8 Things to Do in Seattle With Mom on Mother’s Day

Grab brunch at Oddfellows Cafe+Bar, a Capitol Hill hot spot. The local restaurant serves a range of yummy breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes, each made sustainably with local and organic ingredients. From brioche French toast with mascarpone to the porchetta sandwich made with slow-roasted pork, Oddfellows has both classic and fresh breakfast favorites, all of which pair well with their brunch cocktails.

After brunch at Oddfellows, pop over next door to Seattle’s most iconic independent bookstore, Elliott Bay Book Company. Wedged in the middle of the Capitol Hill neighborhood, this bookstore is a bibliophile’s dream. Its deep cedar shelves are chock-full of over 150,000 titles. And beneath many of the spines are handwritten synopses, ratings, and personal comments written by the staff. It’s an intimate store with creaky wooden floors that offers hours of book browsing for every book-loving mom.

Explore the Chihuly Garden and Glass, an extravagant, ongoing exhibition that opened in 2012. Dale Chihuly, famed glass artist and co-founder of Tacoma’s Museum of Glass, has sculptures scattered all around the world. His vibrant works hang everywhere from Seattle University to Halcyon Gallery in London. Sitting in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, the museum features everything from an outdoor garden of glass-blown sculptures to the 100-foot-long (30 meters) suspended sculpture in the Glasshouse.

Grab some sandwiches and head to Gas Works Park for a picnic. The park is a Seattle landmark that sits on Lake Union in the Fremont neighborhood and offers a striking view of the Seattle skyline. It’s a popular destination, especially on a sunny day when sailboats and kayaks fill the water. But its rolling hills offer plenty of space, and as for the park itself, it features a number of large, rusty structures that made up the Seattle Gas Light Company, which park-goers can explore.

Grab a drink at Seattle’s Smith Tower Observatory Bar. Reaching a height of 484 feet (147.5 meters), the iconic Smith Tower is the oldest skyscraper standing in Seattle. Erected in 1914, the Smith Tower was the tallest building along the West Coast until Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair, when the Space Needle succeeded it. Located at the top of this landmark sits one of Seattle’s best observation decks paired with a Prohibition-era, speakeasy-themed bar that mirrors its early 20th-century architecture. Enjoy a cocktail with mom while admiring the 360-degree views that feature Mt. Rainier, the Olympic Mountains, the Puget Sound, and, of course, the Space Needle.

Pop into the SIFF Cinema Uptown situated in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood for popcorn and a movie. This Seattle institution houses three screens, all of which project the industry’s latest independent flicks. SIFF Cinema is responsible for the largest independent film festival in the entire country that runs for an entire 35 days, the Seattle International Film Festival. Basically, whatever’s booked at SIFF is sure to be a hit.

Lay a blanket down and relax, or discover sea critters during the low tide, at Golden Gardens Park. It’s a local favorite, meaning on a lovely day it’s sure to be full. But with over 88 acres of beach, wetlands, and trails, on top of the one-acre off-leash dog park, there’s sure to be plenty of space—not to mention the fact that no matter how many people fill the park, nothing takes away from the breathtaking mountain views.

When people think of Seattle’s botanical gardens, the first one that usually comes to mind is Washington Park Arboretum, University of Washington’s garden located in Madison Park. But near the iconic Ballard Locks is another botanical garden, the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Garden, that’s sure to thrill any plant-loving mom on Mother’s Day. With over 1,500 plant varieties and 500 species from all over, the garden features Mexican pines, rhododendrons, and palms, with its seasonal specialties being fuchsias and lilies.