Summary
Mother’s Day can be an emotional day in the calendar if you’re bereaved and feeling the loss of your mum. There’s no “right” way to mark the day, and no obligation to be positive or productive. Remembering your mum can be gentle, personal, and entirely on your own terms. If it helps to do something, here are ten meaningful ways to remember your mum this Mother’s Day.
1. Talk to her
Speak to your mum out loud, in your head, or on paper. Tell her what’s been happening in your life, what you miss, or what you wish you could ask her.
2. Create a simple ritual
Light a candle, practise a short meditation, and feel gratitude for the time you spent together. Repeating a simple ritual each year can create a sense of continuity and comfort.
3. Revisit a shared memory
Cook one of her recipes, watch her favourite film, or listen to the music she loved. You could write down your favourite memories on pieces of paper and keep them in a decorated ‘memory jar’.
Bake your mum’s favourite recipe.
4. Look through photos
If it feels comforting, look through photos and remember your mum’s smile, her expressions and her presence. But if it feels like too much, choose a different way to remember her.
5. Immerse yourself in an activity your mum would have loved
Visit a garden, a beauty spot, a café, or a shop she enjoyed. Wear a colour or scent your mum liked. Notice the small ways her preferences and personality still live on through you.
6. Carry her memory forward through kindness
Make a kind gesture in your mum’s honour – donate to a charity she cared about, help someone in need, check in with someone she loved, or simply be gentle with someone else who’s struggling.
7. Talk about her with someone you trust
Share stories with a sibling, friend, or family member who knew your mum. Ask them what they loved most about her and to share their favourite memories.
Ask someone you trust to share memories of your mum
8. Allow yourself to fully feel whatever comes up
You might feel sad, angry, grateful, ambivalent or completely numb. You might feel nothing at all. All of your emotions are valid and expressing them by yourself or with someone you trust is cathartic.
9. Acknowledge the ongoing bond
Your relationship with your mum didn’t end when she died – it changed. The influence she had on who you are still exists and you get to decide which elements to hold on to and what to let go of. Mother’s Day can be a moment to quietly honour and process that enduring connection, whatever it means to you.
10. Do nothing – and let that be enough
You don’t have to mark Mother’s Day in any visible way. Treat it like any other Sunday and rest and distract yourself. Stay off social media and avoid restaurants and public places. Choosing not to engage can be a form of self-care.
However you choose to spend Mother’s Day, be gentle with yourself. Remembering your mum doesn’t require grand gestures; sometimes, simply holding her in your heart is enough.
06/03/26