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I live on the opposite side of the country to my mum, so I won't actually be spending Mother's Day with her this year. But I'm a sucker for sentimental, wholesome gestures, so here's what I'd be doing if I was.

(Sorry mum, no spoilers below for your gift this year!)

Skip the bouquet and head to your nearest nursery. Buy her a pot, her favourite flowers, or a herb/vegetable she loves, and plant them together after morning tea and scones. Bouquets will be gone by EOW, but the right plant in the right spot could outlive both of you!

If your mum isn't the greenest thumb, lean toward native Australian plants. They're nearly indestructible and they'll forgive a missed watering or two.

Examples: hydrangeas, peonies, a lemon tree, kangaroo paw, a lilly pilly.

Divide her favourite entree, main, side and dessert between you and your siblings (if you're an only child, time to hustle) and print the menu off so it feels like an occasion. Pull her chair out, place the napkin on her lap, keep her wine glass topped up, and don't let her near the kitchen. Bonus points if you can provide a different form of entertainment for each course.

Examples: ask her death row meal a week in advance, find out her favourite bottle of wine or soda, maybe even bubbles on arrival.

Your mum has more then likely sacrificed a lot raising you. She spent years driving you to your after-school activities so now it's time to drive mum to hers. Take her to the thing she's mentioned six times and never booked herself. If she used to ride horses, book the trail ride; if she's been talking about paddle boarding for two years, hire the board and go with her; if she's always wanted to learn pottery, sign her up for a ten-week course.

Examples: water-colour classes, a day-hike, a tennis lesson, a foraging walk, a beginner's Italian class.

Now is not the time to add a new step to a routine she's spent years perfecting. Just upgrade the one she already has. The kettle from 2005, the cookware with scratched surfaces, the brow product that expired two years ago, the running shoes her toe pokes out of.

Examples: a chef's knife, our Brow Styling Balm 😉, a heavy ceramic mug, new bed sheets, a yoga mat.

Make her a playlist with one song from every year you've been alive. You'll probably need to recruit a dad, an aunt, an uncle or a grandparent to fill in the gaps: What was she playing in the car in 1998? What was on at her 35 birthday? What did she put on when she was getting ready for a night out? Hot tip: this one is for your mum, not you.

Example: I'm 27, so I'd choose 27 songs and one of them would be Amazing by Seal for 2007.

Thank you to all the mums. Without you, there is no us.