Moms Could Receive Different Gifts This Mothers' Day

In an ordinary year, Americans spend on average nearly two hundred dollars each celebrating moms on the second Sunday in May. But this spring, widespread unease about the coronavirus is forcing many people to reconsider just flowers and brunch.

The National Retail Federation reported that almost 80 percent of consumers plan on celebrating moms this weekend, but in order to do so, many of them are having to think a little outside of the box.

One creative idea that’s been drumming up more Mothers’ Day business than usual is boozy ice cream. Melissa Tavss founded Tipsy Scoop, a New York City-based ice “barlour” in 2014. She says online orders have been on the rise since social distancing measure were enacted.

“I was looking at the orders for next Thursday and they’re already up there. So yes, we always do a Mothers’ Day pack but this year, I would say, the shipping and at home delivery option is more popular than ever.”

Tavss says ice cream making has been a big part of her family for generations. Tipsy Scoop is her personal twist on the family recipe. Case in point, the Mothers’ Day pack featuring four pints of vibrant ice cream.

“For Mothers’ Day, the flavors we choose are always really bright colorful pinks and reds, and they sort of look-ish like a bouquet of flowers, at least with those colors,” she said. “And it’s sort of based on what we’ve seen mothers and daughters gravitate toward or get in the store.”

Flavors include cake batter vodka martini, strawberry white sangria sorbet, dark chocolate whiskey salted caramel, and raspberry limoncello sorbet.

Tipsy Scoop has also been promoting virtual togetherness with weekly online cocktail parties.

“People can purchase the cocktail kit from us and then follow along on our Instagram Live, if that’s something they want to do, sort of with their moms—whether it be virtually or if they’re actually together.”

Tavss said Tipsy Scoop was lucky to have already set up a national shipping mechanism before most New York City brick and mortar shops closed.

“We’ve been doing nationwide shipping of our ice cream packs, so four pint packs and six pint packs, for a while now, probably at least four years,” she added.

Boozy ice cream is not the only online orderable gift reportedly seeing a rise this Mothers’ Day. Electronics, houseware, gardening tools, and books are also enjoying increased sales for the holiday.