Future Mother’s Day Trends: Sharing the ‘Motherload’

On the brink of burnout and with a motherhood recession on the horizon, supporting mothers at home by readdressing the balance, offering actionable solutions and designing with their unmet needs has never been more important. 

Future Mother’s Day trends will see brands use this occasion as an opportunity to amplify the invisible labour of mothers and join in the advocacy for change.  

Over the coming years, we’ll see societal shifts impacting how consumers choose to celebrate Mother’s Day. In particular, a growing sense that one single day fails to make up for the lack of support and pressure that mothers carry the rest of the year. With increases in the cost of childcare set to continue, impacting the US and UK in particular, the cost of living crisis is also disproportionally impacting women’s mental health. 

According to research from the Centre for Progressive Policy, almost half working-age women in the UK do 45 hours of unpaid care a week. CPP found unpaid work “disproportionately impacts women and exacerbates workplace inequality.” This means a situation that has always felt impossible for many has intensified and the emotional and physical strains felt by mothers is reaching breaking point. 

The Future of Mother’s Day Gifts and Greetings

As we look ahead to 2024, we’ll see more realism in sentiment, recognising the mental load that mothers tend to bear on behalf of the family. Gifting should centre around products and services that continue giving long after the occasion, pairing treats with practical support over the long term. 

It takes a village

Gifts and greetings move beyond traditional categories as we look to celebrate ‘our people’; the ones who get us through life whether they are the families we are born into or not. This celebration of our ‘village’ both figuratively and literally inspires smiling faces, moments of connection in everyday life and hand-drawn lettering with inclusive, supportive messages encouraging mothers to ‘lean on us’. 

Equality of household management

The Fair Play game, released this year, delivers a time and anxiety saving system that offers couples a completely new way to divvy up their domestic responsibilities. It started with Eve Rodsky’s “Sh*t I Do” spreadsheet – a list of all the invisible tasks it takes to run a home but developed into a gamified system with a figurative card game you can play with your partner.  

How could you help normalise and support conversations around the challenges and triumphs that come with modern-day motherhood? If you’re working in the Gift & Greetings industry, our Future of Celebration 2024 report includes insight into the mindsets and behaviours impacting across multiple occasions, from Mother’s Day trends to Easter and Valentine’s day, and includes everyday celebrations.