How To Celebrate Mothers Day When Your Kids Are Away | Single Parenting

As a single mom, my daughter is the light of my life and I would be lost without her. That’s why Mother’s Day is without a doubt one of the sweetest holidays of the year. I simply adore waking up to the smell of home cooked pancakes and hot coffee. My adorable tween is growing up, and boy, can she find her way around the kitchen! (Yes, she actually makes me breakfast in bed!)

I count myself lucky. But many single moms out there know that this holiday can be rough when it’s your ex’s turn to have the kids. Dad may have already planned to take the little ones to visit their grandmother from his side of the family. At first glance, it feels like you’re being left alone. After all, you kind of feel like you should be celebrating this holiday with them too, which is technically dedicated to you, right? Now that the kids are gone, you wonder if it’s even worth getting out of bed or even trying to see the glass half full.

Well, instead of dwelling on the fact that you can’t spend Mother’s Day with your little ones, I’ve got 5 incredible tips that’ll get you excited all over again. The kids may be gone for a little while, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have an amazing day all to yourself.

Give Yourself The Day Off

You don’t have to worry about what to make your child for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This is your personal “me time,” so go on and enjoy it! Do you want to know what I would do? I’d head off to the spa and enjoy a full day of pampering. Peel off masks, foot massages, and a few minutes in the sauna and I kind of feel like I want this day to last longer. Afterwards, I might come home, order a pizza and then nap for hours.

Have A Fun Girls’ Day

You finally have some time off. Embrace that! You can catch up with all of your single friends at brunch and enjoy the taste of a great gourmet meal you couldn’t possible cook at home because the kiddies would hate it. I mean, caviar, orange slices and pasta? Definitely not child-friendly. Give your girls a call and meet them at a lovely café. You could also have them over to your house for some cocktails and some snacks. If you’re feeling lazy, (after all, this is your day!) order takeout or hire some caterers for your own private event.

Binge On Netflix

Unwind a little. Make yourself a margarita, cut some cheese slices, then sit back and start watching that show you’ve put off for months on Netflix. Now’s the perfect time to hit “next episode” and finish and entire season. But hurry, because once your kid comes back you’ll be forced to go back to your mom routine and you’ll never know what happened to Piper on “Orange is the New Black”.

Go On A Local Tour

Take this time to have a mini-staycation and go on a walking tour around town. Go online and see if you can find some hotspots that you never even knew existed. I Googled a few places myself and I had no idea that my city had so many art museums, which I totally love. Plus, I actually went on a free walking tour that took me around the city for four hours, which means I also got to do a little cardio. Not too shabby!

Take A Class

You’re now free to explore whatever interests you had to push to the side because you simply didn’t have the time. You may have been tempted to go to an Indian cooking class, learning to dance salsa, or trying your hand at pottery. Surely, there’s something out there for everyone, so go on. Take a look because pretty soon you’ll go back to dealing with work, and planning daily activities for your kids, and you won’t have a lot of free time for yourself. Today is your day, so make the best of it and don’t be afraid to switch it up and hop on a new adventure.