16 Fun Mother's Day Ideas if You Can't Get Together IRL

Mother's Day falls during that magical time of year when the weather is pleasantly warm and the trees and flowers are blooming. Surprise mom with a pre-packed picnic basket—either via porch drop-off or a snack-filled mail delivery—and schedule a time to enjoy your alfresco fixins at the same time (either on speakerphone or video chat). For another fancied up twist, make it a "Rose & Croquet" Mother's Day, and gift her the fun lawn game.

Chances are, you've spent plenty of time parked in front of the television, so why not do it "alongside" your mom? If you want to go the extra mile, mail her, in advance, a mug and a cozy pair of socks, along with a proposed tune-in time of a favorite movie featuring mother-daughter dynamics—or try one of these TV shows every mother and daughter should binge watch—then arrange to chat via phone or FaceTime as you quote favorite lines and discuss things like: "Dylan McDermott just gets more handsome, don't you think?" and "Did you know that Shelby's house is now a real-life B&B?" (There's your 2021 mother-daughter trip idea, by the way!)

If you're lucky enough to live nearby, sneak over the night before to deck out the doorway with a wreath of spring flowers, greenery, or even one made of photos featuring the grandkids or sweet notes and sentiments. Or make the floral display play double duty as a gift, too. If she's a gardener, for example, fill a watering can or a pair of gardening wellies with blooms, and add a note like "Thanks for Showering Us with Love" or "Wellie Wishes on This Mother's Day."

Related: 30+ Spring Wreaths to DIY for a Flawless Front Door

Select your list of bottles and varietals in advance (so everyone can stock up accordingly), or try a service like VineBox, which delivers a flight of wine to your door. Set up a Zoom call so that you can all sip together and compare notes. If you want to go the extra mile, dress up each bottle with a custom wine label that celebrates the woman of the hour. Etsy vendor The Ritzy Rose offers fun and cheeky custom labels (shown).

Spring is the perfect time for strawberry picking, and chances are, there's a farm or orchard near you that's open and will let your whole family come out and pick your own. (Just maintain distance from other pickers!) Bring your camera and document all the fun, then follow it up with strawberry shortcake. If Mom can't join in, get the adventure on video and have your kids film sweet tributes from the field.

The only thing better than getting a bouquet of flowers delivered is making your own! Spend some time together placing gorgeous blooms into creative arrangements by taking a virtual Mother's Day Master Class with Alice's Table, or tuning in to a flower tutorial from Country Living Style Director Cate Geiger Kalus.

Maybe you're trying to keep your distance, but you can still twirl up her front porch into a pretty party setting. Set up a table with breakfast or lunch from her favorite local restaurant, add flowers and decorations, and fill a wheelbarrow with ice and a few bottles of her favorite wine. Here's the perfect card for the occasion.

If your mom's an avid gardener, call her up and invite her to "join" you on a virtual tour of some of the world's most stunning gardens, including Claude Monet's garden in Giverny, Normandy, England's famed Kew Garden, and the Keukenhof in Amsterdam (50,000 tulips!). You could even follow up your tours by simultaneously planting container gardens.

Related: 20 Genius Garden Accessories You Can Buy on Amazon Right Now

Get the family together from all corners of the country with a virtual happy hour. Send out a fun cocktail recipe in advance—we love these pear mimosas (or call 'em "mom"-osas!)—and toast the lady of the hour with banter and bubbly. (If you want to elicit a chuckle, challenge each family member to show up to the "party" with a fun Zoom background. (CBS recently launched backgrounds for Blue Bloods fans, you can star on your own Cosmopolitan cover, or—better yet!—choose from a Country Living scene.)

Related: 40 Mimosa Recipes That Are a Celebration With Every Sip

There's nothing more exciting for collectors than discovering that one-of-a-kind vintage find. Since traditional "antiquing" isn't likely an option, send her a gift card to a vintage emporium like Chairish or Everything But the House, then hop on the phone to browse together and wade through all the treasures. And go ahead and outfit her for the future, when antiquing is back on, with a Will Brake for Antiques t-shirt.

Related: 32 Collectors Share Their Favorite Carefully Curated Finds

If your mother hen's the crafty type, order up two of the same Country Living cross-stitch kits and embark on a new hobby you can both pursue while you're all cooped up. Use future "stitch sessions" as time to both craft and catch up over the phone.

Freshly trimmed nails, a relaxing foot soak, and a flawless new nail polish color will make her feel like a million bucks (even if she's the one having to do the painting).

Put your artistic abilities to the test, perhaps with the help of a little vino. There's no shortage of art studios nationwide that offer painting and wine pairings, and now some are offering to-go kits you and your mom can do at home. (Check with locations near you, or order a pair of Country Living paint-by-numbers and dish while you dabble.)

More time at home means more time to sort through family photos. Head to a site like Artifact Uprising or Shutterfly to create a custom photo album highlighting favorite moments together from the past year—think family vacations, birthday parties, holidays, and more. Order a copy for yourself and your mom, then flip through it together in-person or on the phone and relive those blissful times. (Besides, aren't extra photos of grandkids exactly what she needs right now?)

Maybe, just maybe, the best thing you can do for mom is get her out of the house—you know, that place where piles of laundry and a sink full of dishes may be in her line of vision. A little fresh air does us all good, so if you can get together—but your brunching-in-public options are limited—set up a tailgate somewhere scenic or sentimental and enjoy some time outside the house.

(Hint, hint: We know a good one!) But seriously, there's something that's just leisurely and relaxing about thumbing through a magazine, and you and your mom can do that over the phone as you discuss whether you should paint your kitchen the color on page 81 or whether you should start collecting Cornishware. If she doesn't already subscribe, you can surprise her with a Country Living gift subscription here. (It'll take a few weeks to kick in, but you can send this pretty gift notice in the interim.)