Whatever your usual Mother’s Day plan normally entails, I’m sure this year is different. We talked about a socially-distanced meetup at my parents’ house for this weekend, but the idea of sitting around in masks was a huge bummer so we’ll just wait to get together another time. Ditto for teacher appreciation week at my kids’ schools. We’re sending emails of appreciation, but… it feels hollow without hosting some meals for the teachers or bringing them flowers and treats.
In light of all that, it seems to me that e-gift cards are the way to go for mother’s day and teacher appreciation gifting this year. Added benefit: you can buy them fairly last-minute and they’ll get emailed to your teacher/mom/grandma/aunt/mentor/friend right away. Some ideas:
For the Person Who Enjoys Books, Magazines and Puzzles
Barnes and Noble Gift Card
I’ve sent several book gifts to friends and family over the last few weeks and Barnes & Noble has shipped them very quickly.
For Colorado Folks Who Love Takeout, Great Food, Local Businesses and/or Brunch
D Bar Gift Card (Uptown Denver) This is my family’s “special place.” We love the ambience, we love sitting at the pastry bar watching the chefs fry churros and plate desserts, and we love that the price-point is mid-range but the food tastes top dollar. And while I said this list is for brunch-lovers, now that I think about it, we tend to go for the specialty Crue fries, crispy brussels, pizza salad sandwich and churros or cake and shake, so… more like dinner! Their menu has something for everyone, and as a bonus owners/chefs Keegan Gerhard and Lisa Bailey are very active in the Denver community.
I’ve also talked about D Bar in this post and this post.
Lucile’s Creole Cafe Gift Card (With six Colorado locations: Boulder, Longmont, Downtown Denver, East Evans Denver, Littleton and Fort Collins and offering a free beignet with every order!) Lucile’s has been a favorite of mine for decades, since my undergrad years in Boulder. Many times people equate “Creole food” with “spicy as hell.” You can get spicy food at Lucile’s, but there’s plenty to appeal to those like me who would rather not! My personal favorite is the Eggs New Orleans: fried eggplant slices with creole sauce (not spicy!), poached eggs and hollandaise, plus grits or potatoes (I go for potatoes) and a to-die-for buttermilk biscuit. The beignets are so good.
Snooze, an A.M. Eatery Gift Card (With nine Colorado locations open for takeout: 2262 Larimer St. Denver, 700 N Colorado Blvd. Denver, Denver Tech Center, Fort Collins, Lone Tree, Centennial, Westminster Promenade, Westminster Orchard Park and Boulder.) My favorites at Snooze are the Lox-n-Latke Benny, Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes (all of the pancakes are good and a pancake flight lets you try multiples) and Sandwich I Am (soft pretzel roll sandwich with eggs, cheese, sausage and smoked cheddar hollandaise!).
For the Gardener
A gift card to a local plant nursery, or Home Depot Gift Card which also carries plants and gardening supplies.
I’ve been window shopping at Gardener’s Supply Company for awhile (I learned about it from an acquaintance who bought one of their large greenhouse kits and it turned out amazing) – if you don’t know what to gift, they offer gardening supplies as well as a lot of fun DIY kits and specialty foods that someone could choose with their gift card. I’m interested in gifting myself a fresh pair of nitrile gloves for the season or a hard cider kit.
Okay, time to put in my Mother’s Day brunch kit order ahead of time for Sunday! I just can’t decide between D Bar, Lucile’s and Snooze. Maybe it will be Mother’s Day all month… Have a nice weekend!
What I’m reading: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Funny story: I bought this for my 10-year old as a Christmas gift. I assumed it was abridged for kids and it was shrink-wrapped so I couldn’t flip through the pages. You guys, this is the original story. I don’t know how my son understood any of it! A quote from a page I read this morning: “…it’s us must break the treaty when the time comes; and till then I’ll gammon that doctor, if I have to ile his boots with brandy!” Uh… the what now?
What my 12-year old is reading: Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee. We’re getting up to speed on the MCU at my house this pandemic.
Photo by Keenan Barber on Unsplash