Mother’s Day can be a complex holiday for single moms. While it’s certainly important to celebrate, reflect, and receive recognition for all we do as moms, the holiday can stir up a wave of high and low emotions. Everything from social media to the holiday's marketing emphasis on traditional families can make single moms feel excluded. Despite the existence of National Single Parent Day on March 21st every year, it pales in comparison to the recognition of Mother’s Day. Even as single motherhood has evolved and steadily grown, with more women opting for ‘non-traditional’ families. Here are a few ways to manage the highs and lows of Mother’s Day as a single mom.

Link Up With Single Moms 

Spending Mother's Day with other single moms is a great way to create a celebratory environment for you to reflect and share your experience in motherhood. The opportunity to bond, give parenting advice, laugh until you cry (or the other way around), and talk openly about how you’re taking care of yourself with moms who understand is priceless. It’s a great option if you’re a mom who feels Mother’s Day brings more lows than highs. If you’re looking for a community of single moms, join our free app.

Celebrate National Single Parent Day Instead 

It’s simple—recognition is important! It’s time to apply pressure on the companies and brands we love to ‘keep the same energy’ on National Single Parent Day as Mother’s Day. Why is this important? Because single moms are good for business! Single moms raise a fourth of US children, which means we have a lot of buying power, and it’s about time we tap into it! Let’s look at economics. With over 15 million single moms in the US raising around 22 million kids, it’s safe to say it’s time to build our own table. A table that requires companies and brands to build with us in mind. National Single Parent Day is a great platform to cause positive disruption for the recognition and celebration of single motherhood.

Opt For a Weekend Getaway

Travel doesn’t solve everything, but we love a quick getaway as a temporary solution or reset! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with allowing yourself to feel the highs and lows of Mother’s Day. What’s better than celebrating a high on the beach in a bikini with a drink in hand? On the flip side, we’d argue that running away from your problems to the beach in a bikini with a drink in hand is just as good. In all seriousness, a change of scenery can work wonders for navigating the waves of high and low emotions the holiday brings. As single moms, we’re often consumed with the day-to-day and don’t come up for air as often as we probably should. Mother’s Day weekend could be the perfect time for a getaway.

Spend Quality Time With Your Kids 

This might be an unpopular Mother’s Day opinion, but the reality is, not all single moms can spend the holiday away from their kids. So, making it a fun family day by spending time doing activities outside your normal routine could be a great way to offset having your kids on Mother’s day. Try something fun the kids have been asking to do or take them to a place you’ve been wanting to go but haven’t. Creating joyful memories as a family tradition on the holiday can be really special for your kids to look back on. For the record, having your kids on Mother’s Day is a gift. For moms with older kids, give them a taste of their world revolving around you for a change!

While none of these options will take away the highs and lows Mother’s Day might bring completely, that’s not the point. Finding ways to manage how you feel on Mother's Day, or any other day, when you’re experiencing a wide range of emotions is key. Happy Mother’s Day to you! Single motherhood is a journey, and you’re doing it gracefully. We love that for you, cheers!