Weekend Getaway Trips for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is on May 10, 2009. And I bet you haven't really had the time to think about what you're going to get for your Mom. Sure she's still going to be happy and love you just the same even if you only send her an email card at the last minute.

But Mother's Day aint about you and her - It's about her. Period. So you want to do something - give her something - which will she likes and enjoys and will remember as a happy memory. LIke a weekend getaway trip - no cooking, no laundry, no cleaning up, no doorbells or messages - just fun and travel and enjoyment and good food.

Here's a few guidelines, special destinations and deals which are just made for Mother's Day. We need to start with one of two options - city or wine country. If it's city, the focus is on shopping, brunch and fine dining, spa treatments, theater, museums and other urban attractions. If it's wine country, it's more of a sedate experience - with tours of wineries, maybe a cooking class, brunch, picnic, a special spa treatment, etc.

You'll notice the spas and brunches turn up in both city and wine country trips. So we're going to focus on that, and make sure both are central components of any trip plan. Examples below.

I'm not saying you need to put your Mom on a flight to New York. Consider this as an example of how to make the most out of Mother's Day weekend getaway trips in big cities.

Let's start with the essentials - Mom's going to need a place to stay. Big New York hotels like the Plaza, the Roosevelt and the Muse are offering 'shopaholic' packages, which include discounts and special access at places like Macy's. Takes care of both shopping and accomodations.

Which leaves you with finding a good spa for a special mother's day treatment, a fine restaurant offering a Mother's Day brunch, another good restaurant for pre-theater dinner and then the show.

Use Saturday for shopping, the spa treatment and sight-seeing. That leaves a leisurely Sunday for brunch, rest & relaxation, and the evening show and dinner. Do all this properly, and I can assure you your Mother will consider all the pain you caused over n years (n=your age+9 months) well worth it.

To help you out, here's a list of the best spas in New York City, all the NYC restaurants offering Mother's Day brunches, and a Broadway guide including shows, tickets and pre-theater dinner suggestions.

Let's move from the urbanity of the Big Apple to the artistic taste of Yountville, CA. This is wine country at it's finest - the restaurants, the wineries and wine tastings, the cooking schools, the art galleries, the exclusive spas, the quaint shopping, the special foods...

Certainly there's no shortage of either hotels or restaurants offering a wine country experience complete with Mother's Day special brunches, teas, other events and package deals. There's too many options for me to be able to offer specific recommendations, but I can tell you where to start - here and here.

If you're stumped for hotels, you might want to consider the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa has some excellent wine country getaway packages.

And whatever else you do or don't do, don't forget to enjoy the Napa Valley Wine Train and visit the headquarters of the CIA - that's short for the Culinary Institute of America.

London double-decker photo by Annie Mole via flickr (creative commons).