A third of Spaniards don't leave home until their 30s - and the presents they buy their Mums on Mothering Sunday is causing a bit of a problem

A shop has withdrawn from sale items such as frying pans, ironing boards and anything used to clean the house spike at this time of year

Mother's Day cactus, anyone? At least it's not an ironing board... (AFP/Getty Images)

It is an annual dilemma for many: what do you get Mum for Mother’s Day?

For Spaniards, a third of whom, on average, do not fly the parental nest until they are in their mid-30s, Mothering Sunday falls tomorrow, and one large retailer in Andalusia has stepped in to halt what it considers to be a worrying trend.

Romacho Electrohogar has withdrawn from sale items such as frying pans and ironing boards, with the owners of the retailer saying that they have seen sales of white goods, irons and anything used to clean the house spike at this time of year.

They believe this is a result of misguided offspring mistakenly believing they are treating their mothers with tea towels and dusters.

Antonio Romacho, the head of Romacho Electrohogar, says in recent years the approach of Mother’s Day has heralded rising sales of items which “are more focused on housewives than mothers, such as washing machines, irons and pans, and that is worrying”.

Romacho’s solution, according to the Spanish News Today website, is to replace such items on its shelves with more appropriate gifts, including beauty products. The retailer is going one step further, offering the beauty products at a 15 per cent discount until today.