10 Fun Things to Do With Mom on Mother’s Day in New England

Mother’s day is fast approaching so it is time to start thinking about what you are going to do to make Mom feel special. Let’s face it, the breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner thing has been done to death. And breakfast in bed… this well-meaning activity usually means Mom is going to have to spend some substantial time putting the kitchen back together…

So we decided to come up with 10 things you can do with Mom in New England to help her to feel special on her special day…

1. Take Mom to an Amusement Park
May is early in the season so not all amusement parks are open, however there is still a nice selection of parks to take Mom to for Mother’s Day:

• Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH
• Lake Compounce in Bristol, CT
• Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, CT
• Six Flags New England in Agawam, MA

2. Take Mom for a Boat Ride

Swan Boat in Boston Public Garden

No, not a traditional boat, something a little different, something like…

• Taking Mom for a tour of Boston that includes views of Boston and Cambridge from the Charles River in a Boston Duck Tour
• Taking Mom for a Gondola ride along the Woonasquatucket and Providence Rivers in Providence
• Taking Mom for morning, afternoon, or sunset sail aboard the 4-masted schooner Margaret Todd in Bar Harbor
• Taking Mom for a ride in one of Boston’s Swan Boats in the Boston Public Garden

3. Go on a Family Hike
How about getting some exercise as a family on Mother’s Day? Of course you could tackle a portion of any of New England’s long distance hikes like a portion of the Appalachian Trail or the Long Trail in Vermont. But if that is too ambitious for Mother’s Day you could always opt for a more manageable hike in many of the state parks that dot the six New England states.

4. Go for a Ghost Walk
How about some spine-tingling fun for Mom and the whole family. Go on one of New England’s many wonderful ghost tours, including:

• Dead of Night Ghost Tours in Plymouth, MA
• Ghosts and Gravestones in Boston, MA
• Ghost Tours of Newport in Newport, RI
• New England Curiosities in Portsmouth, NH
• Queen City Ghostwalk in Burlington, VT (private scheduled tours now as weather permits)
• Salem Night Tour in Salem, MA

5. How About Celebrating Mother’s Day with a Festival?
There are many great festivals that you can take Mom to on Mother’s Day, including:

• The Dogwood Festival at the Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield, CT
• The Misquamicut Spring Festival at Misquamicut State Beach, RI
• The Mother’s Day Festival at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA
• The Mother’s Day Arts & Crafts On the Green in Milford, CT
• The Mother’s Day Weekend Craft Festival in Hampton Falls, NH
• The New Hampshire Renaissance Faire in Kingston, NH
• The New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival in Deerfield, NH
• The Robin Hood Springtime Festival on the Guilford Fairgrounds in Guilford, CT

6. How About Some Flowers for Mom?

Water Garden at Blithewold Mansion

Before you start saying this, too, has been done to death, we are proposing that you take Mom to the flowers rather than giving her flowers. For instance, take Mom to:

• An Arboretum or Botanical Garden such as:
• The Arnold Arboretum in Boston, MA
• The Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, MA
• The Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum in Bristol, RI
• The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, ME
• The Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, MA
• The Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, MA
• The New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA

7. Take Mom to a Play
Admittedly, it might be difficult to take the whole family to a play. It can sometimes be hard to find a family friendly play that is good for Mom and Dad and is still entertaining for the kids. So you may want to pair this with the traditional breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner where you simply give Mom the tickets to the play. One particularly good choice might be Trinity Rep’s Motherhood the Musical in Providence, RI.

8. Give Mom a Day of Beauty at a Spa
Find a resort with a great spa. Mom gets a day of beauty. Dad gets to entertain the kids. At the end of the day get back together for dinner and share your experiences. Some good resort/spas to check out include:

• The Cliff House Resort and Spa in Ogunquit, ME
• The Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod in Chatham, MA
• The Essex, Vermont’s Culinary Resort & Spa in Essex, VT
• The Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa, Whitefield, NH or Wentworth by the Sea, a Marriott Hotel and Spa in New Castle, NH
• The Water’s Edge Resort and Spa in Westbrook, CT
• The Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI

Breaching Humpback Whale

9. Whale Watching Anyone?
For a unique family adventure on Mother’s Day take everyone for a Whale Watch. Remember to dress warm because the water will still be cold, making the air chilly. Some places for whale watching include:

• Bar Harbor Whale Watching Tours in Bar Harbor ME does not do whale watching tours this early in the season but does do Lobster Fishing & Seal Watching tours and Nature Cruise on Mother’s Day weekend
• Boston Whale Watch in Boston, MA
• Cape Cod Whale Watching in Provincetown, MA
• Capt. Bill and Sons Whale Watch in Gloucester, MA
• Granite State Whale Watch in Rye, NH
• New England Aquarium Whale Watch, Boston, MA
• Whale Watching with the Frances Fleet in Narragansett, RI

10. Take Mom to the Zoo
Take Mom and the family on a trip to the zoo. There are many zoos in New England including the:

• Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, CT
• Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford, MA
• Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, MA
• Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, RI
• Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA
• Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, MA

Picture credits: The picture of the Swan Boat is from the Wikimedia Commons. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License. The picture of the Water Garden at Blithewold Mansion is from the Wikimedia Commons. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License. The picture of the breaching Humpback Whale is from the Wikimedia Commons. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.