Mother's Day Traditions and Gift Ideas

“Mom”. It’s a big word with a lot of meaning fit into only three letters. Mother’s day is around the corner and every year it has me thinking about what that three letter word means to me… To me, it means guidance, friendship, inspiration, positivity, unconditional love and support and so so much more. There’s not a day that I take for granted the relationship I have with my Mom. I know it’s not too common, and I very well know how lucky I am. Last week, I had the incredible honor of being able to take my Mom to Aurora, New York to visit the MacKenzie-Childs headquarters, meet the team, learn about the craftsmanship of all the products and really be immersed in everything MacKenzie-Childs.

This trip was so beyond special for many reasons, but at the core, because MacKenzie-Childs has been special to my family for a long time. When I was born, my Bubby (my mom’s mom) started a tradition, gifting my mom a MacKenzie-Childs piece for her first ever Mother’s Day and everyone there after. Now, I get to carry on that tradition and gift my Mom a beautiful MacKenzie-Childs piece each year. Visiting HQ made the brand even more special than it already was to Mom and I. You’re able to see and touch the pieces that are made with so much craft and an incredible amount of work and care. The artists are so kind and are absolute experts at what they do. Seeing the processes in person really gives you a whole new appreciation for the uniqueness and hand made nature of each MacKenzie-Childs piece.

We had a blast with the whole MacKenzie-Childs team and the other blogger gals and their wonderful mommas! You’ve heard my perspective now… and since it was a Mother/Daughter trip and ya’ll are such big fans of Deb, I’m going to have my mom take a second to write about her experience and a little bit about what Mother’s Day means to her. We’ve also picked out all of our favorite MacKenzie-Childs pieces that will make for the PERFECT Mother’s Day Gift. Find all of our gift picks and more photos from our trip below! Take it away Mom!

My week with Ali at Camp MacKenzie-Childs was the most fabulous and unforgettable experience. Mother daughter time is so extraordinarily special, and I was eager to see the place and meet the people Ali had been raving about since she was there a year ago. It is always a treat for me to be able to go on work trips with Ali and see first hand why she loves her work so much. It’s really fun being the mom of an influencer. I am so lucky we’re the best of friends and just love being together!

This trip deepened my long-standing connection to MacKenzie Childs in so many ways. I received my first piece of MacKenzie Childs as a Mother’s Day gift from my mom for my first Mother’s Day after Ali was born.  This tradition continued until my mom passed away five years ago, and now Ali has continued the tradition by gifting me a whimsical piece of MacKenzie Childs every Mother’s Day to add to my collection. I have a new found appreciation of the work that goes into creating each and every MacKenzie-Childs piece. I saw during our factory tour how labor intensive the production process of each piece is. Starting with the creative brainstorming sessions to come up with the hundreds of new pieces that are made every season, to the human touch given every single piece during every step of the manufacturing process, is really impressive. Not only are the products beautiful, but the brains and talent behind the brand are even more impressive. I absolutely loved getting to know the brand’s president, creative director, CMO, creator of the GLOW candle division and so many more. What a vibrant group of smart, creative, and intelligent, wildly energetic and brilliantly creative thinkers this group is. I was in heaven getting to know them all during our business meetings, product development discussions and glorious lunches and dinners together. 

Ali and I have always loved being creative together and always have some arts or craft project (or 10) going on. I loved all the creative classes we did together at Camp MacKenzie-Childs. We learned about flower arranging, silk scarf painting, cocktail making, candle making and got to each paint a MacKenzie-Childs cake stand. It was art camp at its finest!!!

I was so impressed by the MacKenzie Childs uniquely whimsical, beautiful table scapes at every meal, along with the world class chef created food pairings that were healthy, delicious works of culinary art. Since my design aesthetic is whimsical, funky and very deliberately mismatched, I just love the infinite pattern mixing potential MacKenzie-Childs offers and was so inspired to mix it up even more! I can’t wait to mix it with my fancy china! Each and every piece just screams, “have fun!”

 I also loved getting to know all of the other influencers and their sweet mamas on the trip. What a fabulous, hard working, fun loving, creative, dynamic group of smart young female entrepreneurs. We had so much fun learning, laughing and lounging together. It was so  fun getting to know them all and hearing about all of their Mother’s Day traditions as well. My favorite Mother’s Day tradition is just hanging out with my family in Madison, Wisconsin where we usually spend an active day outdoors hiking with our dogs, paddle boarding on lake Mendota, boating and barbecuing. 

Here are some of our favorite photos from our week at the MacKenzie-Childs HQ! Shop our favorite Mother’s Day Gift items below!

Here are a few of my mom and I’s favorite pieces! Perfect for Mother’s Day Gifts!

A huge thank you to LVPR and MacKenzie Childs for such a glorious and truly unforgettable Mother’s Day gift of the Camp MacKenzie Childs mother-daughter experience. We will always cherish these memories.

xx Ali & Deb (MOM!)