Sponsored

Selfridges to host Mother’s Day extravaganza with events, beauty workshops and a pop-up florist

Special events for special women

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 15th March 2023

Selfridges is to pull out all the stops once again this Mother’s Day, with a bumper programme of events to celebrate the most important women in our lives. 

The huge retailer will run a series of workshops, pop-ups and experiences across both its sites in Manchester. 

Visitors to the luxury department store in either Exchange Square or at the Trafford Centre will be able to book in for beauty masterclasses, join art workshops (with a mimosa in hand, naturally), and browse the beautiful blooms in the pop-up Frog Flowers.

There’s even an experience geared specifically towards new mums, offering a day of pampering as well as the chance to buy something special for the new arrival. 

All weekend at Selfridges Trafford there’ll be DJs performing to shoppers, with someone on the decks between 12pm and 5pm. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Mother’s Day falls this year on Sunday 19 March, but the events at both Selfridges sites in Greater Manchester will run from 15 March until the day itself. 

Your full guide to Mother’s Day events at Selfridges

Selfridges Manchester Exchange Square

Frog Flowers pop-up – 15-19 March

ADVERTISEMENT

The Northern Quarter’s renowned Frog Flowers will be hosting a pop-up space on the ground floor of Selfridges, where shoppers can pick up beautiful Mother’s Day blooms. 

The floristry studio also has a permanent presence over at Selfridges Trafford.  

Mother’s Day Beauty Workshop Series – 15-18 March

ADVERTISEMENT

The beauty area on the lower ground floor is set to host loads of beauty and fragrance workshops from some of the world’s best-loved brands. 

On 15 March, heritage brand Penhaligon’s will hold a beauty workshop (£20 tickets are redeemable against a purchase on the day), at both 12pm and 5pm – you can call 0161 838 0606 to book in. 

Then La Prairie will host a caviar discovery masterclass, where guests can experience the brand’s iconic Skin Caviar Collection and learn about the benefits powered by Swiss skincare science. These will take place at 11am and 5pm on Thursday 16 March, with £25 tickets – call 07741130653, or email [email protected] to book.

It’s over to Armani on Friday 17 February, with three Spring Glow masterclasses planned to introduce the brand’s new My Way Parfum. The fashion and beauty giant will showcase a fresh, glowing spring look, created using its Armani glow products and brand new eye tints, and inspired by the bottle. Tickets are £10 for 12.30pm, 4.30pm and 6pm masterclasses, redeemable against products – call 0161 838 0613 to book.

On Saturday 18 March at 12pm and 4pm, Dior city artist Vicky O’Connor will host a masterclass showcasing the new Dior collection, creating a soft everyday look, along with a fragrance experience to celebrate Mother’s Day. Tickets are £35, again fully redeemable against products purchased on the day – call 0161 838 0636, or email [email protected] to book now.

ADVERTISEMENT

You can see more and book the events at Selfridges Manchester Exchange Square here. 

Selfridges Manchester Trafford

Mother’s Day Beauty Workshop Series – 15-18 March

Estee Lauder will kick things off in Trafford on Wednesday 15 March with a masterclass that will showcase their new lip collection, teaching ticket-holders how to create the perfect pout. Guests can also expect a tailored interactive foundation match, and find their perfect skincare recommendation. Tickets are £15 for 2pm and 4pm events – call 0161 629 1182 to book.

Showcasing their La Privee collection with a journey into the La Colle Noir will be Dior’s experience on Thursday 16 March at 4pm and 7pm. Guests can expect an interactive sensory experience into Dior fragrance, with a blind smell experience of the raw ingredients and flowers, hosted by Dior’s regional MUA Martin Aitken. Tickets are £30 and can be booked by calling 0161 629 1182.

Skincare legends Keihl’s will be teaching people all about their natural and effective formulas of cult products like Midnight Recovery and Super Multi Corrective collection – tickets are £10 (fully redeemable against Keihl’s products) and can be booked by calling 0161 629 1146.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mother’s Day Brunch and art workshop – 18-19 March

A series of art-filled brunches will take place on the upper level of Selfridges Trafford – guests will begin with a mimosa or prosecco before letting their creativity run free with art workshops.

These will take place between 10.30am and 12pm on Saturday and Sunday (anyone coming on Sunday will need to wait outside the customer entrance on Regents Crescent, Upper Level, as the store won’t actually be open yet). Tickets for that are £25. 

You can see more and book the events at Selfridges Trafford here. 

New Mum experience

ADVERTISEMENT

New mums can be pampered in the perfect way with Selfridges’ concierge services. 

The £135 new mum experience includes a personalised blow-dry in your preferred style at Aveda, a luxurious facial by the experts at Dermalogica, and a one-on-one consultation with a children’s brand specialist and £50 gift card.

Mother’s Day beauty looks

Available at both stores is The Mum and Me beauty concierge package. 

Over the course of 90 minutes, you can have an extra special makeover for you and your mum. 

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s £80 and you can book it here. 

Featured image: Supplied

Sponsored

Manchester Airport unveils bumper Christmas makeover with Santa’s Grotto and last-minute shopping ideas

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Manchester Airport unveils bumper Christmas makeover with Santa’s Grotto and last-minute shopping ideas

Christmas has officially landed at Manchester Airport, and with an estimated 1.1m of us travelling through the busy transport hub in the coming weeks, the airport is really kicking off the festivities. 

The halls have been decked with all sorts of festive touches, like a 20ft Christmas tree in Terminal 2, and plenty more glitter and sparkle around the entire airport. 

There are dozens of discounts on stocking fillers as part of Manchester Airport’s ‘Holidays Mode Activated’ campaign, along with festive menus at bars and restaurants.

A Santa’s Grotto in Terminal 1’s free play area, the Little Flyers Zone, will be open until Wednesday 18 December, where little Mancs can send off their list to the big man with a Letters to Santa Station. 

Santa himself will be on hand to greet families on Thursday and Fridays, but his elves will be there throughout the next few weeks too. 

There are more than 200 destinations you can fly directly to from Manchester, from city breaks to other Christmas markets to snatched fortnights of sunshine to flights to spend the festive break with loved ones. 

You can do your Christmas shopping at Manchester Airport with brilliant businesses like The Sculpts
You can do your Christmas shopping at Manchester Airport with brilliant businesses like The Sculpts

And whether you’re one of those who’s panicked and left your shopping until the last minute, or are biding your time to save cash on beauty, booze and fragrance at World Duty Free, you can tick everything off your list on your way home for Christmas. 

Shops at Manchester Airport include legendary toy shop Hamleys, fragrance favourite Jo Malone, and sportswear brand JD Sports. 

You can stock up on gifts like fashion accessories from shops like BOSS and Accessorize, or get all your gifts for 2024 in one go at duty free. 

And don’t miss The Sculpts, a Manchester-based design business operated by a local couple, who sell a range of handmade homeware and souvenirs including their signature alphabet tiles. 

Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said: “Christmas is a magical time here at Manchester Airport. 

“We’re always proud to connect the North to the world but the importance of that role really shines through at this time of year. It feels wonderful when you see travellers having emotional reunions in arrivals and families in departures getting ready to visit Father Christmas in Lapland.

“It’s also always a popular time to fly and, having broken our passenger records every month for well over a year now, we expect this Christmas to be the biggest and busiest we’ve ever seen with over a million passengers flying in the two-week festive period. 

“Not only will those passengers receive a great service – last month 82% of our passengers waited less than five minutes to get to security – but they will also be able to soak up some of the magic we have here, including Santa’s grotto in our Little Flyers Zone in Terminal 1 and choirs singing carols at various spots in all three terminals.

“We can’t wait to welcome passengers to Manchester Airport this festive season.”

Read more: Aer Lingus is serving ‘classic’ Christmas dinners in the sky this festive period

Featured image: Supplied

Sponsored

Five ways Manchester City Council is helping Mancs through winter, from free cuppas to life-changing schemes

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Five ways Manchester City Council is helping Mancs through winter, from free cuppas to life-changing schemes

We all know winter can be the toughest season of the year, despite all the festivities that surround us – which is why Manchester City Council has a number of schemes and initiatives available to make life a little brighter. 

From little gestures like free hot drinks to life-changing schemes like Pension Credit, there are a whole host of ways you can get help over the coming months and beyond. 

Manchester City Council believes that many of these things that can drastically improve people’s lives are being overlooked, forgotten, or aren’t known about. 

So now there’s a huge drive to educate people on all the help available to them in Manchester – and for everyone to pass that message along to loved ones. 

See the full list below and make sure you don’t let these brilliant schemes pass you, your friends or your family by. 

Warm Welcome Spaces

Libraries across Greater Manchester have been turned into warm spaces for winter. Credit: The Manc Group
Libraries across Greater Manchester have been turned into warm spaces for winter. Credit: The Manc Group

Manchester’s libraries have once again become ‘warm spaces’ offering free hot drinks and internet access to those in need again this winter.

After tens of thousands of local residents visited the ‘stigma-free safe spaces’ to escape and take refuge from the cold back in both 2022 and 2023, Manchester City Council has decided to reintroduce its popular ‘Warm Welcome Spaces’ scheme again this year during the chillier months.

While you’re there, you’ll have access to support including age friendly spaces, free hot drinks, comfortable seating, free internet access and Wi-Fi, free newspapers, staff who can signpost to other support agencies, digital drop-ins, and under 5s story times once a week. 

You can find out more here. 

Vaccinations to keep your winter safe and healthy

There’s currently a huge drive to get people who are eligible to get their flu and/or Covid vaccinations, with no appointments needed to pop into a walk-in clinic across the city. 

You might’ve spotted an adorable ‘Vaxxie Daxxie’ dachshund around town leading the way to the many places you can get your vaccinations. 

Dr Cordelle Ofori, Manchester’s Director of Public Health, said: “We all know how busy people’s calendars get at this time of year and that window for getting as much protection as possible is now – because the vaccinations take around 14 days to be as effective as possible.

“We’ve heard that many people think that Covid ‘has gone away’ – it hasn’t and cases are increasing in the city, same as flu – which is expected at this time of year. That’s why it is so important that people act now so that they don’t get ill themselves or pass viruses to others who may be more susceptible to becoming very ill.”

Councillor Thomas Robinson, Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Social Care, at Manchester City Council, said: “And, every time one person gets a vaccination they are also helping others because there is less chance of them passing a virus on, especially when there are so many social events between now and new year.”

For more information on Manchester’s vaccination offer and walk-in clinics go to manchester.gov.uk/getmyjab.

Claim your Pension Credit

Manchester City Council has estimated that more than 8000 people in Manchester aren’t claiming the pension credits they’re entitled to, possibly because they may feel there’s a stigma attached to it. 

It’s estimated that there’s £24m in Pension Credit unclaimed in Manchester each year, and htis is a valuable benefit that can unlock other financial help such as full Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, plus eligibility for social tariffs, the Warm Home Discount, cheaper broadband, free TV licenses, lower water bills and now the Winter Fuel Payment.

Eligible pensioners only have until 21 December to claim this support. 

Find out more HERE. 

Donated SIM cards and laptops

Thousands of SIM cards and dozens of donated laptops have been handed out to Mancs, with Manchester City Council believing that many will have sacrificed things like this due to the cost-of-living crisis. 

These donated items can help to combat isolation in our communities.

This scheme comes alongside the free libraries people can access across the region, but is now going that one step further to tackle digital exclusion.

Over the past 18 months, more than 6,000 free data SIM cards have been given away, with 100 refurbished laptops handed out and another 200 to be delivered in the coming months. 

See more here. 

Council support payments

Five ways Manchester City Council is helping Mancs through winter
Five ways Manchester City Council is helping Mancs through winter

Council support payments have started landing for thousands of Manchester pensioners – these are payments of up to £200 to help with energy, water and fuel costs.

Almost 5000 households where pensioners live, which are in receipt of Council Tax Support or Housing Benefit, but do not qualify for winter fuel payments, will automatically receive these vital financial boosts. 

Applications are also now open for the Council’s new hardship fund specifically for pensioners who are in-need and will not receive the winter fuel payment but have not already been identified for an automatic payment. Again those aged 66-79 will be eligible for £150 payments and those 80 or over for £200. 

And it’s not limited to pensioners – there are also payments heading out to Manchester households on a low income and families with children who are eligible for free school meals during term time. 

Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said: “We know winter can be an especially difficult time for those affected by the cost-of-living crisis. That’s why we’ve listened to Mancunians’ concerns and acted quickly to put this landmark package of support in place. We want anyone struggling to know that there is help out there. 

“I’m proud that older people in Manchester, and others who we’ve identified as being in need of targeted support, will be among the first in the country to benefit from measures which councils are taking.  

“While many will be receiving welcome payments over the next few days, I’d encourage anyone in Manchester who is struggling financially to get in touch with our Cost of Living Advice Line, especially if you might be eligible for hardship support. 

“This sits alongside our work to encourage people to access Pension Credits and other extra money and help which people might be eligible for but missing out on.

“Equally, we’re asking family members who think an older relative might be eligible for support to let them know about the fund or give them a hand applying.”  

Featured image: Unsplash, Humphrey-muleba

More Sponsored

Six By Nico launches tasting menu inspired by Christmas dinner

Christmas

Six By Nico launches tasting menu inspired by Christmas dinner

A pop-up apres-ski bar with yurts, live music and steins has opened in Greater Manchester

Christmas

A pop-up apres-ski bar with yurts, live music and steins has opened in Greater Manchester

Huge Black Friday sale launches on flights from Manchester to New York, Barbados and Orlando

Manchester

Huge Black Friday sale launches on flights from Manchester to New York, Barbados and Orlando

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches