How to keep Mother’s Day flowers fresh for several days
Learn expert tips to keep your Mother’s Day flowers fresh, bright, and beautiful for days with easy care tips that anyone can follow.
Celebrating mom on Mother’s Day this year will be even more expensive thanks to inflation.
According to a recent analysis from the Wells Fargo Agriculture and Food Research Institute, treating your mother to a meal out can be expected to cost 4% more.
And according to CouponFollow, going nine yards on a Mother’s Day gift package that includes flowers, jewelry, chocolates, spa treatments, perfume and a card will cost you 6% more than last year, or $543 compared to $514.
It costs money to take your mom out to eat.
The Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute predicts the total cost of a restaurant meal on Mother’s Day will be $67, an increase of about 4% from last year’s $64. Wells Fargo credit card data was used for spending at non-quick-service restaurants on Mother’s Day last year.
The biggest factor in the increase is labor costs in the restaurant industry.
“Restaurants have to compete to retain these workers,” Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist at Wells Fargo Research Institute, told USA TODAY.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in March that wages in the leisure and hospitality sector increased 3.8% over the past 12 months.
When it comes to food, two popular Mother’s Day foods, eggs and beef, have seen dramatic price changes over the past year.
Fortunately, egg prices have come down from last year’s highs due to bird flu, Swanson said.
“This might be the year to have a Mother’s Day brunch because egg prices are much lower than they were a year ago,” Swanson said. “A year ago in March, the price of 12 eggs was $6.23; this March it was $2.35.”
However, if your Mother’s Day menu includes beef, the cost of the meal may increase. Beef prices are soaring as the market struggles to rebuild supply despite record demand.
According to a Wells Fargo report, the latest USDA retail meat prices show a 17% increase in the retail price of beef. By comparison, the retail price of pork rose by 1.3% over the same period, while the overall price of broiler chickens fell by 1.9%.
What parts of your Mother’s Day gift package have you increased?
If the gift to the mother is more important, its cost will also increase.
According to CouponFollow, flowers, jewelry and chocolates saw the fastest increases, each rising more than 7% year over year. The organization examined BLS Consumer Price Index data and analysis of retail prices.
“The key takeaway from our research is how quickly costs are adding up across different categories,” Clay Carey, senior trends analyst at CouponFollow, told USA TODAY. “Inflation is always expected, but these hidden costs can catch consumers by surprise. Planning ahead and taking advantage of discounts where possible can have a big impact on your budget this year.”
Here’s how costs rose:
Bouquets rose 7.3% from $54.53 in 2025 to $58.50 in 2026.
Jewelry under $500 also rose 7.3%, from $213.82 to $229.34.
Chocolate and candy rose 7.2% from $37.97 to $40.71.
The most inflation-resistant categories were perfumes and greeting cards.
Perfume rose only 1.1% from $66.87 to $67.57, while greeting cards also rose 1.1% from $6.83 to $6.90.
But the most expensive Mother’s Day gift packages are still jewelry, which costs $229, and spa services, which cost an average of $140. According to CouponFollow, these two make up 68% of the total price of a gift package.
Procrastination also harms you
If you wait too long to buy a Mother’s Day gift, you’ll end up spending more.
According to CouponFollow, last-minute shoppers are paying $5 to $20 more per gift for expedited shipping. Additional charges can be up to $5 for same-day flower delivery and $20 for overnight chocolates.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her at @blinfisher on X, Facebook and Instagram and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky.. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, breaking down complex consumer and financial news. Subscribe here.
