Penguin books promoting the ill-advised #YourMum hashtag earlier this week was golden for a couple of reasons. 1) A very, very, very cheap laugh during the working day. 2) proof that, for all the amazing activism that can happen on the platform, Twitter is often just the silliest bits of high school 3) a v.timely reminder that Mother's Day is this Sunday and you need to sort the card ASAP before your little sister shouts at you for being the least organised one in the family. If you're lucky enough to get to hang out though, here are some events to share with your Mum this weekend - none of which are going to see Wicked (The Musical) or Olly Murs in concert because if your mum is anything like mine, you’ve already done those things.
**For design minded mums… **
*Alexander McQueen: A Savage Beauty @ V&A, London *
Opens Mar 14
Women Fashion Power @ The Design Museum, London
All weekend
OK so the much talked about Alexander McQueen exhibition is pretty booked up until April BUT there are ways around if it you want to treat a design minded mum to Europe's biggest retrospective of the much-missed designer's work. Get down to London's V&A Museum before doors open early release tickets or sign up for a V&A membership to get preferred entry (maybe make it an extra Mother's Day gift?). As Kate Moss, Kate Middleton and Michelle Obama could confirm, it'll be worth it to see always-beautiful designs that swing between the romantic, gothic, modern natural and grand from his student days to the most dramatic runway shows. If you can't make this weekend, the show runs until August or, take a look at an alternative exhibition at the London Design Museum. Women Fashion Power, a look 'at how princesses, models, CEOs, Dames and designers have used fashion to define and enhance their position in the world' which runs until April 26.
For Mums who are way better at Instagram than you…
From Fri Mar 13
Also opening this weekend is the 2015 edition of FORMAT in Derby. One of the UK’s leading contemporary festivals of photography, this Sunday features plenty for any photography loving mum with a tour of exhibition ‘The Photograph Is Proof’ http://www.formatfestival.com/events/tour-photograph-proofguided by Mumbai based curator Anusha Yada and a guided look at the works on show with Paris based publisher Pierre Bessard. There’s even a party afterwards.
For crafters with a big sense of humour…
Crafternoon Cabaret Club @ The Hospital Club, London
Sun March 15
All mums are different but if yours is the kind that loves spending say, Saturday night down at a Cabaret, secretly hoping to perform but then a calm Sunday at home making say, tiled mirrors then the Crafternoon Cabaret club (develop craft skills while watching "new established acts on the cabaret scene") this Sunday at the Hospital Club is a perfect fit. This time they'll be showing you how to make embroidered Lavendar Sachets alongside the entertainment so you can go away completely calm and smelling great.
***For those who take over the house with flower arrangements every spring… ***
Florimania @ Hampton Court Palace
Fri Mar 13 - Mar 15
From one portmanteau to another, Hampton Court Palace (not one for mums that aren’t so keen on the royal fam) is host to Florimania this weekend. William III's Apartments, probably a lot grander than any ‘apartment’ we’ve ever been in and with a lot less slightly mouldy cheese and off milk in the fridge, have been filled with flower arrangements for mothers’ day weekend while, if you’re really into blooms, there are flower arranging demos throughout the day.
**For those mums who are beating you on the Nike+ app…. **
*Signature Mash Up @ The Hoxton, Shoreditch *
Sat Mar 14
If your mum more into lycra and working her core than Corrie on the sofa (or maybe both, there are a lot of hours in the day) then why not test yourselves together as fashionable gym Frame head to The Hoxton Hotel for a class combining elects of yoga, pilots, dance and fitness. Why not just go to to a gym? Because we don’t know that many gyms where you can go downstairs for a cocktail and something to eat straight afterwards.
For the film fan….
*Suite Francaise *
In UK cinemas from Mar 13
You won’t be able to have a catch up while the film is actually on, but going to the cinema is always a good way to spend a Sunday whether it’s a mothering one or not. This weekend go and see this new WWII drama based on the novel of the same name by Irène Némirovsky. Set in occupied France, it’s a story of war, forbidden love and (oops) the relationship between a woman and her domineering mother-in-law. Michelle Williams, Kristin Scott Thomas, Margot Robbie and Sam Riley star.
**For the mum that’s competitive (and loves a free glass of fizz)… **
All Star Lanes@ Deansgate, Manchester
Sun Mar 15
You might need to recruit some friends or the rest of a family for this one as Ten Pin Bowling is all about excessive competitiveness but All Star Lanes are offering an extra incentive to bring your mum along to their Manchester venue this weekend with a free glass of prosecco AND free puddings for the whole family.
**If she’d rather just go raving… **
*Bloc Weekend @ Butlins, Minehead *
Fri Mar 13 - Sun Mar 15
And if your mum loves raving, then she’ll be pleased to know there are a still some tickets for the Bloc Weekender in Minehead. Pearson Sound, Joy Orbison, Levon Vincent, Shanti Celeste, Helena Hauff, Hudson Mohawke, Modeselektor and more line up.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.