- Roll over breakfast in bed as making afternoon tea is now the popular way to make mothers feel like a queen on Mother’s Day
- Less than a third of mums want breakfast served in bed
- Over a fifth of mums have been served food with a bite taken out
For decades British children have been serving their mothers breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day, but now making afternoon tea is a more popular way to treat mums.
As we approach this Mother’s Day nearly six times more people are searching for Mother’s Day afternoon tea inspiration and products on Waitrose.com than Mother’s Day breakfast in bed ideas.
Lauren Mountford, Cake Buyer for Waitrose, said: “The trend started last year. We noticed that searches for Mother’s Day afternoon tea were more popular than breakfast in bed. Over Mother’s Day weekend people were buying lots of cakes and cream from us via Deliveroo as they made last minute plans to treat mothers.
“Afternoon tea is less hazardous than breakfast in bed, which has the potential to end in spilt milk, crumbs between the sheets and tipped over hot cups of tea.”
Last Mother’s Day weekend Waitrose customer orders on Deliveroo saw sales of meringues rise by 4000%, sales of clotted cream were up 264%, Victoria sponge sales were up 245%, lemon drizzle cake sales were up 265%, mini flapjacks were up 263%, and mini chocolate brownies were up 245%.
While most mums still think breakfast in bed is a nice treat, a poll of 1,000 mothers with children aged between five and 18 years, commissioned by Waitrose Weekend found that 40% would rather be served breakfast at a table. Less than one third (29%) said they would prefer to have breakfast served to them in bed, and 4% said they wouldn’t want to have breakfast made for them by their children.
A quarter of mums said their kids watch them eat their breakfast, and 22% said they get stuck in and eat it too. Sometimes the little ones miss the mark, though. More than a fifth of mums said they have been presented with food with bites taken out, 20% had been given sweets for breakfast, and others had been offered fake or toy food, cake, crisps, even sandwiches.
Fourteen per cent had smiled their way through “inedible or unidentifiable” food, and when we asked about the strangest things they’ve been brought for breakfast in bed, answers included “cucumber” and “a single After Eight chocolate”.
