This Sunday is Mother’s Day and of course you haven’t forgotten, that’s why you’re reading this post. Here’s some of our ideas for a great mothers day.
Time
Even if you live with your mother, you may not be spending quality time with her. You don’t need to go anywhere besides your own house, but the best gift you can give your mother is your time. That said, if you bring a gift it’s a bonus.
Flowers
Colombo is full of flower shops. Our favorites are Shirohana and Bloom Room on the high end and Dean’s Road on the low end. Note that the shops at the low end mainly cater to funerals, so unless your mother gives special points for creativity and effort, it may be weird.
Shirohana
We’re linking to the Shirohana Romantica on Dickman’s Rd above, but the Atelier on Alfred House is probably more popular. They have multiple locations – Flower Road, Borella, Battaramulla, Kandy, Negombo, etc.
Shirohana ain’t cheap (we’d say at least 1,500 for a good bouquet), but they have a good selection of flowers including strange and beautiful imports depending on when you drop by.
Bloom Room
Bloom Room (and Coco Veranda) founder Sarath is sorely missed. His wife still (as far as we know) manages the shop and it’s a good is somewhat idiosyncratic one. It’s smaller than most Shirohanas so you won’t find a huge quantity of stuff in store, but what you do find is usually seasonal and good. If you give them a price they’ll make up a bouquet.
Dean’s Street
If you want to spend less on flowers and make a quirky arrangement, there are cheaper flowers for sale on Dean’s Road. Mind you, they’re mostly sold for funerals and your mother may know, but if she’s into that sort of creativity (and not too old), we think it’s an interesting choice.
Sweets
Colombo has a lot more sweet shops than it used to. Back in the day you’d have to go to the five-star hotels. While they’re still pretty reliable – check out the Hilton or Cinnamon Grand – there are now come independent shops and home bakers that can provide.
Gerard Mendis
Run by a prominent former hotel chocolatier, Gerard Mendis is consistently on top of its holidays. The box of chocolates above is Rs. 1,250 and they have chocolate cakes and other sweets. It’s a good restaurant as well, but for mother’s day the main thing is the creative desserts.
The Cakery
Our favorite cake company isn’t doing anything especially M-Day themed as far as we know, but their cakes and sweets are reliably delicious.
Home Bakers – Munchkin and Caked
If your mum likes macarons or other baked delights, we can recommend the home bakers Munchkin and Caked.
Miscellaneous
The Hilton is having a Mother’s Day Brunch from 11 AM to 3 PM at Spices, which comes with a free dip in the pool. The Kingsbury is also having its weekly Sunday Caviar & Oyster Brunch at Rs. 3500 a head at the Harbour Court, 11AM to 3PM.
Oysters, caviar and musselsCinnamon Lakeside is having a ‘Tribute to Mum’, a dinner buffet from 7PM to 11PM at the Dining Room at Rs. 3950 with a mocktail and Rs. 4550 with some bubbly. It also comes with a complimentary rose and box of chocolates.
Big stores like Odel have whole sections with themed gifts and hampers, including competitions to win vouchers and gift packs. So maybe this is a good occasion to get shopping.
For a rather intimate mother-daughter bond, amanté has a whole heap of fun Mother’s Day discounts, and freebies on. Our favourite is the giftbox deal – you order something nice for your mum, they gift box it and deliver it on the 11th or 17th along with a card you write and a free bouquet of flowers. Visit their Racecourse branch for more deets.
Little Adventures is having a mother’s day special on the 11th at 7AM, so if your mum is an adventurous outdoorsy type, this might be something fun to do together.
Trekurious is having a film night at the Cloud Café on the Colombo Courtyard rooftop. Hosted at 7PM, the event has a Rs. 2000 entrance fee and comes with a peach or strawberry bellini, a chicken or vegetable panini and popcorn.
They’re also having a couple of packages at the Nail Anatomy, at Rs. 1000 and Rs. 17000 for a range of services including massages and pedicures. The Ani & Olive Salon is also have some great packages with a flat 30% off on all massages.
There are also some slightly odd promotions, for instance by bars like Floor by O! and Shore by O!, who are having a special menu and gifts sponsored by Somersby cider, and a flat 25% off on the bill if you dine with your mum.
These are the few places we came across, and it’s not a comprehensive list in the least, but we’re sure a lot of the bigger stores and restaurants will be having some sort of discount or deal or the other. The bottom line is Mother’s Day is just a commercialized, fairly arbitrary date. But it’s great to have an extra reason to appreciate the most important person in your life. So the spirit of the thing is really in something creative and thoughtful. We’re pretty sure most mums would prefer a nice home-made meal or some together time, although spoiling is definitely a winner! A spa session and something personalized should make any under-appreciated mum melt! (But maybe try and be nice the rest of the year too.)
