• 'Cocktail yoga' and family-recipe dumplings keep Mother's Day fresh

The day to celebrate the mother figure in your life is drawing closer. But if her favourite restaurant is booked out on May 8, don't fret. There are plenty of other thoughtful options.

If taking on cooking duties would normally cause you stress, try one of Providoor's heat and plate kits. Whether brunch, afternoon tea, lunch or dinner is her favourite meal, there's a box to suit. Check out Entrecote's Parisian-style brunch, David's yum cha with French sparkling wine, or Maha's Middle Eastern banquet. Order by 4pm the day before delivery.

Peter Rowland is also on hand with boxes of smoked salmon blini, Peking duck pancakes, heart-shaped pistachio sponge cake and more treats. The $352 boxes feed four people and there are special boxes for little ones. Orders close at midnight on Tuesday.

You can't go wrong with cake or cheese. Only Cheesecake is offering the best of both, with two kinds of Basque cheesecake – roasted chestnut and plain – in both small ($25-$30) and large sizes ($45-$50). Pick-up is from Papirica cafe in Collingwood. Brunswick cheesemonger Harper & Blohm has created three hampers so you can choose mum's favourite fromages, and there are plenty of extras you can add, from champagne to cheese knives. Order by May 5 for delivery or 24 hours ahead for collection.

If she's a fan of smoked salmon, make her day with a box of salmon charcuterie from The Fishmonger's Son ($85) in Carlton North. There's Bellarine Smokehouse pâ​té, a salmon terrine from City Larder, Yarra Valley Caviar roe and accompaniments, plus you can pick up wine in store. Orders close 5pm on May 4.

Buying a bottle of her favourite wine doesn't need to feel like an after-thought. Not when Blackhearts & Sparrows is involved. The interesting booze specialists will deliver your order gift-wrapped and with a hand-written note for just $5 (within 12km of the CBD), and you can add a bunch of blooms from Pomp & Splendour for $35.

Don't have a lunch booking? Several venues still have seats, including South Yarra's Yugen Tea Bar for its high tea of seven canapes and seven tiny sweets, including caramel eclairs ($120). See also Copycat in Elsternwick, open from lunch right through to dinner with a $79 eight-course menu. Others are taking walk-ins, including the new Pearl Chablis & Oyster Bar in Melbourne's Bourke Street, which is throwing in six oysters and two canapes with every bottle of white burgundy. Or end the day with a few cocktails at Naught Gin Bar, a moody distillery bar in Eltham.