Best Mother's Day Promotion Ideas for Your Restaurant

Do you need Mother's Day promotion ideas for your restaurant? Mother’s Day is celebrated every year in more than 50 countries. It’s a day to honor mothers and celebrate their powerful influence on the family and society. 

It’s also a fantastic opportunity to foster loyalty in your regular patrons and attract new clientele. All you need are some promotions and event ideas to get started. No matter your restaurant size, cuisine, or budget, with a little imagination, you can celebrate Mother’s Day at your venue. 

Here are the best Mother's Day promotion ideas for your restaurant. 

Why Mother's Day Promotions Matter

Mother's Day is an annual holiday celebrated around the world. And unlike religious and cultural holidays, Mother’s Day has a universal appeal. 

Most people in the U.S. celebrate Mother’s Day by gifting flowers, candies, and gifts or simply spending time with their mothers. Sometimes, the day is spent honoring mother figures, too. As an ode to mother figures in the New York Times pointed out, those who mother us are sometimes not our parents. 

Enjoying a special Mother’s Day meal together is also popular. And there are two main reasons why a Mother’s Day celebration may include a restaurant meal.

• A Mother’s Day meal is more than just a meal. It is a gift that shows the family’s love and appreciation. That is why Mother’s Day meals are not typically the usual fare, but something extra special.
• Going out to eat on Mother’s Day is also a gift of convenience. It’s an opportunity for the matriarch of the family, who is often the cook in the household, to enjoy a meal without preparing it. 

So if you own or manage a restaurant, you’ll probably be busy on Mother’s Day. And if you put in a little effort with a Mother’s Day promotion, you’ll virtually guarantee a restaurant full of happy customers—the kind of customers who will keep coming back, after Mother’s Day. 

5 Best Mother's Day Promotion Ideas

We’ve covered why it is so important to celebrate Mother’s Day at your establishment. It’s time to explore our five best Mother's Day promotion ideas for your restaurant.

A Special Mother’s Day Menu

Your Mother’s Day specials could be a Mother’s Day Breakfast, Brunch, or Lunch. You could even offer a buffet with tapas. Some of the most popular Mother’s Day restaurant specials are those that offer special menu items. 

If you don’t already offer reservations, this would be the time to do it. It allows you to maintain some sort of control over how many guests you can serve for the day. It also adds a touch of professionalism to your Mother’s Day promotions. 

A Special Treat, on the House

Just because people in your area have their own plans for Mother’s Day, that doesn’t mean they need to miss out on the festivities. Offer your loyal customers a free meal, a discount, or a special treat on the house for mothers who come to dinner at your restaurant with their families.

This could be one of your most delectable desserts, or a pastry delight and a coffee. It could also be a glass of wine or a cocktail. 

Offer a Gift

The special treat does not have to be enjoyed on the premises. You can present mothers with a Mother’s Day gift after their meal, like a small bottle of sparkling wine. Of course, this depends on your budget and inventory, but it is a nice touch that will be highly appreciated by your patrons. 

Just remember that mothers who don’t drink alcohol (for example, pregnant or nursing mothers or teetotallers) will feel left out if wine is all that is on offer. There are several non-alcoholic alternatives to offer at your bar, too.

Have something else available if they decline the wine. Better yet, give them the choice between two gift options, upfront. Alternatively, just stick to less controversial Mother’s Day gift ideas like a small box of chocolates or a bouquet of fresh seasonal flowers.

Personalize the Dining Experience

No Mother’s Day experience should be without some type of decoration. Add an elegant fabric banner to a wall that says “Happy Mother’s Day”. Place fresh flower arrangements as centerpieces on the dining tables. 

But if you want to make mothers feel even more special, personalize the dining experience. When you take the bookings, ask the family for the mother’s name. Set attractive place cards on each table for all these guests of honor. A small wrapped chocolate can be placed next to each mother’s place card.

It’s a small gesture that will make a big impression on your guests. 

Host a Special Mother’s Day Event with Live Entertainment

Host a special Mother’s Day event with live entertainment. And if you’re concerned about space, check out our guide to maximizing space and style in small venues. With a little clever rearranging, you may have more space than you thought possible for your Mother’s Day event. 

Here’s a fun tip if you’re going to be playing music, or better yet, hiring a band or singer for the day. Choose songs that have the word mother in them, or that describe motherhood in some way. This type of event can also incorporate the above Mother’s Day restaurant specials. 

Don’t be afraid to celebrate your Mother’s Day promotions early, with a Mother’s Eve event. This will allow all the moms who have plans on Mother’s Day to still join in on the fun. 

Our 5 Top Tips for Delivering a Memorable Mother’s Day Experience

These five top tips will help you make the most of your Mother's Day promotion ideas for your restaurant. 

1. Get the Right Tech

Get the right tech, and become the perfect venue for every event. Get Perfect Venue’s easy-to-use private event management software, ideal for all types of venues of all sizes.

See all your promotions and events at a glance in the central calendar, so you can avoid errors like double bookings. Keep everyone on your Mother’s Day event team on track with the Tasks feature, so nothing gets forgotten or overlooked.

2. Hire an Event Planner or Coordinator 

Hire an event planner or event coordinator to help with your Mother’s Day event planning, setup, and execution.

This takes the pressure off you if you can’t spare any of your staff members to do all the work. It also allows you to offer a professional and memorable Mother’s Day event. Perfect Venue’s software will also make everything easier for the whole team. 

3. Market Your Mother’s Day Event and Specials Well in Advance

Mother’s Day does not always fall on the same date, but in the U.S. it is always celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Many people plan their Mother's Day celebrations a couple of weeks in advance. So, don’t leave your marketing to the last moment. 

To ensure they attend your venue for Mother’s Day, start marketing your special promotions and events at least a fortnight in advance, and maybe more. 

4. Measure Your Success to Improve on Next Year’s Mother’s Day Specials 

Even when your Mother’s Day promotions appear to have been a great success, there’s always room for improvement. Track your marketing post clicks, booking numbers, meal revenue, and other metrics to accurately measure the success of your Mother’s Day specials. 

Perfect Venue’s analytics feature helps you track and monitor your progress in real-time. So you can continuously improve your special events and promotions for Mother’s Day, and every other day. 

5. Make a Good First Impression

Making a good first impression is just one of the ways you will improve the customer experience in your restaurant. 

So if you don’t already have someone appointed as a greeter, hire someone to greet everyone at the door and say “Happy Mother’s Day”, where appropriate, as your guests walk in. And ensure that your waitrons do the same when they first approach the table. 

How to Market Your Mother's Day Restaurant Promotions

There are several ways to market your Mother's Day promotion ideas for your restaurant to new potential customers. Put up an attractive advert poster outside your establishment. If you have a restaurant website, you can post something there. Do the same on all your venue’s social media accounts, too. 

If you have contact details for your regular patrons, send them each a message to tell them about your Mother’s Day promotions and invite them to attend. 

Where to Find Inspiration for Your Mother’s Day Marketing Ideas

Looking for some inspiration for your Mother’s Day marketing ideas?

Although you can get inspired by your competitors’ Mother’s Day restaurant ideas, always give them your unique and original twist. It is what sets you apart from your competitors that will attract the most patrons for your Mother’s Day promotions and other special events.

If marketing is not the problem, but you need ideas for your venue decorations or table centerpieces, you’ll find plenty of great ideas online. But you can get the inspiration you need right here, with ideas for restaurant design, seating plans, interior decorations, and much more. 

Conclusion

Our five Mother's Day promotion ideas for your restaurant will get you off to a great start. But with a little help, you can make your Mother’s Day promotions even more magical. 

Every special promotion and event at your restaurant will be a little closer to perfect, with Perfect Venue event management software. Perfect Venue helps you turn every celebration into a success. Sign up for your free trial now, and let’s start celebrating together!