Some Sydney Mothers Day ideas. What to do, where to find the best flowers and chocolates, sourcing unique gifts. Mothers day activities.
Yes, it’s traditional, it’s sentimental, it’s over-commercialised – and we’re holding onto it, thanks! Having sorted that out, here are some ideas for you. All doable from a hotel room!
When is Mothers Day?
In Australia Mothers Day is on the second Sunday in May.
An Active Start
We’ll kick off our Mothers Day ideas with one that will make you feel good all day
– and supports a great cause as well. Don’t lie around in bed, walk or run the Mothers Day Classic around Sydney’s Domain. The whole family can join in. You’ll support breast cancer research while you have fun and stay fit.
The Mothers Day Classic is a 4, 7 or 8km fun run or walk – you choose.
Do it with your family or come and offer support from the sidelines. There’s lots of other entertainment during the event as well.
On the day registration opens at 0615 (6.15am). As always, early online registration will save you time. Registration fees all go to cancer research.
Runners start first, from 0710 (7.10am) on, walkers start later from 0845 (8.45 am) on. Everyone is finished by 1200 (noon).
Here’s a program outline. Do check the details with the website, as things can and do change.
- 0710: 4km runners start
- 0750: 8km runners start
- 0845: 7km walkers start
- 0900: 4km walkers start
The course is 4km. Those doing the 8km run do two laps.
Mothers Day Breakfast
Lots and lots of cafés and restaurants do great breakfast or brunch. But Mothers Day is in the same league as Christmas and Valentines Day when it comes to finding a table.
Try smaller neighbourhood cafés, especially beachside ones with outside seating. They will be popular and they won’t take bookings, so either come early or be prepared for a bit of a wait.
Or do what Sydney does best on a Sunday – yum cha, also known as dim sum. It’s one of the better Mothers Day ideas for Sydney.
If there are people waiting outside when you arrive (and there probably will be), make sure you get a number from the person at the door. After that it’s just a matter of waiting for it to be called. It’s not usually too long. If you don’t want to wait at all, get there early. The crowds arrive around lunch-time.
There’s an increasing move towards ordering yum cha from a menu. You don’t want that. It’s much more fun to have the trolleys come past and to point at what you want.
A few long-standing and reliable restaurants that still use trolleys (and are packed because of it) are the Mandarin, Zilver, and Eight Modern, all in and around Chinatown in Haymarket.
The Mandarin is the most traditional, Eight the most contemporary in its cuisine and Zilver specialises in seafood. All are excellent.
There are good yum cha restaurants all around Sydney, you don’t need to travel far to find one. Including some very good vegetarian options. We regularly eat at Bodhi, indoor/outdoor and vegetarian, in Cook + Phillip Park, next to the cathedral.
City restaurants can start serving yum cha from 0900 (9am), suburban ones start later – around 1000 or 1100 (10am or 11am). They all finish between 1500 and 1700 (3pm and 5pm).
Cheap Mothers Day Ideas
It’s a Sunday – that means your Opal card fares are capped at $2.60 per person for the day. You can travel anywhere you want around Sydney – on ferries, buses, trains and the light rail too. It’s such a bargain.
Try one of these Mothers Day ideas the whole family will enjoy:
Go for a fantastic picnic on Cockatoo island in the harbour, or take the train to the blowhole in Kiama, south of Sydney. Perhaps west, a day in the Blue Mountains?
Don’t forget an old favourite: fish and chips overlooking the water in Manly or Watsons Bay. Does that sound like you? In Manly, keep an eye open for the Manly Mothers Day pram race down the Corso. It’s fun (hint: it’s not a baby in the pram).
Mothers Day Chocolate
For really special chocolate gifts, go luxury. Here is a list of some of the top chocolateries in Sydney. Seriously delicious. If you don’t want to visit the shop or café in person , many of these provide for online ordering as well.
Sydney CBD
- Koko Black Strand Arcade, QVB
- Adora Wentworth Connection Arcade, 2A Bligh Street
- Haigh’s Chocolates Strand Arcade, George Street and QVB
- Lindt Chocolat Café Martin Place, other locations around Sydney
Inner East
- Lixie Chocolaterie 275 Crown Street, Surry Hills
- Kakawa 147 Williams Street, Kings Cross
- Just William 4 William Street, Paddington
Further out
- Zokoko 84 – 90 Old Bathurst Rd, Emu Plains
- Nina’s Chocolates 27 Gymea Bay Rd, Gymea
Online only
- Pana Chocolate Organic, handmade, vegan
- Chocolarts
Cheap Flowers for Mothers Day
Back on the cheap and cheerful Mothers Day ideas, forget having flowers delivered to your hotel. Go out the day before, on the Saturday, to one of Sydney’s many markets. Paddy’s at Haymarket is a big one in the CBD.
Buy your flowers there and get your friendly concierge to put them in the hotel’s cool room for the night.
If you’ve left it till the day itself, try one of the big supermarkets – they all have flowers and they usually open around 0700 (7am). The other traditional place to buy them is at the greengrocers. Many of them sell bunches of flowers.
More Mothers Day Gift Ideas
What about one of these Mothers Day ideas?
- Theatre tickets to a show she’d like to see in Sydney
- A voucher for a beauty treatment at a day spa
- A donation to her favourite charity
- A tour to introduce her to Australian Aboriginal history, art and culture
- Taking her for a special high tea
- Booking a backstage tour of the Opera House
- A coffee, lunch, cocktail or dinner cruise on Sydney harbour
The list goes on and on. There’s no shortage of great Mothers Day ideas. You just need to look around you. What about a visit to the Sydney Biennale if it’s on?
Or perhaps the Bridge climb? A flight over Sydney? A book by an Australian author? A cooking class using bush foods? An opal if you want to give her Mothers Day jewellery?
She’s your mum – or your children’s – you’ll know what will make her happy. And when she’s happy, everyone’s happy, right?