How to Plan a Memorable Mother's Day in 6 Simple Steps (and free printable checklist)

Want to make your Mother’s Day stress-free as possible? Follow these 6 simple steps to planning your special day. Bonus points for bad ass moms who tell their partners to handle it!

  1. Who will you celebrate?

  2. Brainstorm possible celebration ideas.

  3. Make your list manageable and meaningful.

  4. Create a detailed to do list.

  5. Schedule those tasks on your calendar.

  6. Do the things…. then celebrate!

Follow the simple steps below and be sure to download your free printable Mother’s Day Planning Checklist!

 

How to plan a memorable Mother’s Day in 6 simple steps.

Celebrating your mom, grandma, or yourself on Mother’s Day is a beautiful tradition. But, as a busy mom, it can be stressful when we’re trying to buy gifts and plan meals for others, while at the same time enjoying our special day!

Download the free printable checklist (or grab a notebook and pen) and start planning!


Step 1: Who are you celebrating?

Write a list of who you will be celebrating for Mother’s Day. Maybe it’s just your mom. Or yourself!

But sometimes it’s nice to acknowledge other special women in our lives, like your mother-in-law, best friend, sisters, grandmothers, daughters, or daughters-in-law.

Who will you celebrate this year?

 

Step 2: Brainstorm ways to celebrate.

This is the fun step! Make a list of all the possible ways you could celebrate the special lady or ladies listed in Step 1.

Write EVERYTHING down. It doesn’t mean you will do all these things, but making a big list gets your brain thinking in creative ways.

Mother’s Day celebration ideas:

  • send cards

  • send flowers

  • go to brunch

  • have a picnic

  • buy a gift

  • help kids make a gift

  • serve breakfast in bed

  • host a home Happy Hour

  • go shopping or antiquing

  • visit a museum

  • have a craft day

  • visit a farmer’s market

  • walk (or run!) a Mother’s Day 5k together

  • write a heartfelt note

  • send cookies or cupcakes (I often send Wicked Good Cupcakes! They’re reasonably priced and oh-so-delicious!)

  • make a special video

  • post a photo and funny message to her Facebook page

  • call her (or video chat) if you live far away

These are just a few suggestions. Have fun making your own list!

 
 
How to plan a memorable Mother's Day - Plan a Healthy Life

Step 3: Make your list manageable and meaningful.

OK, you have a fabulous list of amazing ways to celebrate your Mom. Now it’s time to be realistic and cross off most of them.

Look at your list and ask “what can I do to make this a memorable and meaningful Mother’s Day” while still keeping your sanity?

Cross off the things you choose not to do, and circle your favorite way(s) to celebrate.

 
Plan a Healthy Life Tip: Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Let children or husbands do some (or all!) of the planning.
 

Step 4: Create a detailed to do list.

Let’s say you want to celebrate your Mom by hosting a backyard picnic and making a simple photo book starring your kiddos. It sounds like two tasks, right?

It’s not.

Make a list of ALL the steps needed to organize your picnic and create the photo book. (Or obviously, the celebration ideas you choose.)

For this example, the steps might be:

  • decide on a time for the picnic

  • create a simple menu

  • create a shopping list

  • go to the grocery store or order from InstaCart

  • make any food items (better yet, purchase ready-to-eat or put the men in your life in charge of the grill)

  • what time is the picnic?

  • schedule time to spruce up the patio, or clean off the deck furniture

  • spend 30 minutes finding your favorite photos

  • decide on a company to print your book (CVS Photo, Walgreen’s, Shutterfly, Snapfish, etc.)

  • schedule an hour to upload pics and order your book

  • wrap the book when it arrives

Sometimes it is overwhelming seeing all the little steps to “have a picnic” but here’s the thing… better to get those tasks out of your brain and onto paper. You will have to do them regardless of whether they are written down or not.

You might as well be honest about what it takes to get the job done!

 
 

Step 5: Schedule the tasks on your calendar.

This might sound like overkill, but I promise you it is not.

“Doing the things” takes time. A strategy that is really effective is to block the time on your calendar WHEN you will do each of those tasks. Just like with Step 4, creating the detailed to-do list, you WILL have to make time to do those things. Better to schedule the time INTENTIONALLY so you’re not running around frazzled at the last minute. Or maybe that’s just me, lol.

I schedule all my tasks in my digital planner. You can take a peek at it here… Undated Digital Planner for GoodNotes.

 
How to plan a memorable Mother's Day - Plan a Healthy Life

Step 6: Do the things.

You created a manageable list of ways to celebrate the special mom or moms in your life. You broke that down into a detailed to do list, and added those tasks to your calendar.

Now just DO the things.

Easy peasy.

 
Plan a Healthy Life Tip: If you’re a mom, don’t forget to schedule a time to relax and celebrate YOU.
 

There you have it, 6 simple steps to planning a memorable Mother’s Day. Don’t forget to download your free printable Mother’s Day Planning Checklist.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 
 
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Welcome!

jacqui plan a healthy life

Are you a busy lady (like me) who really, really wants to live a healthy life? I get it because I’m obsessed with living my best life too. Here you’ll find simple ideas and strategies to plan a healthy and happy life.

I’m Jacqui, by the way, and I’m the crazy busy lady behind Plan A Healthy Life.