Self-isolation can make Mother’s Day a bit difficult, what with not necessarily coming over for a cuppa with flowers and a hug, but there are ways to give mum a bit of a surprise this year still.
Somewhere between social distancing and self-isolation, making mum feel a little delight this Mother’s Day may not be the same as it ever was. While states are beginning to ease restrictions, there’s a good chance you’re still likely keeping some distance between you and your parents, and that means the traditional flowers and visit may not be quite what it once was.
You might be doing your part and not keen to spread anything if you’re at all concerned that you might be asymptomatic, not showing the symptoms but still a possible carrier of something the world has practically stopped for, and which has people over the age of 60 in a high risk category for. Easily the worst present you can give, social distancing might be one of the better ways to keep your folks safe, so rather than pop by like you normally would, you might be looking for a different way to celebrate your mum and cheer her on for all the good she’s made in your life.
So this year, we’re getting a little more creative over the sorts of ways we can cheer up mum, even if it does come a little at a distance, whether it’s across the country or standing near her door at around a metre of distance.
Get scrapbooking with Sprocket
Price: $199
We all have phones, and those phones all have cameras, so why not put those phone cameras to good use and go back to the good ol’ days of printing, turning digital images into something a little more interesting with the Sprocket Studio.
HP’s photo printer returns to the old days of dye sublimation printers which can print photo lab style imagery on 4×6, running the main blocks of colour one by one before giving you a final image you can tear off the edge with thanks to perforated sides.
You can decorate the photos using the app, meaning any photo you’ve captured on an iPhone or Android device can be quickly made to look cuter and with special messages, before popping the entire assortment in the post and sharing with mum.
Have the kids take sticker photos on an Inspic S
Price: $269
Remember the Polaroid? Well, we don’t do things quite like that anymore, but we can still do that style of photography, and inside of a camera just like the Polaroid.
It might be the sort of thing you can get the kids doing, and capturing some lovely little candids for mum of what the kids are thinking.
Canon’s Inspic S provides a way of doing this, using Zink photo paper that prints from the back of this quaint little camera, which even has a small mirror at the front to help the kids perfect a selfie for their mum or grandmum. Each of those tiny Zink prints is also a sticker, so they can be a little more decorative and really go crazy with pictures.
Revitalise with reading via Kindle or Audible
Price: from $14-17
Whether mum has a Kindle or not, or whether you’re thinking of ordering one and having it shipped to her door, you might want to consider a
Books on Kindle can be purchased each, but if you’re buying for mum, you may want to consider a Kindle Unlimited subscription from $13.99 per month to let her choose what she wants. Amazon doesn’t let you add one of these as a gift yet, so you could make an account for mum with the credit details already sorted, and then give her the password and login.
Alternatively, you may want to consider an Audible account, which can be gifted, providing one month, three months, six months, or 12 months of audio books on Audible, starting from $16.45 depending on how much you’re keen to spend.
Give mum a video call
Price: Free
There’s really no excuse for not doing this one, particularly in an age where everyone has a phone or computer.
On Mother’s Day, wait until mum is awake, and call her up over video to wish her a happy Mother’s Day.
It’s the sort of thing she’s likely to appreciate, showing her how much you appreciate her in return.
Turn the TV into a way to keep her company with Facebook Portal
Price: $229
If mum doesn’t have a way to pick up that video call you’re planning to make, or prefers not to use her phone for that, consider turning one device she does likely have into a way to make video calls to you and to her friends.
The Facebook Portal is basically a video chat system for a TV, providing a camera with some cute smarts to track who’s talking, and a way to talk to friends on Facebook and WhatsApp.
It can be a little limited compared to the complexity of what a phone or tablet can do, but if you think mum would be happier sitting in front of the telly talking to you rather than head down at a computer or phone, Facebook Portal is a fairly simple way of making those video chats not just something for Mother’s Day, but a regular occurrence, as well.
Keep her happy by keeping the family connected on a Google Nest Hub Max
Price: $299
One other way you can chat to mum is through a smart display, particularly one that can do a little more than just be used as a camera system.
For that, you might want to consider the Google Nest Hub Max, a 10 inch smart display that can listen to your commands and control aspects of a smart home, and make and take video calls, too.
When it’s not a handy video chat system, it’s fantastic digital photo frame that loads images directly from a Google Photos library. Like that one you’re now going to set up and update of your family, letting mum know what you’re up to all the time.
