luscious Home Collection: English pear and freesia diffuser, pomegranate noir home candle, and pomegranate noir travel candle.
Jo Malone Luscious Home Collection £129
4 Royal Exchange EC3V 3LP
Choc up a win
Paul A Young built his chocolate empire around powerful flavour combinations such as white chocolate and masala spices, and dark chocolate and Marmite, and he’s rolling out the big guns for Mother’s Day. Exclusive flavours for this month include prosecco and peach schnapps, bergamot tea and orange shortbread, California prune and pecan praline and pear, and white port and rosemary. Fill a box full of her favourites.
20 Royal Exchange EC3V 3LP
