The countdown has begun to the Mother’s Day long weekend at the end of this week with market vendors starting to fill the tents at the Sogi beachfront road.

On Thursday morning children played in the near playground as the crowd began to grow with shoppers going around to check what was on sale.

White puletasi dresses, second hand clothing as well as jewellery were pitched as potential Mother’s Day gifts with the insides of the tents brimming with smiling vendors.

Solomua Faala'ula'u of Vaola set up under a tree with a shade selling her mother's pot plants, hoping to sell to those with green-fingers.

"My mother wanted me to come sell her pot plants for Mother's Day – Covid19 has impacted our income so she hopes these plants will help bring some money to the home so that we can celebrate the day well,” Ms Faala'ula'u told the Samoa Observer. 

She also pointed out that their pot plant prices were on 50 per cent discount to signify Mother’s Day as she said her mother acknowledged that the cost of living had risen for the ordinary people due to the virus.

"We are selling the bigger decorative house palms for only WST$40 when they are normally WST$100,” she added. “The hibiscus, the Ethiopian cactus and other small plants ranged from WST$20–50.”

The young vendor also wished all mothers in Samoa a happy mother’s day, saying: "It has been a hard time for all of us in Samoa, but I wish everyone a happy mother's day and especially to my mother.”

Not far from Ms Faala'ula'u, another vendor who introduced himself as Faauli told the Samoa Observer that he is glad to see more people under the trees and walking into the tents.

"Business has been slow but it is nice to see more people come here, we can finish our day and get paid WST$50 a day," he said.

Asked what would happen if he did not finish selling his snacks of bongos and cool sodas for the day, Faauli said that he will take the leftovers home and it will get deducted from his income. 

"Well, I try to make sure I sell everything but if I really can't then I take the rest home and it gets deducted from my wages.”