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Top green gifts for Mother's Day from Waste Awareness Wales

With Mother’s Day on 2 March this year, Welsh mums are in for a bit of well deserved pampering. Wales’ hardworking mums definitely deserve a treat, and this year Waste Awareness Wales has released a list of suggestions for the ultimate Mother’s Day gifts – presents that will both treat our mums and reduce the amount of waste that normally goes to landfill after the special day.

Councillor Richard Parry-Hughes, chairperson of Waste Awareness Wales said:

"Mother’s day is a great time of year for mums to be pampered! Some gifts can create extra waste like packaging and wrapping, which takes up valuable room in our landfill sites. We all need to reduce the amount we throw out each year, so we’ve put together our top five gifts that both thank mums for all their work, and also help us all make this Mother’s Day the greenest ever."

The top five ideas from Waste Awareness Wales are:

1. Head for the kitchen
   From making cups of tea and a Sunday roast to an indulgent chocolate cake, ban mums from the kitchen and treat them with homemade goodies. Help young children bake simple meals or repay your mum for years of help by inviting her over for a special home cooked meal - and remember to compost the tea bags and any fruit and vegetable peelings afterwards.
   
   
2. Enforce a day off
   Gather together spare materials and scrap paper and help younger children make a special homemade voucher entitling their mum to a day of pampering from the rest of the family.
   
   
3. Get creative with your cards
   A personalised card or gift can be a great present – and by reusing items such as card or ribbon it helps reduce waste from being binned. Whether it’s a fantastic card or a homemade present, mothers are sure to love it.
   
   
4. Flowers with a difference
   Instead of a big bunch of flowers, why not try planting her favourite flowers in the garden or pretty pot for a gift that lasts all year round. If you do give bunches of flowers, remember to compost them afterwards.
   
   
5. A surprise day out
   As the ultimate ‘waste-free’ gift, prepare a day out as a surprise – whether it’s a picnic in the park, a meal out or a trip to a local attraction she’s always wanted to go to, treat her with a mystery trip.