I’ve found the best last-minute Mother’s Day gift — you could buy it on Sunday morning, and there’s 20% off

AMID the chaos of modern life, I think it's forgivable that occasionally — and only occasionally — important days like Mother's Day can pass you by.

We've all been there — it's February 13th or December 24th, and you're forced to head to the nearest supermarket to pick up the last bunch of limp flowers and an impersonal card.

Get 20% off Mother's Day gifts at Virgin Experience Days with code MUM20

Thankfully, there's now a whole market for last-minute presents, rewarding the most forgetful and lazy people with some of the best gift ideas.

One of these is experience days. You find an experience you think the recipient will like, print off the email confirmation as proof you put some effort in, and then forget about it until the day before.

One of the biggest purveyors of these sorts of gifts is Virgin Experience Days, so my mum and I put it to the test to see if it's a viable option.

Pros

• Thousands of experiences available, including ones exclusive to Virgin Experience Days
• Something for every type of mum
• Range of price points
• Should be lots of options regardless of where you live

Cons

• Some experiences offer no savings compared to booking directly through the retailer
• Beware of restrictions and expiry dates — some vouchers are only available on weekdays

Rating: 8.5/10

How I tested Virgin Experience Days

Get 20% off Mother's Day gifts at Virgin Experience Days with code MUM20

It goes without saying that it's impossible for me to test out every single one of the thousands of experiences offered by VED (as much as I'd like to).

Instead, I enlisted the help of my mother to test out two of its Mother's Day experiences — one tailored more to fun and thrill-seeking mums, and another more suited to mums who like the finer things in life.

Firstly, we went Zip World London at the ArcelorMittal Orbit Helix in Stratford to try out the world's longest and tallest tunnel slide, where we saw some great views of London before speeding down the 178 metre slide.

Then we headed over to swanky Belgravia to try Kahani's six-course Indian tasting menu.

Virgin Experience Days review: Quickfire Q&A

What is Virgin Experience Days? It's the UK's “leading provider of experience gifts”, with more than 4,000 available across the UK.

How much is it? Experiences go from cheap and cheerful — the first experience my mum and I did was just £40 for two people — to spa days and hotel stays that go well into the hundreds. You can get 20% off loads of experiences at the moment with the code MUM20.

Who's it best for? It's a great gift for people who value memories more than stuff. That seems to be a lot of people — according to research by Virgin Experience Days, 43%of people think conventional gifts are ‘outdated and stereotypical’.

What we loved: There is truly something for everyone, and it means that there are great gift ideas available to the least-organised purchasers.

What we didn't: While there are some great savings to be had, make sure to shop around — some experiences might be cheaper directly through the retailer.

Can you get a refund on Virgin Experience Days? You can get a refund on unused vouchers, gifts and gift cards within 30 days of purchase. After that, you can exchange your voucher for a different experience (although some restrictions apply).

Virgin Experience Days review: The Nitty Gritty

First impressions

Get 20% off Mother's Day gifts at Virgin Experience Days with code MUM20

Wow. There's a lot of choice.

As previously mentioned, Virgin Experience Days has more than 4,000 options available to choose from.

You'll find everything from spa breaks to skydives, with something for every type of person: there's supercar driving, spitfire flying, perfume making, paddleboarding, and almost anything else you can think of.

Handily, there's a dropdown menu allowing you to filter the mass of experiences by category, age, recipient, price, and location.

There's also a really useful gift finder, which asks you a couple of questions about the recipient of your gift, their interests and your budget, before showing you a list of filtered recommendations.

Does it deliver?

Experience 1: Affordable

Get 20% off Mother's Day gifts at Virgin Experience Days with code MUM20

Virgin Experience Days organised two experiences for my mum and I; one more suited to those looking for a thrilling gift idea, the other more suited to foodies.

Firstly, we tried out one of the cheaper experiences on offer; the world's longest tunnel slide, which is located at Zip World London in Stratford.

We were running late thanks to some Great British Train Delays, and thankfully, the kind staff were happy to accommodate us (although they might not be as obliging on busy weekend days).

The experience offered some incredible views of the London skyline, and while it was certainly short-lived (it was over in around 30 seconds), the slide was actually rather fun.

You reach speeds of 15mph, which might not sound like a lot, but when you're in the dark with nothing but a thin mat beneath you, it feels faster.

We were probably only there for half an hour, meaning it's certainly not a full-day experience, but at £32 for two with the MUM20 discount, it's worth ticking off your London to-do-list.

Plus, there's loads of things to do around Stratford to bulk the day out (especially if your mum is a shopper — or a West Ham fan).

However, this experience does illustrate why it's good practice to shop around for experiences before you commit; booking the slide through Virgin was only cheaper than doing it directly through the Zip World website because of the MUM20 discount code.

Without the code, it would have been £40 — six quid more expensive than booking directly.

Experience 2: Premium

Get 20% off Mother's Day gifts at Virgin Experience Days with code MUM20

Suffering only slightly from whiplash, my mum and I worked our way (via a pub or two) from newly-revamped Stratford to old-money Belgravia.

Virgin organised for us to visit Kahani, a fine-dining Indian restaurant that serves a six-course tasting menu.

The six-course menu for two is £114.80 with the MUM20 code, a decent saving on the usual price — if you go to the restaurant without a voucher, the six-course menu is £80 each.

I'm from an Indian family and have no qualms in saying this is some of the best Indian food I've ever had.

Particular highlights were the monkfish and guinea fowl, which are easily the best tandoori dishes I've tasted.

The cocktails were amazing, too, and the service impeccable.

To top things off, the night we went (a Thursday), there was live jazz, which always makes an evening feel more memorable.

Considering you'd spend at least £50 a head on a bang-average meal in London, this £115 experience felt like incredible value for money (although you'll still have to pay for service and drinks when you're there).

How much is Virgin Experience Days?

Obviously, this varies depending on the experience you go for.

Shorter and less extravagant ones will cost you less than £20 per head, while you could spend hundreds on a spa day, supercar experience or mini-break.

Some prices represent a really good saving on going directly through the experience provider — this seems to be especially true for the spa experiences, with many claiming to save 50% or even 60% on the RRP.

It was also true of the meal I went for, which saved £45 compared to simply turning up at the restaurant.

Some represent no saving at all — for example, a four-course lunch for two at Michelin-starred Pétrus by Gordon Ramsay for £90 might sound like an excellent deal, but it's actually the same as booking through the restaurant's website.

However, before locking anything in, it's worth making sure you get the best price — as I mentioned earlier, without the current Mother's Day discount, the slide experience I did would be more expensive through Virgin than through its official website.

Virgin Experience Days alternatives

The most obvious competitor to Virgin Experience Days is probably Red Letter Days, which offers a wide range of experience gifts.

Like Virgin Experience Days, Red Letter Days is running 20% off a list of experiences for Mother's Day with the code TREATHER.

Another retailer offering 20% off is Buyagift (which has the same parent company as Red Letter Days, Moonpig). The brand is offering the discount with the code MDAY.