Mother’s Day in quarantine: What Brooklyn moms want

Pair this Mother’s Day bouquet with any of the gifts below to show your mama some love. Photo: Mimosa Floral

No matter how weird and scary and apocalyptic things have gotten, Brooklyn moms are still chugging along. They’re wearing handmade masks, securing groceries, working and managing round-the-clock childcare, teaching math, and trying to ensure that the next generation makes it through a pandemic without (too much) emotional damage.

And, of course, we know that dads are essential workers on the front-lines of childcare right now, too, but this coming Sunday, May 10, couldn’t we all have a lot of fun celebrating motherhood? What if we just decided to turn this commercialized holiday into a home-bound party? We surveyed mothers of school-aged children and found local small businesses to help create an all-day Mother’s Day extravaganza to remember.

This is also a perfect opportunity to send love to any family you know in which either parent is an essential worker, or to any mom who is riding solo this Mother’s Day. Please, steal all our ideas!
Alone Time
Photo by Kara Zuaro. Mask by knits and knacks.

The #1 request from the moms we surveyed? They just want to be alone, damnit!

The good news: Alone time is free. The bad news: Alone time is a challenge when you’re stuck in a tiny apartment. But for most moms, a very long bathroom break would suffice. One of the women we surveyed cautiously replied, “I think I would love most to be left alone to fix up my shaggy eyebrows and maybe give myself a pedicure? I could maybe even soak in the tub and read a book?” Oh yeah, you could!

Another said: “I would genuinely like real alone time at home and watch TV, but I realize that means I have to kick out my family!” If your kids can handle a physically distanced walk or scoot around the neighborhood, this is the time to do it.
A Massage


Next to solitude, the most requested Mother’s Day gift was a massage, though many lamented that their partners and children lack the skills to make this happen. But hope is not lost! We sent your wishes and the kind people at MINKA Brooklyn, a wellness center in Flatbush, and they’ve enlisted two wonderful massage therapists, Anna Brooke and Jillian Werhowatz, to host a Mother’s Day massage workshop, I Love You & I Knead You.

This is the real deal, including a myofascial release sequence to release tension and a full-body acupressure sequence designed to create deep peace and flow in our physical and emotional bodies. The live workshop, accessible via Zoom, will be this Thursday, May 7 from 7 to 9pm, but you can watch it after that if you register at minkabrooklyn.com. The cost of this class is a sliding scale of $22-$55, but we think the best Mother’s Day gift would be a 30-day MINKA Membership for $30, which gives you access to this massage class, along with access to online classes ranging from meditation to kundalini yoga to reiki to art therapy.
Takeout
What’s your Mother’s Day brunch plan? Photo via Stone Park Cafe.

Let’s get this straight: She doesn’t wasn’t to cook. She doesn’t want to clean up. And she doesn’t want to be saddled with the children while her partner spends a day in the kitchen and/or takes a leisurely walk to pick up food at a favorite restaurant. (See #1: Alone Time.) If you have the means to order food delivery, get it on Mother’s Day.

Check Seamless and Caviar for options. Brooklyn restaurants with special Mother’s Day take-out/delivery include Stone Park Café and Red Hook Lobster Pound, which is offering a special 4-course meal. One of the moms we interviewed specifically requested Calexico, since they’re now delivering margaritas along with their regular menu. If margaritas are mama’s thing, they’ve got 20+ margarita flavors for pick-up or delivery at Calabrije’s in Bushwick.  June Wine Bar on Court Street in Cobble Hill has delivery or pick-up options for cocktails, bottles of wine, appetizers, and interesting pantry items (miso butter, house-made harissa) and even sourdough starters and bread. You can also get cocktails from Sweet Polly, Leyenda, or Hunky Dory and frozen painkillers with your delivery order from Strange Flavor. Did I just hear someone say, “Best Mother’s Day EVER,” or am I just talking to myself again?

Hunky Dory’s bottled cocktails for pre-order pick-up and no contact delivery. Photo via Hunky Dory.
Sweets + Treats
 
View this post on Instagram
 

Went and picked up a @supermoonbakehouse care pack today and I can’t tell you how happy I am about it

A post shared by Amelia Lewis (@amelia_lewis) on May 2, 2020 at 8:59am PDT


Another mom friend of ours wrote in, “I’ve been living for the Supermoon Bakehouse weekend care package—it’s a chunky loaf of sourdough bread, jar of homemade jam and THE most ethereal pastries delivered to your door, contactless and stress free. I highly recommend it with a nice big cup of coffee and some Motown … you’ll float away on a carb cloud of happiness!!” We’re intrigued by this endorsement, but this LES bakery only puts the care packages on sale once a week (Mondays at 6) and they sell out in an hour. In case you miss it, there are lots of great Brooklyn offerings, like Bien Cuit for unbeatable bread and pastries, Win Son Bakery for scallion pancakes and mochi donuts, and 4 & 20 Blackbirds for all the pie you can handle.
Other Goodies
Yes, you could buy a gift card to her favorite beauty-oriented spot, but this is more of an investment in a beloved business than an actual gift. It’s a little depressing to have a gift card that you can’t redeem for the foreseeable future, you know? That said, you can totally give a gift card that she can use to shop online at a favorite local salon or spa. We love the online shops at Birdhouse (where the brilliant stylists are offering Quarantine Color Kits), Shen, Tres Belle, and cityWell.

Dolly Parton rocks glass via Woods Grove

If you live near Woods Grove on Court Street, they’re offering free local delivery on their wide array of Mother’s Day Gifts (just select “neighbor” at checkout). We’re partial to the Dolly Parton rocks glass to accompany a cocktail delivery or the P.F. Candle Incense and Mingled Goods Incense Holder to pair with MINKA’s instructional massage video.

If you live in the delivery zone, Carroll Gardens catering company Naturally Delicious is accepting Mother’s Day orders until Wednesday, May 6. They’ve got a great Happy Hour Box with wine, beer and snacks and a Mother’s Day Relaxation package that includes a lavender plant, bath salts, chocolate, and bubbly. Throw in the Mimosa Mother’s Day Bouquet, and buddy, you’ve outdone yourself.
#Family