‘Day off’ top of Mother’s Day wishlist

FORGET store-bought hampers, flowers and fluffy pink toys, all that some Eastern Cape moms really want for Mother’s Day – which is tomorrow – is simply a day off from their most demanding job.

Whether that comes in the form of a fully paid for nanny, a day at the spa, meals in bed or a picnic – not prepared by them – or simply a few minutes on their own in the bathroom, moms’ ideal gifts come from the heart not the mall.

So if their partners have been wondering what to get for the women that mostly run their households, the feeling among moms surveyed by the Weekend Post was that they were “so over flowers, ‘nice’ hampers and chocolates” and wanted gifts into which a lot of thought went.

From the kids, a heartwarming homemade card will do just the trick.

Tamryn Kerry-Ann Flanagan said she would like to have a day off, but still enjoy some quality time with her family.

“I’d like breakfast in bed, a picnic out in the front yard and dinner cooked by hubby. A true day off yet still being able to spend time with the fam,” she said.

Karin Kleynhans, who is a stay-at-home mom and loving it, said she was desperate for some “me time”.

“I would love a nanny. I asked Santa [for one] last Christmas, but I think my note got lost in the postal strike,” she said. “I would love to take my time in the shower, paint my toenails and to have five minutes in the loo without an audience.”

Michaela Bowers just wanted all the baby duties taken care of – by someone else.

“I’d like breakfast to start off with [and] it doesn’t have to be in bed, baby duties totally taken over and a nice planned day; it could be a picnic if it is a nice day, a braai somewhere or I could just be sent to the spa for the day – with a friend would be extra brownie points,” she said.

A gift from the mall is not completely prohibited – provided mom has nothing to do with it – as some would welcome a decent bunch of flowers or the popular fleece gown, warm socks and slippers ensemble.

Stores have had some of these goodies flying off the shelves these past few days, with a lot more traffic expected from last minute shoppers today.

Woolworth’s Greenacres clothing and home manager Charmaine Human said their most popular gift choices were the fleece gowns, from R199, and slippers, from R100.

At Milady’s, ladies’ pyjamas have been flying off the shelves.

Sales associate Rachel Cameron said this, coupled with the “buy for R500 and get R100 off” price promo, meant customers “kept coming back”. — mbabelaz@timesmedia.co.za