We’ve made a lot of photo collages for All Things; this week we’re going to make an idea collage pieced together from past columns to help you have the best Mother’s Day Ever.
For activities we have suggestions for a wine tasting or a picnic. For gifts we’ll point you toward some gourmet cheeses and some crafts that Mom will love.
For a Mother’s Day wine tasting you can’t beat family friendly Dos Mariposas vineyards and lavender farm located at 3976 Bellinger Ln, Medford.
How family friendly are they? The owner’s two daughters (AKA the two butterflies/dos mariposas) designed a special kids charcuterie board and there’s lavender lemonade for the kiddos as well.
There is also a large sandbox play area by the lavender field as well as outdoor games and a small indoor activity area.
But wait, there’s more! For the Dog Moms, Fido is welcome too. Well behaved dogs are welcome in the outdoor areas, only service dogs are allowed inside.
The vineyard will be open noon – 6:00 p.m. on Mother’s Day. Reservations are not required, but they are recommended, call: 541-224-7881.
In the tasting room you can get wine flights as well as bottles of wine, other adult beverages and food – including a delectable charcuterie board for big people.
If you want a more laid-back picnic for Mother’s Day, head on up to McGregor Park at Lost Creek Lake for food, fun, fishing and photos – and it’s free. Well, the fun and photos are free because there are no entry or parking fees for McGregor Park.
The park has 32 picnic areas, so you’ll have no trouble finding a spot to nosh. Only a couple are equipped with electricity and BBQs if you want to do a Mother’s Day Cookout.
If Mom is an angler, there is plenty of bank access to the river as well as an ADA compliant fishing platform. If Mom prefers birding, be sure to pack the binoculars as it’s prime migration season and the park will be hopping with pretty warblers and other colorful birds.
If you need ideas for picnic fare, check out our Mother’s Day picnic recipes in this week’s Recipe Corner.
On to gift ideas! You can’t go wrong with a gourmet cheese and sweets board from our own Rogue Creamery here in Central Point.
Opened in 1933, the Rogue Creamery produces world-class artisan cheeses. You don’t even have to get in your car and drive to taste Rogue Creamery’s cheesy goodness (but you certainly can!) you can join their Cheese Club.
Their gift sets are delectable and will make you extremely popular with Mom on her special day, or make your family get together most memorable if you buy one for yourself and your loved ones and have a big Mother’s Day bash.
If you want to pick and choose your cheeses and sweets (which you’ll need to do to get them in time for Mother’s Day), visit their cheese shop at 311 North Front St. in Central Point.
If you’d like to get crafty for Mother’s Day (and/or help the kids do so), go gather some pinecones and make Mum a permanent bouquet of pinecone flowers.
We’ve included the basic directions for pinecone posies below, along with several photos of “out of the vase” ideas for bouquets Mom can hang on the wall and cherish forever.
You can double down on the fun by buying Mom her own paints and supplies and make the poesy painting a full on Mother’s Day activity for the whole family.
Pinecone Flowers
Materials
• pinecones
• brightly colored acrylic craft paint
• Two flat paint brushes, one small, one large
Paint your pinecone a bright color, be sure to paint in between the “petals” and underneath each. Let dry.
You can arrange your finished flowers in a variety of ways. You can make a bouquet out of them or arrange them on a wreath. If you want to have individual flowers on a stand of “leaves” here are stand instructions:
How to make paper stands:
Materials
• Green cardstock or dried leaves
• Scissors
• Clear tape
Cut strips of the cardstock 6-inches by 2-inches (or size need to fit your individual flowers).
With scissors, cut out leaf shapes from the top of half of the strip. Loop in a circle and secure with clear tape. Fold down the tops of the leaves. Rest the pinecone in the stand.
For a tall bouquet of pinecone flowers you will need:
• Pinecones – long narrow ones for a lupine-type bouquet, mixed shapes and sizes for a “mixed bloom” bouquet, etc.
- Wooden skewers
- Acrylic craft paint – any color!
- Glue – Hot glue and Mod Podge
- Some sort of vase or container (ribbon optional)
- For out of the vase, a pretty board
Instructions
Paint cones as above in the first set of instructions.
You can also paint the skewers or leave them au natural.
Hot glue a skewer to the base of each cone and arrange in a vase or on the board with faux foliage.
