8 Reasons Mother’s Day is Sweeter than Christmas Morning

Mother’s Day. The one day of the year when mom (myself included) is celebrated and feted and made to feel special because of a designated national holiday. While I really only have two big reasons why I love Mother’s Day, here are a few others I consider the top 8.

1. Breakfast in Bed

Pancakes are sweet. Pancakes “made” by a child and delivered burnt next to equally burnt bacon all covered in sprinkles and syrup may not taste sweet, but they are the sweetest meal ever. Every Mother’s Day since my kids knew that breakfast in bed was a cool thing for moms, my husband and the two of them have prepared a breakfast with all the usual suspects and flowers and gifts. Their responsibility has grown over the years and now the kids prepare the meal and dictate the menu and the gift choices. Knowing that it is coming from the kids makes the occasion even sweeter and often extra sweet when me and the bed are doused with syrup and orange juice.

2. Gifts and Surprises

Christmas at our house is pretty much a kid holiday. My husband and I exchange a few gifts just so we have something to open, but family gifts like water heaters and vacuum cleaners and practical things like crock pots and new glasses have long taken over our lists. Mother’s Day is not that way. It is the one day of the year where mom gets to make a list and check it twice.

Some years, I have let the children loose in the dollar store with $10 and they return with candles and flip-flops and special florally cards. I have also gotten the odd presents like reading glasses and batteries but the idea that they are in charge of gift-giving is something they love. Sometimes dad takes them shopping and I get even more interesting presents like my favorite sodas and candies–still sweet but also interesting.

3. Sparkly and Sweet Stuff

No Mother’s Day is complete with flowers, something sweet to eat and if possible, something sparkly. The three of them do their best to fulfill all 3 requirements. The sparkly bit has ranged from a tennis bracelet when I was first pregnant and didn’t know that it was an impractical choice around baby, to a personalized stamped mother’s necklace.

4. Lunch To Order

I get to pick my own lunch spot without complaint from anyone. I usually try to pick somewhere they all love too, but sometimes the restaurant doesn’t fit the busy schedule or the place without chicken tenders and fries.

5. Cake!

I have recently have discovered the Nothing Bundt Cake bakery. Of course, they all benefit from a batch of those cakes.

6. Kids Being Sweet

The sweetest part of the day is that they all three try to be on their best behavior which includes no whining, no fighting, no complaining, and no staining my pretty Mother’s Day dress with their muddy hands. I have a dear friend who likes to take Mother’s Day as her day away from it all and shop for bathing suits. That would not be a shopping trip to complete my Mother’s Day–no stress allowed and I am usually eating way too much sweet stuff to shop for a bathing suit.

7. Hubby Being Sweet

My hubby is sweet all year round but on Mother’s Day he makes a huge effort to help the kids make breakfast and buy gifts and be good. He picks up the slack on the day and tries to mediate any chaos. Some years I even get a nap and a little alone time. Quiet alone time. His mother passed away recently and I know it is hard for him to celebrate the day – Thank you for everything.

8. The Sweetest Reason

The two kids. And the furry dog kids. If there was no breakfast in bed, no special lunch, no sweet goodies or wonderful gifts; the kids are the sweetest part of Mother’s Day. They made me a mother. That is the best gift of all.