Each year in May, millions of Americans pay special tribute to the one person who always seems to be there when we need them most: mom.
While some people prefer to celebrate Mother’s Day with dinner, flowers and peace and quiet either at home or at a nice restaurant, businesses in Santa Clarita opened up their doors to allow people to spend quality time with their mothers doing different activities.
AR Workshop co-owner Brianna Burton, along with her mother Rhonda Knights, hosted two DIY home decor Mother’s Day crafting workshops. This was AR’s second annual Mother’s day event. Burton said while normally the store only hosts one workshop on Sundays, the demand was so great that they decided to hold two workshops that both sold out.
“There’s not much to do in Santa Clarita on Mother’s Day except go out to eat and every restaurant has a three-hour wait, so we wanted to offer something fun that grandmothers, mothers and kids could all do together,” Burton said. “It’s kind of sad that there is only one day that we dedicate to celebrate mothers and we should celebrate them all the time. Owning this shop with my mother is the best thing ever and it brought us closer together. I wouldn’t be doing this with anyone else.”
Jennifer Donathan has attended both of AR Workshop’s Mother’s Day celebrations and attended this year’s event with four generations of her family. She said that her family enjoyed being able to create their own crafts, and she is glad that stores like AR Workshop offer opportunities for families to bond.
Pinot’s Palette also celebrated Mother’s Day with a special painting class. Kenneth Alexander, one of the store’s art instructors, said painting is a great way to show appreciation for mothers because it is a relaxing activity.
Daisy Markley stopped by the store to paint with her daughters Gaby and Gillian.
“My mom is artsy, so I wanted to do something that would be fun for her and that was different than the normal go to brunch or hang out a home thing,” Gaby said. “It’s very engaged and you’re doing something with your hands. It’s fun.”
Daisy commented that she enjoyed how calming and free the painting class felt.
“There’s no right or wrong answer here and I think that everyone can do art the way they want,” Daisy said. “It’s very meditative and I love supporting small businesses in Santa Clarita.”
“A mother’s love is super important and women are the uncelebrated backbone of society, with taking care of kids and everything they have to do in between jobs,” Alexander said. “They’re the only thing that keeps the world together.”
