Most mums are easily pleased when it comes to gifts from their children, and anything handmade with love is guaranteed to melt her heart. Here are a few ideas for the kids to try this Mother’s Day.

Cards

Kids love being knee-deep in glitter and glue, so let them loose with the craft kit to create a special card she’ll want to keep forever.

You’ll need:

• Plain card with envelope, or coloured card you can cut to size
• PVA glue, glue stick or double-sided sticky tape
• Children’s safety scissors or sharp scissors (be on hand to help with these)
• Assorted fabric, card, ribbon, pipe cleaners, sequins and ‘jewels’ – check out your local craft shop or supermarket for big ‘craft buckets’ filled with crepe paper, stickers, pompoms and glitter.

How to make:

1. Use a card-sized piece of fabric for a background, or ribbon for a frame, and you’re halfway there. Then just add the design of your choice.
2. Flowers, cupcakes, butterflies and love hearts are all simple to draw, or create from coloured card. Or you could spell out MUM in contrasting fabric.
3. Handprint flowers are cute – paint the stalk, then use thumb and fingerprints for the centre dot and petals. Or make a love heart or butterfly using the shape of their hands.
4. Photos work well too – stick a cute in the centre of hearts, or ribbon frames. Or, stick on a bunch of flowers made from coloured card, and place a photo in the centre of each.
5. Get them to write a message, or help them paste a poem inside.

Top Mum Tip: “Save hours of cleaning, by either setting up an alfresco workshop in your garden or lying down some plastic sheeting on your floor. You’ll enjoy it more knowing you don’t have to clean up afterwards! Also, keep wipes handy to clean up little fingers before you end up with paw-prints all over your house...” Rachael, Mum to William (4) and Ben (2).
 

Gift ideas

• Flowerpot art: Find a terracotta pot and use acrylic paints to create a bold, repeating pattern, wrap it in tissue and ribbon and decorate, or even mosaic it with old bits of tile.
• Tea-light or candle holder: Take an empty glass jar and paste scraps of coloured tissue paper and cut-out patterns over the outside. Finish with a layer of PVA glue and pop in a candle for a pretty coloured glow.
• Picture frame: Buy a simple box-frame and fill with kids artwork, photos and mementos that remind you of a special time together.
• ‘My mum’ memory book: Take a scrapbook and fill it with photos and keepsakes. Decorate with ribbon borders and add little stories about favourite things you’ve done together.

Mother’s Day cupcakes

This is a great way to keep children occupied and create something special. Kids love baking, and even the smallest family members can help with stirring, icing and sprinkling. Just be prepared for a little mess and warn them not to scoff too much along the way.

Top tip: Ready-made sugar paste is a great way for kids to express themselves without the mess of sticky butter icing.

You’ll need:

12 Cupcakes (see below)
Cupcake cases
White and coloured sugar paste icing blocks
Edible glitter and assorted decorations
Assorted cutters

For the cupcakes:

125g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
125g caster sugar
125g self-raising flour
2 eggs
Pinch salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180C or Gas mark 5
2. Line a muffin tin with 12 cake cases
3. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy
4. Beat in the eggs
5. Fold in the flour and salt
6. Divide the mixture between the 12 cases and bake for 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7. Leave to cool.

To decorate:

1. Cut out circles of coloured paste to fit the cakes.
2. Use cutters (or a knife) to create flowers, stars, hearts or polka dots in contrasting colours – or spell out a message using a different letter for each cake.
3. You could also roll balls of icing to create 3d fruit or flowers.
4. Finish with silver balls, edible glitter, sprinkles, chocolate buttons or whatever you like!