HALIFAX -- Sunday is Mother’s Day, but with big family gatherings off the table during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maritimers are thinking outside the box when it comes to celebrating mom this weekend.

That includes new mom Haley Mood, who is celebrating her first Mother’s Day as a mom. With COVID-19 restrictions in place, she plans to mark the extra-special milestone virtually.

“Our Grammie Emin, on my mom’s side, this is her first Mother’s Day as a great-grammie, and then there’s Pam, it’s her first Mother’s Day as a grandmother … and it’s my first Mother’s Day as a mom,” explains Mood, who lives in Eastern Passage, N.S.

Mood and her daughter Rylee will be calling her grandmothers in Yarmouth and Cape Breton this weekend.

The family says it’s been tough not being able to get together during Rylee’s first year -- but they’re getting creative.

“I hope that we can bake cookies,” says Pam Mood, Rylee’s grandmother.

“I know her and her mom make cookies on Sunday, so we’ll probably do some baking over the internet, that’s the only way we can do it, but I’m going to miss her.”

While some families will rely on social media to celebrate Mother’s Day, others will take a more traditional approach, by sending Mom a bouquet of flowers.

Kilby Nickerson is the manager of a flower and gift shop in Yarmouth. She says everyone is requesting bright colours this year.

“It’s very rare that you deliver flowers, even to people that say, ‘don’t send me flowers,’ when you actually deliver it to them, they have a smile on their face, so I think that’s important,” says Nickerson.

Other families who typically wine and dine mom on Mother’s Day can opt for a fine-dining experience in the comfort and safety of their own home, as restaurants like aFrite in Halifax offer a special Mother’s Day menu.

“We’re a brunch city and there hasn’t been brunch available,” explains Andrew Al-Khouri, chef and owner of aFrite.

“Every year we always have a Mother’s Day brunch, and I wanted to make sure we could try to do that, so we’ve been planning this for some time.”

In the meantime, Haley and Rylee are looking forward to marking their first Mother’s Day virtually, as they count down the days until it is safe to visit their families on both ends of the province again.