While mothers and mother figures in our lives should be spoiled every day of the year, Mother’s Day presents an opportunity to really push the boat out. After all, the mothers, grandmothers, mothers-in-law, partners, and every other mother in our lives deserve the world – and Mother’s Day allows us to show just how much we appreciate them.
With this in mind, the LIV Design Studio team has put our heads together to curate this special guide to our favourite local gifts, experiences, and dining destinations to help you treat the moms in your life this year.
We’ve structured this year’s guide as a ‘perfect day’ filled with options for every facet of your Mother’s Day celebrations. Of course, do feel free to pick and choose from the selections we’ve listed here, or combine them to make for a truly unforgettable day.
Mother’s Day gifts for the home
A thoughtful gift for the home is the perfect way to greet the mothers in your life on their special day. You’ll never be remiss arriving with flowers in hand, but thoughtful objects large or small make for equally considerable gifts that will stand the test of time. We’re highlighting some of our favourite local makers and purveyors to help you begin your Mother’s Day festivities on the right foot.
Flowers – The Wild Bunch
What better way to start off Mother’s Day than with a beautiful bouquet of flowers? The Wild Bunch consistently creates some of our favourite arrangements for any situation or celebration, and they’ve outdone themselves with this year’s Mother’s Day Bouquet, full of seasonal flowers and foliage. Elegantly arranged in a variety of spring colour schemes and available in two different sizes, this bouquet makes an excellent token of your appreciation while celebrating the magic of Spring.
Candles – Provide
The Orbis Candles from KONZUK, available at Vancouver’s Provide Home, are a stylish way to illuminate any home – and they’re made right here in B.C. on the Sunshine Coast. The unique design is reminiscent of an eggshell with a delicate appearance that emits soft light to bring meditative calm to any space. These thoughtful candles come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours ranging from a set of white tealights to larger 4-wick candles.
Wood carving – Elise McLauchlan
An experience in itself, this Texture Carving Kit from Elise McLauchlan is a creative way to introduce someone to wood carving. Choose from a pre-made bowl, plate, hollow form, or chopping board and personalize it using the included tools – this thoughtful set includes everything you’ll need to carve unique shapes and patterns into your item, and some instructions and practice blocks to get you started.
Planter – Walrus
For those looking for something a little longer-lasting than an ephemeral bouquet of flowers, this Stacking Planter from Chen Chen and Kai Williams for Areaware is a tasteful way to display a plant of your choosing. This cleverly constructed planter hides a saucer in its bottom ring for built-in drainage, and the minimal design is sure to look good in any space and remain a lasting testament to your undying appreciation.
Ceramics – Janaki Larsen
Janaki Larsen‘s covetable collections of ceramics have inspired a cult-following here in Vancouver and far beyond for their elegant sensibilities and versatile appeal. And good news – if you act quickly, you may be able to pick up a piece from the artist’s latest collection of vases, releasing just in time for Mother’s Day on April 30th. These distinctive vessels are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, each completely unique and adaptable to any space or purpose.
Incense – Old Faithful Shop
This one-of-a-kind HA KO Paper Incense Set available at Old Faithful Shop not only smells wonderful, its unique presentation and the simple yet elegant ceramic dish that accompanies the set makes for a gift that will be fondly remembered for years to come. The set includes six leaf-shaped incenses plus a ceramic dish in a lovely light pink hue that has a non-flammable felt pad on top for safe burning.
Mother’s Day food & drinks
No Mother’s Day is complete without delicious food and drinks – whether boozy or caffeinated. Brunch is the classic option, of course, but there’s no harm in punctuating your day with a quick cocktail or a cup of tea or coffee to kickstart the rest of your festivities. For whatever you’re in the mood to enjoy this Mother’s Day, LIV has selected our favourite local options for dining and drinking.
Breakfast or happy hour – H Tasting Lounge
This luxe destination in the historic Westin Bayshore Hotel is the perfect place to stop in with mom for a well-crafted cocktail at happy hour, or book in advance to enjoy their special Mother’s Day Breakfast in the Secret Garden. LIV Design Studio designed the interiors for this elegant lounge and cocktail bar, inspired by the aeronautical legacy of Howard Hughes – a long-term resident of the Bayshore Hotel. You can read more about our inspiration and design process here.
Tea – TWG Tea
For the discerning tea-drinkers out there, TWG Tea carries some of the finest imported teas from around the world, with something to please any palette. We’d personally recommend the Amour de Thé for a truly special and utterly delicious blend of carefully-sourced ingredients. Consisting of the finest Ceylon black tea blended with delicate rose petals and leaves of gold, this tea is an unforgettable experience for the senses with its intriguing floral notes and hints of rich vanilla.
Coffee – Nemesis Coffee
One of Vancouver’s finest purveyors of specialty coffees, Nemesis pride themselves on transparency in selecting only the finest of coffee beans and transparency throughout their sourcing processes. We particularly love this Ashok Patre – Ratnagiri Estate roast for its lighter notes of peach, white grape and milk chocolate, but you really can’t go wrong with any of Nemesis’ excellent coffee beans. Be sure to pick up some baked goods to go as well for the perfect park picnic or on-the-go snack.
Mother’s Day experiences
Perhaps the best gift of all is getting to spend quality time with your loved ones on Mother’s Day. From relaxing and refreshing with a spa day, to picking up a new shared hobby, there are a plethora of engaging activities available for you and the mothers in your life throughout the month. Here, we’ve collected a few of our favourites.
Cirque Du Soleil – Alegría
It’s hard to match the magic of the circus, and Cirque Du Soleil just happens to be in town for Mother’s Day this year. Alegría is a classic show reimagined for modern audiences, and its unique blend of daring acrobatics and high-flying fun ensures a memorable evening for you and mom. The show is on until June 5th so you’ve still got plenty of time to arrange for a visit before it leaves town.
Wine tasting – La Fabrique St-George
The stunning, modern interiors of trendy winebar La Fabrique St-George warrant a visit on their own, but combine that with tasty wine and market-style food options and you’ve got a special place to relax and converse this Mother’s Day. The wine itself is made using B.C. grapes, in specially-made Qvevris for a rustic touch. There’s even a special ‘Build Your Own Bouquet’ pop-up from Good Mood Garden this Mother’s Day, in case you forgot to pick up a bouquet beforehand, or you’d like a more personal touch.
Spa – Circle Wellness
After a busy day of activities, it’s time to head to the spa for some pampering. Circle Wellness offers a completely private thermal spa experience designed to help you truly relax by disconnecting from the world for a few hours, offering both hydrotherapy and heated stones to boot. You will need to plan a bit in advance though – bookings open at 9am on the first of the month and tend to fill up quickly.
Gift card – Claymates
If you’re looking for a more hands-on activity for you and your mom to enjoy this Mother’s Day, Claymates has you covered. Learn to make your very own ceramics and enjoy some quality time with each other at one of Claymates’ private lessons, group classes, or even with a membership. Claymates offers gift cards of varying amounts so you can let mom choose this Mother’s Day.
Portraits – Hello Aura
Photographs make an excellent memento to immortalize a certain moment in your life, especially when they’re as unique as those created at Hello Aura‘s East Vancouver studio. A practitioner of aura photography, Hello Aura captures subjects’ natural energy on film, creating one-of-a-kind photographs that go beyond just capturing your likeness, communicating a level of personalization that’s hard to replicate. Hello Aura has a number of Open Studio dates throughout the month of May, and gift cards are also available for purchase.
Yoga classes – Jaybird
Give the gift of wellness this Mother’s Day. Jaybird offers a variety of yoga classes, each with specialized goals or intentions and a unique candlelit setting in their luxe Yaletown studio. Whatever tempo you seek, Jaybird’s 55-60 minute classes are an excellent way to harmonize your body & mind, with options ranging from “The Burn” – a high-intensity, pilates focused class designed to get your heartbeat up, to the more laid-back “The Balance” class, which is more oriented towards self-care and inner connection.
Paint night – Art From The Heart
Art’s ability to connect us to ourselves and our surroundings makes these Paint Nights from Art From The Heart an ideal Mother’s Day gift. This year, the studio is even hosting a Special Mother’s Day ‘Brushes & Bubbly’ Paint Night designed to help you and your mom connect over a night of creative expression. All levels are welcome, and tickets include a complimentary mimosa – plus, you get to take home your work of art after the two-hour session’s completion.
Personal Mother’s Day gifts
Self-care is key any day of the year, but especially significant on Mother’s Day. Our moms deserve to be cherished all the time, but this is the perfect occasion for them to lay back, relax, and treat themselves to a soothing facemask, a multi-step skincare routine, or any other type of pampering that suits their fancy. LIV has assembled some of our favourite self-care products and more to inspire your gift-giving this year.
Face Masque – Even Tide
Even Tide‘s aptly-named Everything Mask really does do it all, making it a great solution for the moms out there looking to bolster their weekly skincare routine. This all-in-one masque hydrates, soothes, purifies, and restores elasticity in the skin to leave faces looking refreshed and brighter than ever, and it’s made with all-natural products and free from parabens and fillers so you know exactly what you’re putting on your skin.
Skincare bundle – Kid Sister Skincare
Kid Sister‘s line of chemist-formulated, all-natural skincare solutions has been among our favourites for a while now, and we think they’d make a superb gift for Mother’s Day – especially with this adorable bundle of their most popular products, including the popular Cloud Pouch for stylish storage. The Super Ego Face Oil is an antioxidant oil designed to promote circulation while protecting your skin from the elements, with ingredients like buriti fruit and tomato seed oil. The branding on all these products is irresistible and together they make for a trendy gift to spoil mom on her special day.
Jewelry – Melanie Auld
One of Vancouver’s best-known local jewellers, Melanie Auld offers a huge assortment of elegant jewelry to match any style. For a truly special gift, Melanie Auld offers Welding to create a permanent, personalized memento for you to give to your mom on her special day. Choose from bracelets or rings, custom-cut to fit perfectly with the option to add initials or charms for a sentimental touch. If you’d like to go the extra mile, consider getting matching jewelry – that way, you’ll always have a reminder of each other on hand.
To all the mothers, grandmothers, mothers-in-law, and mother figures out there – LIV Design Studio wishes you a restful & relaxing Mother’s Day, and we give our heartfelt gratitude for the hard work mothers around the world give every day.
