Celebrate Mother’s Day in lockdown: DIY cake, Zoom party & other gifts that will make your mum feel special

The Covid-19 lockdown has brought the world to a standstill. Celebrations of almost every kind, be it weddings, birthday parties, get-togethers, house warming parties have been put on hold, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate Mother’s Day. Sure, you cannot get your mom fancy gifts that you may have thought of or step out of the house, but you can always make her feel special.

We have come up with a quarantine special Mother’s Day gifting guide which consists of simple gifting hacks and DIY tricks that you can follow to give your mom the perfect gift on May 10.

1. When in doubt, bake a cake!

All of us relish and absolutely adore the food our mothers cook for us. While you cannot take your mom out to dinner to a fancy restaurant, this Mother’s Day, you can cook a dish for her that she would love.


If cooking is not your cup of tea, fret not! This easy-peasy lemon-squeezy chocolate cake recipe is simple to follow. So, don your cooking hats and bake a yummy Chocolate Crunchy Cake to pamper mommy dearest.

Ingredients:
Butter (preferably unsalted) (softened): 500 g
Castor sugar: 500 g
Eggs: 9
Refined flour: 460 g
Cocoa powder: 40 g
Baking powder: 10 g.

Method:
-Pre-heat the oven to 180°C
-Grease and line a 7 inch round cake tin with baking paper
-Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and keep aside
-Put the butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat till light and fluffy, and the sugar has dissolved
-Beat in the eggs two at a time allowing at least two minutes between each addition
-Lightly fold in the flour into the mixture
-Pour the batter into the prepared tins and bake for 35 to 40 mins. Check the doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center, if it comes out clean the cake is done
-Transfer onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely

(Recipe courtesy: Chef Ashok Suyal, Pastry Chef at Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort)

If your mom doesn’t have a sweet tooth and isn’t too keen on having chocolate, you can always go for something chatpata and masaaldedaar. Yes, we are talking about a bowl full of delicious Maggi! But wait - this isn’t your run-of-the-mill Maggi noodles.

This Mother’s Day, cook up a storm in the kitchen and serve your mom a bowl full of egg-bhurji Maggi noodles. Follow this simple recipe, courtesy MAGGI and give your mom a snack she would to munch on during the lockdown.

Ingredients:
Pack MAGGI Noodles: 1
Oil: 1 tbsp
Onion (chopped): 1
Tomato (chopped): 1
Green Chilies (chopped): 3
Eggs (beaten): 2
Coriander leaves: 3
Salt to taste

Method:
-Heat the oil in a wok and sauté the onion until they are soft and light brown
-Add tomato and green chilies, sauté till the tomatoes have softened
-Add the beaten eggs and mix the eggs using a fork, to break the eggs into small pieces as they cook
-Cook the MAGGI 2-minute noodles as per the pack instructions and add the egg bhurji preparation. Mix well
-Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot

2. Throw a surprise Zoom party

If you couldn’t be at home with your family for Mother’s Day, fret not. With most of us quarantined in our homes, throwing a party or throwing a get-together for your mom couldn’t have been possible anyway. But we can always make a party happen through technology, can’t we?

With a little bit of time management, you can get your mom and your entire family together on a Zoom call and have a party. From playing antakshari, card games to acting out your favourite films in dumb charades, you can have a gala time and make your mom feel loved.

3. Make a DIY collage

Gifts that have a personal touch never go out of fashion. This Mother’s Day, make a collage out of all the pictures of your mom and take her on a walk down the memory lane.

Here’s how:

i. Come up with a central design or theme of the collage: Decide on what you want your collage to look like. Do you want it to be heart-shaped or square-shaped? Once the shape is decided, use a thick paper as the background so pictures would stick to it easily.

Going for a white background is preferable as it would bring out the contrasting images.

ii. Cut out the images to fit your collage: After you have figured out how to place the images on your collage, it’s time to cut them in such a way that they fit in the shape you decided in step 1. You can choose to add borders, add effects or cut the images in such a way that certain parts of it are highlighted.

Iii. Place the images on your collage & glue them: You cannot move the images once glued. It is therefore advisable to place them first and make sure that the arrangement is right.

Iv: Add embellishments: You can always make your collage look more aesthetic by adding accessories such as ribbons, feathers and fabric.

V: Let it dry: Once all the photographs are pasted, let the collage dry overnight. Once dry, you can put it on display.

4. Share household chores
Our mothers tirelessly work around the clock to keep our homes clean, cook food for us and do the daily chores. This Mother’s Day, you can relieve her off her chores duty and take up some of the daily household work.

What’s more? You can also express your gratitude towards your mother on the special day for tirelessly working daily to make your house a home. That will surely make her feel appreciated.

5. Pamper mommy dearest

India has been in a nation-wide lockdown for almost 2 months and with beauty parlour and salons shut, perhaps the best mother’s day you can give to your mom is take care of her grooming needs.

From colouring her hair to giving her a facial, manicure and pedicure, you can pamper your mother and show how much you truly love her.

Shilpa Joshi Halder, Sr. Scientist Managing Development of Hair Color and Care for South Asia, L’Oréal Paris says, “Start by picking the right shade of Hair Color for her. The L’Oréal Paris Excellence Crème is designed with an exclusive triple protection system that deeply cares for your hair”.

For a facial, start with a cleanser and wipe her face with a wet towel. After cleansing, exfoliate and slough off the top layer of skin cells and excess oils in order to ensure that the ingredients get the most out of the other steps.