The best things to do on Mother’s Day in London

Tate Modern’s brilliant new exhibition on Margate’s finest export is a solid choice of Mother’s Day activity if the matriarch in your life is more into searing feminist art than flowers and choccies.

Positioned as a 40-year retrospective through the pioneering artist’s vast and varied repertoire, the show lays bare Emin’s life through her distinct and often unsettling art, from career highs – such as the iconic, Turner Prize-nominated ‘My Bed’, which is every bit as shocking and moving today as it was in 1998 – to stark personal lows in work depicting her experiences with sexual violence, abortion, and recent life-threatening illness.

As you can imagine, with such subject matter, it is not always comfortable viewing, and you (and your ma) are liable to feel a bit wrung out by the time you leave. But you certainly won’t regret seeing it.

If your old girl is a fab of ballet, you can’t go wrong with tickets to see romantic classic Giselle at the Royal Opera House. If you’re not familiar with the story, the eponymous heroine falls in love with the charming Albrecht, who she believes to be a fellow peasant. But when she discovers him to be a nobleman, betrothed to a princess, Giselle dramatically stabs herself. From then on she is fated to spend her days with the Wilis, a group of vengeful women ghosts who were all jilted and died of broken hearts.  

Peter Wright’s 1985 production of Giselle, originally choreographed in 1841 by Marius Petipa, is ageing like fine wine. Last revived in 2021, the timeless romantic ballet returns to the Royal Opera House in 2026, and while it may be a bit OTT (no man is worth killing yourself over), but while ghosting might take on a different meaning in 2026, this tale of betrayal and revenge still resonates today.

‘Exuberance’ is the word that comes to mind when viewing The Picture Comes First, nonagenarian painter Rose Wylie’s marvellous retrospective at the Royal Academy. The 91-year-old Wylie is the first female painter to have a full retrospective in the space, a fact the institution has shouted proudly about, though on many levels it seems rather shameful given its 250+ year residency in Burlington House. Nevertheless, it only adds to Wylie’s credentials as a trailblazing feminist artist. The RA’s high ceilings and grand interiors act as a brilliant canvas for the artist’s large-scale, often child-like works. And though hugely varied in their subject matter – ranging from the Blitz to Nicole Kidman – her paintings are unified by a joyful and vibrant energy which beams out from all of them. Equal parts puzzling, entertaining and thoughtful, this show is guaranteed to leave you (and your mum) in a better mood than when you arrived.

There's a dizzying array of ABBA-themed experiences in London right now, including holographic gig ABBA Voyage and pricy dinner experience Mamma Mia! The Party. But sometimes, the oldies really are the goodies. Stage musical Mamma Mia! has been running for decades, and it's a heartwarming slice of storytelling that’ll warm your cockles, and send you and your Mum out singing into the night.  

If your mother was cool enough to have spent her youth immersed in London’s New Romantics scene – kohl eyeliner, ruffled shirts and all – then this exhibition may well be a joyful blast from the past for her. The Blitz club, the iconic (and we really don’t use that word lightly) Covent Garden nightclub where New Romanticism was born in 1979. Forty years after it closed, the trailblazing club’s atmosphere has been recreated at the Design Musesum through a ‘sensory extravaganza’ incorporating music, film, art, graphic design and some very ostentatious outfits. 

Enjoy a shipshape night of music on a gently-bobbing pontoon at St Katharine Docks’ Floating Jazz evenings, which offer laidback listening afternoons and gorgeous vistas over the water. Its Mother’s Day session will be packed full of performances from live musicians, including artist in residence Olivia Swann, who covers legendary female artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Julie London, Blossom Dearie, and Judy Garland. There are blankets available to keep warm, guests receive a complimentary glass of British sparkling wine from Nyetimber on arrival, and food is also available from seafood restaurant The Melusine. 

It’s Henry VIII’s six wives – and they’ve back, bitch, to re-tell ‘her-story’ as a slick, sassy girl band. Think Euro-pop remixes of ‘Greensleeves’, Anne Boleyn spouting tweenage text-speak, and K-Howard warbling #MeToo tales of gropey employers.

Afternoon tea is a classic Mother’s Day activity, so you can’t go wrong with this offering from Biscuiteers, available at both its Notting Hill and Belgravia cafés for a month from March 8. The spread will include Biscuiteers’ signature hand-iced biscuits, Tregothnan tea, plus the mini sandwiches (with fillings like cheese and fig, ham and truffle and smoked salmon and cream cheese), patisserie (think coconut and mango mousse cake and strawberry and champagne macarons) and freshly baked scones crucial to any good afternoon tea. If you’re willing to spend a little extra on mumsie, you can add a glass of bubbly or a DIY biscuit icing session. There’s also a complimentary (undisclosed) gift included for the woman of the hour.

Immersive bingo specialists Dabbers are throwing a Mother’s Day special that will definitely get you in the good books. At its City location, you can enjoy three rounds of classic bingo all sound-tracked to old-school hits, with crowd-pleasing prizes like flowers, chocolates and indulgent pampering sessions. Even if you don’t win, you’ll come away smiling: Dabbers’ bingo callers are all moonlighting comedians, you see.