Mother’s Day « Hallmark Blog

Archive for the ‘Mother’s Day’ Category

Things to do for mum this Mother’s Day on a budget

Monday, March 5th, 2012

Celebrating Mother’s Day can be a heart-warming experience for the whole family, not just the matriarchs. It’s a time to get together and appreciate our mother figures. Mothering Sunday usually sees most families making visits to each other’s homes, going for meals out and really spoiling all of the mums in the family. Money is still tight in many of Britain’s households but that doesn’t mean you have to scrimp on the celebrations. We take a look at how you and the family can enjoy Mother’s Day for less in 2012…

A meal

Getting the family together for a meal can be a rare occasion; busy lifestyles can mean that get-togethers are few and far between, so make this one count. Like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day is one of the restaurant industry’s busiest days of the year, so this could hike costs up considerably. Consider celebrating on the Saturday instead, the day before Mother’s Day. This will mean you’re not confined to set menus and inflated prices.

Even better, cook a meal at home. Ask each family member to bring a bottle or a small contribution to the overall meal and the celebration will cost a lot less. You can cook your mum’s favourite meal and won’t have to worry about booking a table, cost or transport.

Short break away

There are many families which would love to go on a short break together but never think it’s financially possible; however you can get some really fantastic deals if you shop around. Using vouchers and deals you can create your own low budget getaway and make some fantastic savings. You can also get big discounts if you book last minute, especially at this time of year when demand is low. You can get really cheap flights to European city destinations like Paris, Madrid or Berlin, or you could get a really good deal on a beach holiday to Spain or the Canary Islands.

Alternatively you can stay here in good old Blighty. You should be able to get good quality deals for quite cheap when booking last minute on hotels. A UK city break to cities like York, Edinburgh, London and Newcastle can be very diverse and would be suitable for the whole family. You can have a great time exploring museums and the history of each city. You could opt for the seaside break too, choosing destinations like Blackpool or Bristol.

It’s not just the actual break away you can save money on; you can get great deals on family travel insurance if you use a comparison service. You can also get discounts off holiday accessories with voucher codes and deals, for things like clothing, food supplies and holiday extras.

Gifts
Don’t forget to buy your mum a little something to show you care. Never forget to buy her a Mother’s Day card. You can currently get 10% off Hallmark Mother’s Day cards with MoneySupermarket.com, so make sure you don’t pay over the odds.
Flowers are also a Mother’s Day staple and florists will be hectic at this time of year. To save some pennies why not buy her a nice plant for the garden instead? This should be a lot cheaper than a bouquet of flowers and can last a considerable amount longer. The plant will also remind your mum of the occasion every time she looks at it.

Things you can do for free

You don’t have to spend a penny to make your mum feel special. It’s the little touches you can do which really sets this day apart from the rest. Here are a few little ideas that will be sure to make her day wonderful:
- Do her chores; including running any errands she might need doing.
- Walk the dog.
- Do any odd jobs around the house that she needs doing, like mowing the lawn or putting up a shelf.
- Be her waiter; if she wants a cuppa be on hand with the teapot!
- Make sure she relaxes- ensure she puts her feet up and leave her with a good read.

All of these ideas are completely free and will help to make Mother’s Day very special.

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The Top Five Mums Wall Messages To Appear In Our Mother’s Day Range

Friday, April 8th, 2011

We have had a really busy time over the last four weeks in the run-up to Mother’s Day.

We have been truly overwhelmed with the quality and volume of entries into our Mum’s Wall competition, so thank you to everyone who entered.

The online competition was launched as part of our annual Cards for a Cure™ campaign which supports breast cancer charities to fund vital research into the disease. We asked you to get creative and express in less than 140 characters why your mum means the world to you. Considering how much we all love our mums we know this was no easy task!

The top five entries were those most ‘liked’ on our virtual Mums’ Wall. It received thousands of visitors and hundreds of heartfelt and cheeky messages, including contributions from celebrities such as Holly Willoughby, Levi Roots, Greg Rusedski and Rosemary Conley, who were all keen to lend their support to the campaign – which can still be viewed at: http://cardsforacure.hallmark.co.uk .

The best message along with the four other most ‘liked’ messages will now be made into cards to go on sale in time for Mother’s Day 2012. The best entries were as follows:

1. Sophie Jo Cartwright from Bingley – Sophie Jo’s message to her mum, Margarette Cartwright read: “my world would be nothing without my mum.”

2. Esha Sadier from Oldbury in the West Midlands – Esha’s message to her mum, Hem Sadier read: “She is superwoman, cape less; a wand less magician. She is love as I know it.”

3. Katie Doyle from Aigburth – Katie’s message to her mum Carol Doyle read: “She’s a true superwoman, she deserves the world.”

4. Julie Ann Dixon from Seaton Delaval near Whitley Bay – Julie’s message to her mum, Noreen Dobey, read: “If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Thanks for everything you say and do, mum.”

5. Dee Newman from Haverhill near Cambridge – Dee’s message to her mum, Doreen Jones, read: “she is everything a mum should be – brave, caring, loving, patient, generous and mine.”

The final design of the cards will use the creativity of educational youth group, Graffiti Workshop UK, as inspiration. The group, which works with children to install self confidence, channel creativity and realise goals, was also instrumental in producing a real life graffiti covered Mums’ Wall at the Southbank Centre in London, which kick started the campaign. You can see the video of this launch event here.

This is the fifth year of the Cards for a Cure™ campaign which, through the support of our card sales, contributes £250,000 to Breast Cancer Campaign and Action Breast Cancer, a programme of the Irish Cancer Society, each Mother’s Day.

We will also be revealing who won our iPad 2 competition very soon, so stay tuned for that!

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Tags: competition, Hallmark, Mother's Day, Mums Wall
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Win an iPad2 by supporting Breast Cancer Campaign on our Mums Wall

Friday, March 18th, 2011

You may remember we launched our virtual Mums Wall way back in February as part of our Cards for a Cure™ campaign. We have been overwhelmed with the entries, and you can still join the nation in telling the world why your mum means the world to you.

We’ve had loads of great entries over the last few weeks and we have shared some of our favourites in an earlier blog post. Here is one beautiful example:

Louise Garrahan: She knows me better than I know myself. She’s selfless and no one makes me laugh like she does.

So to celebrate Mother’s Day and to encourage you to share a personal message with your mum we have added an exciting extra incentive. From today if you leave a personal message for your mum on our Mums Wall you will be automatically entered into our competition to win the must-have gadget of 2011 a brand new iPad2.

Don’t worry about being the next Shakespeare or Wordsworth as your message can be funny, memorable or touching, it really doesn’t matter.

And remember all of this is for a great cause as our Cards for a Cure™ initiative will have donated more than £1 million, by Mother’s Day 2011, to breast cancer charities to fund vital research into the disease.

So go on and share your message with the world.

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The best of the Mums Wall messages so far……

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Celebrity mum and new mother-to-be, Holly Willoughby kicked off our fantastic ‘Mums Wall’ by completing the sentence ‘My mum means the world to me because…. she is everything I want to be.’ Since then we have received so many beautiful messages from you for your mums! Scroll down to see our 10 of our favourites so far!

1) Claire Woods: My mum Linda means the world to me because…..she is always there for me come rain or shine. I hope I can be there for her when she needs me and that I am a good mum to my own son.

2) Charlotte Coleman: My mum Lynn means the world to me because when I’m down she’s always there, with words of wisdom, love we share. She’s kind and fun and the best mum and she gave me a fab bum.

3) Jade Smith: My mum Trish means the world to me because she loves me for who I am and I want to be just like her

4) Melissa Geddes: My mum Annabel means the world to me because there is no-one else like her; an inspirational and original woman.

5) Leanne Jones: My mum Valerie means the world to me because she was the most loving, inspiring woman and I miss her everyday.

6) Tracy Slade: My mum Christine Slade means the world to me because although you live so far away I think about you every day, you are my best friend and are always there for me and always by my side

7) Sophie Joelle Cartwright: My mum Margrette means the world to me because my world would be nothing without my mum

8) Katie Doyle: My mum Carol means the world to me because she is a superwoman. After raising 7 amazing children, she deserves the world. The only thing she fails at is putting herself first.

9) Charlotte Dugan: My mum Joan means the world to me because she is one in a million and is always inspiring me

10) Amanda Robertson: My mum Irene means the world to me because she is always there for me and never lets me down.

The wall competition closes on 17^th March with the best message being placed in a specially designed Mother’s Day card and the lucky scribe winning a weekend break away! Click here http://cardsforacure.hallmark.co.uk/?_%24ja=tsid%3A26700 now to leave your mum a beautiful message!

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Posted in Competitions, General, Mother's Day | 1 Comment »