Mothers Day 2026 Disappointment Thread

[Tinklapo]

Starting a thread for those of us who feel disappointed, unappreciated and let down this Mothers Day.

I’ll start. DH went away to stay with his mum this weekend (2 hours away, nice thought as she’s elderly and unsure how many more Mother’s Days there will be). He said he would be home at 12 so I (stupidly) assumed we would do something as a family but this morning he has told me that he won’t be home until this evening as he’s going to a football match local to his mums.

He’s left me no card, no gift and now I need to spend today doing what I do every day and look after the kids, do all the cooking etc. Feeling totally unappreciated.

We had a conversation last week about Mother’s Day and I said one thing I would love is some time to myself to recharge my batteries. I’ll be making sure I book myself for a long spa weekend next Mother’s Day!

My DD is autistic and currently going through a mental health crisis so I wasn’t expecting anything. I took her out to a shop she wanted to go to which was huge as she’s been unable to leave the house recently and have just cleaned ready for tomorrow and done the washing and I now need to make dinner. I am not sure if I’m disappointed. It’s been a shitty few months so this feels no worse than other recent shit. DPs dad died yesterday so he’s in no mood for celebrating (reasonably so) and we had to cancel our weekend away plans for this weekend due to DDs mental health so it’s all a bit crap really.

I am at work on a 13 hour shift. When I get home at around 9pm I am just hoping there will be some leftovers to eat 😋 🙏
I did get a card this morning but would not be bothered if not.
It does seem a bit odd, all the emphasis on one day. It just seems like another excuse for the shops to flog a load of tat tbh. Also reading these posts if your family are ungrateful/ non helpful 364 days per year present / breakfast in bed won't help with that.

No cards, no presents, no cup of tea and only one of my kids has actually even said happy mothers day to me. Mine are 12,15 and 17.

I wouldn’t say I drummed it into dh, but when dd15 was little she would make me breakfast and a card and would try to help with chores. Ds8 is still like that - he got me a little gift ( I actually paid for it but he chose it for me!) and he made a card.

My dd doesn’t appreciate me in the slightest. I don’t know what I did wrong raising her . I have always modelled kindness and generosity, and try to buy her thoughtful gifts and do little things to make her happy. Perhaps I haven’t been strict enough. She is a “really great person” in other respects - kind and empathetic with friends, successful at school, etc. It’s just me she treats like crap!

At midday i told her I was disappointed she didn’t even bother to say happy Mother’s Day. She claimed she did, and I didn’t hear her.

She popped into the local supermarket twice this week on Weds and Thurs to buy sweets with her friend. So I know she walked past the cards and the £2 bunches of daffodils - both of which she knows I’d appreciate.

It does make me sad, because I think I’ve done something very wrong raising her! Perhaps after the difficult teenage years are over she’ll realise that I wasn’t a terrible mum, and perhaps she’ll mend her ways.

Im not going to hold my breath.

All of these are disgraceful! Get divorced, the lot of you.

I went through this shit for years, and it’s the principle of it obviously - we know that we’re mums every day and that nobody desperately needs a card and some tulips. These selfish pig men, who set the precedent for children to then also take their mum for granted, should be having their brains examined for science.

Get divorced, I tell ya! Then make it thoroughly clear to the children the point behind it all and I don’t want to hear any bullshit about ‘it’s just a money making scheme’ bla bla bla. Let’s tell those people to forget Christmas and birthdays themselves then, eh? These men are your enemies, I mean it seriously. If your partner in life won’t buy you a bunch of daffs or make you a cup of tea, that man does not love you and I will die on this hill.

How?

My nearly 21 year old said he was too skint to get a present and too skint to come home.

My 19 year old said he was too busy.

Ive told them both I would at least have expected a card, and that i am disappointed not to get one. I spent most of the day cooking for my parents which was nice enough but I didn't really feel the mothers day love.

Thank god for school and nursery making cards with the kids cos D H has done bugger all!
This is the man who questionned why we have international womens day but not international mens day.

It was me who very nearly completely forgot Mother's Day.

It happened because my wonderful DH (and father of my three adult DDs died last week and just none of us have had the bandwidth to think of anything else. It just hasn't been important this year.

I did phone my 91 year old mother, though she really wasn't expecting anything of me. I have had a couple of cards from my DDs and in the end we did go out for coffee and cake, which was a nice outing.

I can't say any of us currently feel much like celebrating Mother's Day or anything else right now though, so very muted and that's how I feel most comfortable at the moment.

Mixed feelings here. DP went out and got the most generic crap from Tesco yesterday morning. Presented it to me this morning. Had got my son (11) to write the card but hadn’t involved him in any way other than that. So today DS was upset because I’d told him I wanted this specific vase (cheap in Aldi) so when dad took him out to tell him. But he didn’t. There were no plans made but he did take the younger kids out for a bit so that’s something.

I know compared to some I’m lucky he remembered and was present but it does feel like the bare minimum and for context I’ve been struggling lately and had a really hard time of it in general over the last year. So maybe a bit more of a personalised gift or a nice lunch might have been a bit more preferable. But it is a what it is.

I’m so sorry for your loss

Two teenage DS’S, 14 and 16, their grandmother and sometimes father (we’re separated) would take them out when they were younger/give them some money to buy me something, yet today I have received absolutely nothing. They regularly go into shops to buy themselves things now they are older, they could have easily gotten me a card at the very least. They haven’t even wished me a happy Mother’s Day. I’m feeling really hurt and disappointed. Wondering where I’ve gone wrong raising two sons who are so thoughtless!

Upset more than anything…..
step daughter 17 who I’ve raised for several years, who I take to and from work, clean, cook, glorified taxi service. guided, bought up etc. didnt even get a message.
things have been different since I had my son last May 😢

Op book yourself a spa weekend for the next free weekend you have and just tell DH he is having the kids that weekend and tough shit.

I did book a massage for myself on DH’s first father’s day. Was great.

We went out for lunch which was nice, then came home and I changed DS’s nappy and put him down for a nap. DH fell asleep in a food coma on the sofa whilst I went to the shops to get last bits for DS’s 2nd birthday on Tuesday.

Came home to find him still asleep on the sofa, breakfast washing up not done and house still a tip from this morning. Woke him to ask for help tidying up, he complained he never gets time to relax (lol), and just wanted a Sunday afternoon to himself.

He went out about 2 hours ago to his sport/hobby which he does every Sunday afternoon and won’t be home until DS is bathed and in bed.

Sorry to those of you that have had a disappointing day. I agree that one day a year to make mum feel special and appreciated isn't too much to ask.

I've spent most of the day feeling pretty sad. My autistic son has been in meltdown mode since yesterday evening so my husband and I have been in survival mode mainly. My husband helped our son with a card and he also got us a takeaway for dinner which I enjoyed , but my adult kids have been absent. I got a text from one child wishing me a happy mother's day but they didn't send a card and forgot to send the gift they bought me. The other adult child did nothing , not even a message.

I do think part of the problem is so many schools have abandoned acknowledging Mother’s Day for fear of upsetting children in difficult situations or something.
I recall making Daffodil cards and picking bunches of primroses to decorate a tray for breakfast in bed for my mother and my own children always made cards at school and did similar. It’s a great shame that schools don’t want to show appreciation for the parents of the children in their care. (Do they acknowledge Father’s Day?).
On the other hand there have been adverts on TV of children buying something from Pandora for their mothers. These have annoyed me intensely as of course no small child is able to go to Pandora and buy Mum a bracelet. It puts commercial pressures on children. But one might have thought it would have given a hint to a few fathers watching. 🤔💡

💯💯💯

My DH asked yesterday what I wanted for Mother’s Day. I said all I want is a lay in ( for context we have two DC, one who is only 6 months so I’m currently on mat leave). The 6 month old is still in with us in our room.
He replied by saying “you get a lay in every day”, which I snuffed at. He thinks because he gets up for the gym 2 days a week at 5am, that 6am is a lay in. I get up, and get two kids ready and off to nursery (first born) every morning.
so anyway, I assumed it was a joke and I would get my lay in.
nope. My DH got up with my first born this morning, and left my second in the cot in the room with me. So they woke me up at 7:30am this morning. I gave my DH some time to get them up and leave me in bed, to no avail. I ended up getting up with them at 9am when they started getting huffy and understandably wanted their bottle 🤣
I have been grumpy all day and he asked me why and I said I didn’t get the only thing I wanted for Mother’s Day. I don’t want gifts, expensive trips etc. just a damn lay in!!!
he has said that’s exactly what I got. Just because I stayed in bed later than him. I just wanted to sleep ☹️☹️

I got a hastily written card and a mug (which I would have bought anyway, to replace the one toddler broke recently)
I have 3 under 3 (son plus twins) and some days I'm literally too tired to stand upright.
A £4 bunch of tulips and an hour to myself would have been nice.

You have 2 children under the age of 3 and he's just informed you he's going to a football game??? What an absolute selfish bastard. I'd be doing more than booking yourself a spa visit my god

My husband always makes an effort with the kids on Mother's Day, but still no thought from my eldest DD17 today. I'm really hurt tbh, with all the extra effort I put into making things nice for her all the time 😞

DS was sweet. Made me a card and brought me toast in bed. Not a word from DH or DD. The house is a tip. I’m surprised by how hurt I feel. Late this afternoon I went for a long drive with a mug of tea and podcasts. Before I left I checked to see if flowers or gifts had been hidden anywhere. Nothing.

I really did not want to come home at all. Eventually I had to.

The lounge has been cleaned, presents on the table and someone baked a cake. I’m guessing Amazon delivered a last minute purchase from last night.

But my mood has fallen so After a day of feeling really yuck that I’m now resenting the pressure to pretend everything is ok and that actually they were thoughtful and caring all along.

ETA: every year before this has been tea in bed, cards, a gift and some flowers. This year is a massive anomaly.

You assumed lol

He clearly 'assumed' that you'd be totally fine with the Mother's Day that you've had 😐

On the flip side, every Mother’s Day I’m disappointed by my mother’s reaction to whatever I’ve done to try and celebrate. This year we went out for lunch, which I paid for, and she got a card and a bottle of expensive gin, which is her drink of choice. It was carefully chosen based on her preferences. But that wasn’t enough. I don’t know what would be. She seems to think being a mother is enough to mean we have to pander to her every need for all eternity. It’s not. She’s an awful mother and a terrible person and since 365 days a year are all about her I really don’t know why I still bother.