5 awesome ways to celebrate Mother’s Day virtually
In our recent blog post, Mother’s Day around the world: celebrations and traditions we looked at the different ways cultures celebrate the role of mothers in all our societies. Although the day is celebrated on different dates, and in a number of different ways, the core message is always the same. It’s an opportunity to show gratitude to the special women who have loved and raised us, from childhood to adulthood.
However, as we move through life, often relocating to live and work abroad, being able to celebrate Mother’s Day in-person is not always possible. But that doesn’t mean there’s no room for the occasion in our lives, or that celebrations can’t take place. In this article, we’ll explore how you can still celebrate Mother’s Day virtually – bringing together all family members, even if they’re in different time-zones, and continents apart.
WorldRemit Content Team
• 5 mins read • Updated
Why celebrating Mother’s Day virtually is important
At WorldRemit, we’re proud to have an extensive and diverse team, with many team members living and working far from their original homes. We understand, first-hand, the importance of staying in touch with family members – not only for our own wellbeing and happiness, but also for the wellbeing of our wider families back home. Any celebration is an opportunity to do this – particularly Mother’s Day, an especially important day for recognising mum’s hard work and loving sacrifice.
If you’re living and working abroad, it may not be possible to return home regularly – and it may also be difficult for family to visit you. That’s why celebrating Mother’s Day virtually is such a good idea. Sure, it may seem initially as though virtual celebrations are a sorry second-best. But we promise you that video calling (as many of us learnt during the pandemic) is easy, and great fun. And there are plenty of online video calling platforms out there, often free to use – we’ll look at this in more detail below. Alternatively, you can always make a video call from your phone, however brief, using WhatsApp or via a social media platform of choice.
Planning virtual Mother’s Day celebrations
The easiest way to stage a virtual Mother’s Day celebration is by video call. Zoom, Skype, and Microsoft Teams are all free and easy to use, allowing numerous callers (in this case family and friends) to join a call at once. When arranging your call, though, it’s a good idea to coordinate with other family members beforehand – particularly as not all mums are tech-savvy. You’ll also need to find a convenient time that works for everybody, bearing in mind time zones.
If you want to dial up the fun on your call, you can personalise your background. Or you could hang banners and balloons in your own space, to create the party atmosphere, and which will of course be visible via your video feed. In the next section, we’ll look at how you can take your video call even further – combining it with games and activities that everyone will enjoy. Especially mum.
Virtual Mother’s Day celebration ideas
Once you’ve agreed a time and date for your video call, you can start to think about how to take things further. And really create a memorable occasion for your mum. Remember, a video call doesn’t simply need to be a conversation, you can have a lot of fun – and really get creative, too.
Make a photo album
So, why not take a trip down memory lane, and put together a digital photo album of mum and the family throughout the years? Once you’ve collated all your photos into an album, you can share them by sharing your screen on the call.
Host a Mother’s Day quiz
We all remember quizzes and video calls during the pandemic – for many of us they were very welcome windows of sociability. You could host your own Mother’s Day quiz, with personalised questions and rounds about your mum, and your own family. That way, you’re bound to put a smile on everyone’s face.
Play some family games
If a quiz isn’t your thing, you could try other games like charades, bingo, or even a virtual treasure hunt. These involve a list of everyday items or ‘treasures’ – a hairbrush or a red sock, for instance – which everyone on the call has to find in their respective homes, and then be first back on screen with.
Book a virtual activity
You can also go the extra mile and arrange more hands-on virtual activities, often with specialists, such as wine-tasting, flower arranging, or virtual cooking. Sure, there’s nothing better than mum’s home cooking, but by cooking together virtually, you could all cook mum’s favourite dish – or you could even share a new recipe from your new home. Virtual cooking involves all callers cooking together in real-time, in their respective kitchens, and then sitting down to eat their meals together. It’s all about shared experience, essentially. It can be great fun, and you can even put together a playlist to play over the call, as if you were all in the kitchen together – maybe even having a little dance. If you do decide to do this, it might also be a good idea to plan it with other family members back home, arranging for all the ingredients to be delivered to mum before-hand. Or for mum to join them at their place.
Open presents together
It may also be fun to collectively watch mum open presents, or small thoughtful gifts that yourself and other family members have bought her. However, sending physical gifts if you’re living and working abroad, can be problematic. Delivery costs are often high, and it can take an impractical amount of time. That’s why it’s sometimes easier to send digital or e-gifts. We’ll give some useful suggestions on these in the section below.
Virtual Mother’s Day gift ideas
To save on costly and often impractical international delivery, taking a different approach can work better. This doesn’t mean a gift has to lack charm or thought, though. A yearly subscription to a magazine or service is a great gift – and one that keeps on giving, too. Alternatively, you can send gift vouchers to your mum’s favourite store or restaurant. Or you could arrange for another virtual experience such as a virtual lesson or cookery class (with a professional this time). Of course, you can also transfer money direct to mum – that way, she’ll have the freedom to spend it on what she likes, and how she likes. And that’s where we can help.
Sending money for Mother's Day
Sending money is a lovely gesture for communicating love and support, particularly when you’re living and working abroad. At WorldRemit, our service is fast, secure, and trusted by over 8 million users. Our low fees will save you money – plus, to celebrate Mother’s Day, we’re giving you the opportunity to use promocode 3FREE*. It will entitle you to 3 entirely free-free transfers. So why not send your first today?
We hope this article has been useful, for more insights head over to our blog. You’ll find a wide selection of articles put together especially for people living and working abroad.
Happy (virtual) Mother’s Day!
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