Gifts From the Heart - Mother's Day done differently during a pandemic
April 30, 2020
If you’re finding your favourite way to kill time, distract yourself, or soak up some inspiration these days is by falling down the scroll-hole of whichever social platform you prefer best, it won’t have escaped your attention that Mother’s Day is just around the corner.
Like most Hallmark Holidays on our yearly calendar, Mother’s Day has had its share of commercialisation. The woman who started it all back in 1908 in West Virginia, Anna Jarvis, ended up later being arrested for protesting the commercialisation of the holiday. She wanted the day to be about sentiment, not profits.
Anna sounds like a woman after my own heart. I truly believe the best gifts are the ones from the heart, not necessarily the store. I think photos make the very best gift ever, as photos truly exist to take you back to a memory, a moment in time that holds meaning for you and the people you love… what better gift could you give or receive?
With that in mind, and coupled with most stores currently being closed with the Covid restrictions, here are some simple, heartfelt Mother’s Day gift ideas that the Mum in your life is guaranteed to truly love.
1. Write A Letter
When was the last time you experienced the joy of going to your letter box to find an actual letter in there, addressed to you? I'm not talking about a birthday card or postcard, I mean an actual LETTER. Chances are, it's been a while since you actually wrote one - and yes, I do mean with pen to paper ideally, but really any way you get this out will be amazing.
So - if you have your Mum - write a letter to your Mum. Tell her the kind of things you think but maybe haven't taken the time to explicitly say to her - like how she's helped you, taught you, comforted you or been there for you when you needed her. Tell her about the wisdom she's given you for your own journey through Motherhood, what it means for you to see her playing with your kids, or what you'd love to do for her in an ideal world... Write your truth, from the heart. I've known too many friends and family that didn't speak these kind of words until they were in a eulogy… please don't wait. Tell her. Write your heart out. Put it in an envelope and put it in the post. Can you imagine the absolute joy of receiving such a letter?
If you've lost your Mum - write a letter to your Mum. Tell her about your life since she passed, the times you miss her most, what you'd most love to do if you had another day together. Keep it for yourself so you can visit those words or even add to them each Mother's Day. If you have kids, write it for the future them so they can get to know her better.
If you are a Mum - write a letter to yourself 10, 20 or 30 years from now. Write about your hopes for the future, who you used to be before becoming a Mum and where you hope to be within yourself when you open this letter in the future. Or write to your kids, for them to read years from now. About who they are today, what they're in to, funny things they say and do. This will become something for you to re-visit again with them in the future, a trip back through time to these long slow days... Write from the heart, your future self will love this, and will thank you for the time you took to write this today.
2. Frame & Display A Favourite Photo
Chances are you'll have 1 or 2 images (or more) you absolutely adore which are currently sitting trapped somewhere inside a hard drive or dresser-drawer, not being enjoyed. Take a stroll through your digital memories and pick out at least one favourite image that you want to see everyday on your own wall / fridge / bookcase; OR one that can become a beautiful gift to send to your Mum to display in her home.
The culture of enjoying photos these days seems to be in the having of them, not necessarily in the viewing of them. Thank goodness for Facebook memories, serving up our past images for us to see again - isn't it one of the most enjoyable parts of logging on?
Wherever your precious images are stored, take a moment to wander through, pull out a favourite and make the commitment to print it out and put it on view in your home. This doesn't have to be a costly or painful exercise, you can get decent quality photo prints from places like Harvey Norman or Kmart - yes, I know this is slightly scandalous for a professional photographer to be saying - but these will be the best solution to get your images out from storage and into your world in a real way. And although the quality is not professional standard, for the price and ease they’re well-worth the investment. Sites like Snapfish are easy tools to create photo books and enlargements easily right from your couch, and they deliver right to your door - or to your Mums.
Photos truly do make the most beautiful gifts, but if they only exist digitally, they aren't being enjoyed. Take a moment and create something that you and your family, or your Mum will love to look at and effortlessly enjoy, every day.
3. Make A Video
This is for when you do stroll you through your photo archive and realise you literally have HUNDREDS of images you want to share or enjoy! Videos make enjoying lots of images fun and easy - especially with a free platform like Animoto. You simply upload your images, put them into the layouts you like best, add any video footage you like or overlay text for names and dates, add music from their selection and wait for their software to serve you up something awesome - it really is that simple.
If you'd like an idea of what's possible with this platform, check out the 2019 studio Retrospective video I made using Animoto here. Oh, and to be clear, I don't get any kickbacks or discounts from any of these guys, there’s no affiliate links here, I'm just happy to recommend great stuff that works.
4. Enter our Draw to Win a Gorgeous Photoshoot
If you haven't already been through the studio to create some gorgeous images of your own, we'd love to see you when restrictions are lifted and we can start creating art again. I truly can’t think of a better gift than to spend the day with the women you love (and of course all the men are welcome too!) creating special memories and images to cherish for generations to come. A photoshoot with me probably isn't like anything you've experienced before - there's no forced, awkward moments or weirdly posed fake-feeling photos. I take the time to actually connect with anyone who stands in front of my camera, to take the fear out of being photographed, and guide you into letting go of all your insecurities so that you can just relax, be present, and truly connect with the people you love. Because when that happens - THAT is truly beautiful - on EVERY human. It’s a day of togetherness, laughter and memories.
Mother's Day holds a special place in my heart because it gives us women a chance to take a moment for ourselves, to honour and celebrate the crazy journey of Motherhood, and connect to the women in our life who've come before us, or are now leading the way. I'd truly love to take you through that experience.
So - to honour this special day, I’m going to give away a Gift Card for a complimentary photo shoot including professional hair & makeup styling for 2 women. You can bring however many people you like to the shoot. Of course, this will have to be for later in the year when the current restrictions have lifted, but I believe this is something worth waiting for.
If you’d like to win this gorgeous gift (usually valued at $500), simply tell us why this experience would mean the world to you and/or your Mum here and Good Luck xx I’ll be notifying the winner on Saturday 9th May, the day before Mother’s Day.
So, wherever you are, and whatever Mother’s Day means to you, I hope it is beautiful. To all the women who’ve walked this path - to the ones who are Mothers, to the ones who long to be Mothers, to the ones who Mother another’s babes, to the ones whose babes are in heaven, to the ones who lost their Mum, to the ones with shitty Mums, to the ones who should be Mums, to the ones who give the gift of Motherhood to others - you walk on hallowed ground. I hope this day reminds you of the incredible gifts you give to your babes, the resilience you’ve found within yourself and the strength in the softness you bring to this world ❤️
Happy Mother’s Day xx
With love & light, Fiona xx
