Mother's Day Party Games

Games where she judges, guesses or keeps what is made: press Pick 3 new games.

Mother's Day Party Games

  1. Three New Laws Until Bedtime1. Everyone writes one new house rule that lasts until bedtime and makes her day easier. 2. Read them aloud without names. 3. She picks three to pass into law. 4. The writers of the chosen rules are in charge of enforcing them, on themselves first. Players: 3 to 12, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: slips of paper and pens.
  2. Opening Sentence, Name the Book1. The children collect six books she has read to them, and hide the covers. 2. One reads the first sentence of a book aloud, in her reading voice. 3. She names the book. 4. If she is stuck, they read the second sentence. A book named from the first line scores two for her. Players: 1 to 5, and Mom. Time: 8 min. Props: six picture books or chapter books.
  3. Whose Footsteps on the Path?1. She sits in a lawn chair with her eyes closed, facing away from the path. 2. One at a time, family members walk past behind her in their usual way. 3. She names each walker from the sound alone. 4. Second time around, everyone tries to walk like someone else. A walker she cannot name scores a point. Players: 3 to 10, and Mom. Time: 8 min. Props: none.

Next step Questions to ask Mom at the tableGames for the whole family

How it works

These Mother's Day party games give her the best seat. In most of them she judges, guesses or simply receives, and the family does the running around. One set is written for a lunch where many mothers are guests.

Read the full guide

Games to play on Mother's Day when she would rather sit

Choose Games the children run while she sits in the All games menu. She rings a bell, holds up scores and guesses, and the children fetch, act and tidy. Nine Small Jobs in a Grid gets the table set as part of the game.

How a Mother's Day party game runs at a club lunch

Play by table, not by person. In For a room of many mothers each table writes, votes or builds a bouquet together, and nobody is asked about her own family.

Tips
  • Pick one making game early, so the paint or glue is dry before she takes it home.
  • Let her bluff in Predict Her Plate. It is her day.

Questions and answers

What games can young children run for Mom by themselves?

Ring for Service, Guess the Wish needs only a bell, and a five-year-old can run it. An older sibling or another adult helps with Guess Which Child Drew It, Runway for One Judge and Museum of Mom, Curated by the Kids.

What can you play at a Mother's Day brunch without leaving the table?

Everything in Brunch-table games for the whole family. One Stem Each fills a vase in silence, Listeners Get One Question Apiece starts from one of her stories, and Her Order, Word for Word decides who makes her next drink.

Which games leave her with something to keep?

All of Making games that end in something she keeps: a jar of reasons, a book of signed favor coupons, painted stones for a flower bed, a paper quilt, or a sunflower with everyone's guess tied to its stake.

What if the weather keeps everyone indoors?

Choose More filters at the end of the menu, then Works indoors. That keeps the children's set, the brunch table, the club lunch set and most of the making games.

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All 40 games

Games the children run while she sits 8

  • Guess the Chore They Are Acting 1. The children think of the jobs she does around the house. 2. One at a time, they act a job out without words, as she would do it. 3. It is charades with one guesser: only Mom may answer. 4. After each right guess, the actor says who will do that job today. Players: 2 to 6, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Guess Which Child Drew It 1. Each child draws Mom in three minutes, in another room, and signs the back. 2. A helper shuffles the portraits and holds them up one at a time. 3. She guesses the artist of each and says what gave it away. 4. Every portrait she gets right earns that artist a place on the fridge. Players: 2 to 8, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: paper and crayons.
  • M-O-T-H-E-R, a Compliment a Letter 1. Write the six letters of MOTHER on six cards and lay them face down. 2. Each child in turn flips a card and has ten seconds to say something true about her that starts with that letter. 3. She keeps the card if she likes the answer. 4. When all six are won, flip them again for a second round with no answer repeated. Players: 2 to 6, and Mom. Time: 8 min. Props: six letter cards.
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Games the children run while she sits, continued

  • Museum of Mom, Curated by the Kids 1. The children choose six of her things that tell a story about her: a mug, garden gloves, a ticket stub. 2. They set them on a table with a handwritten label for each. 3. She takes the tour and corrects any label that has the story wrong. 4. A label she cannot fault scores for its writer. Everything goes back afterward. Players: 2 to 6, and Mom. Time: 15 min. Props: six of her belongings, paper and a pen.
  • Nine Small Jobs in a Grid 1. Draw a grid of nine squares for each child and write a small job in each: set the table, water one plant, pair the shoes. 2. On go, the children do the jobs and she initials each square from her chair. 3. First to a line of three calls bingo. 4. Play on to a full card if she is enjoying the view. Players: 2 to 5, and Mom. Time: 15 min. Props: a hand-drawn card for each child and a pen.
  • Opening Sentence, Name the Book 1. The children collect six books she has read to them, and hide the covers. 2. One reads the first sentence of a book aloud, in her reading voice. 3. She names the book. 4. If she is stuck, they read the second sentence. A book named from the first line scores two for her. Players: 1 to 5, and Mom. Time: 8 min. Props: six picture books or chapter books.
  • Ring for Service, Guess the Wish 1. Mom sits in the best chair with a small bell or a spoon and a glass. 2. She thinks of something she would like: a cushion, a glass of water, the window open. 3. She rings, and each child brings or does one thing as a guess. 4. She says warmer or colder. The child who guesses right takes the next order. Players: 2 to 6, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: a small bell, or a spoon and a glass.
  • Runway for One Judge 1. With permission, the children borrow three scarves, two hats and a coat from her closet. 2. Each puts together an outfit in two minutes. 3. They walk a runway down the hall while a sibling announces the look. 4. Mom holds up a score on her fingers and names each outfit. Everything goes back on its hanger. Players: 2 to 6, and Mom. Time: 15 min. Props: a few of her scarves, hats and coats.

Brunch-table games for the whole family 8

  • Do It the Way She Does 1. She shows one small thing she does well: folding a napkin, cracking an egg with one hand, a whistle. 2. Everyone at the table tries it once. 3. She gives each try a score out of ten. 4. Then someone else at the table shows a skill and she has to try it too. Players: 3 to 10, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: whatever the skill needs.
  • The Fifth Photo of Her 1. Everyone with a phone searches their photos for pictures of Mom. 2. Each shows the fifth one that comes up, whatever it is. 3. The owner tells where it was taken, and she adds what was really going on. 4. She picks the one she would like printed. Players: 3 to 10, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: a phone each.
  • Her Order, Word for Word 1. She gives her drink order in as much detail as she likes: the cup, how hot, how much milk, which spoon. 2. The person on her left repeats it exactly. 3. She adds one more detail and the next person repeats the whole order. 4. The first to miss a detail makes the drink, with an adult pouring anything hot. Players: 3 to 10, and Mom. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Listeners Get One Question Apiece 1. She tells a short story from before the youngest person at the table was born. 2. Each listener may ask exactly one question about it. 3. She answers them all. 4. Then she names the question she most enjoyed, and that person chooses which story comes next. Players: 3 to 12, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • One Stem Each 1. Put an empty vase in the middle of the table and a bundle of mixed stems beside it. 2. Going around, each person adds one stem. 3. Nobody speaks about the arrangement or moves a stem already placed. 4. When the stems are gone, she turns the vase to the side she likes best and that is the front. Players: 3 to 12, and Mom. Time: 5 min. Props: a vase and a bundle of flowers or greenery.
  • Predict Her Plate 1. Before anyone serves themselves, everybody writes down the first three things she will put on her plate. 2. She serves herself without looking at the slips. 3. One point for each thing named, and two if it is in the right order. 4. The winner sits beside her. She may bluff on the way to the table. Players: 3 to 12, and Mom. Time: 5 min. Props: slips of paper and pens.
  • Tea Tasting, Numbers Under the Cups 1. Each player makes her a small cup of tea or coffee the way they believe she likes it. An adult pours the hot water. 2. Put the cups on a tray with numbers underneath. 3. She tastes each and ranks them. 4. Turn the cups over. The maker of the top cup is her barista for the day. Players: 2 to 6, and Mom. Time: 15 min. Props: tea or coffee, small cups and a tray.
  • Three New Laws Until Bedtime 1. Everyone writes one new house rule that lasts until bedtime and makes her day easier. 2. Read them aloud without names. 3. She picks three to pass into law. 4. The writers of the chosen rules are in charge of enforcing them, on themselves first. Players: 3 to 12, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: slips of paper and pens.

For a room of many mothers 8

  • A Stem for Every Right Answer 1. The host reads a quiz of ten questions on any subject the club enjoys. 2. Each table writes its answers. 3. For every right answer, a helper brings that table one flower stem for its empty vase. 4. The fullest vase wins, and every table goes home with a bouquet. Players: 12 to 80 in tables. Time: 20 min. Props: ten quiz questions, a vase for each table and plenty of stems.
  • Apron Pocket Pass 1. Fill the pocket of an apron with folded slips: name three flowers, introduce your neighbor, hum a lullaby. 2. The apron goes from hand to hand while music plays. 3. Like a parcel game, the music stops, and whoever holds the apron draws a slip and does what it says. 4. A guest may pass a slip to her table to do together. Players: 10 to 50. Time: 10 min. Props: an apron, written slips and music.
  • Claim Your Recipe by One Line 1. Guests bring a recipe on a card, with their name on the back. 2. The host shuffles the cards and reads one line from the middle of a recipe. 3. The guest who thinks it is theirs stands up. 4. If two stand, the host reads another line. A correct claim earns the right to say where the recipe came from. Players: 10 to 50. Time: 15 min. Props: a recipe card from each guest.
  • Every Table Finishes the Sentence 1. The host gives a sentence to finish: a mother is the person who. 2. Each table has ninety seconds to agree on one ending. 3. On the host's signal, each table in turn stands and says its sentence together. 4. The host writes them all on one sheet, which is read out again at the end of the lunch. Players: 12 to 100 in tables. Time: 8 min. Props: paper and a pen.
  • Four Lines, Three Drawn Words 1. Each table draws three words from a hat, such as apron, Tuesday and umbrella. 2. The table has five minutes to write a four-line verse about mothers that uses all three. 3. One person from each table stands and reads it. 4. The room claps for each. The host judges by ear. Players: 12 to 80 in tables. Time: 15 min. Props: slips with words, a hat, paper and pens.
  • How You Were Called In for Supper 1. At each table, guests take turns showing how they were called in for dinner as children: the words, the voice, the gesture. 2. The table picks its best. 3. The finalists perform for the room from where they stand. 4. Applause chooses the winner, who calls everyone to the dessert table the same way. Players: 12 to 80 in tables. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Human Bouquet 1. Give every guest a card with a flower color on it as they arrive. 2. When the host calls bouquet, guests form groups of five with five different colors. 3. It is the old get-into-groups mixer, with a rule that puts strangers together. 4. Each bouquet finds one thing all five have in common before sitting down as a new table. Players: 15 to 100. Time: 10 min. Props: color cards.
  • Talk Until Your Yarn Runs Out 1. Cut pieces of yarn in different lengths and hand one to every guest at a table without saying why. 2. In turn, each guest winds their yarn slowly around a finger while telling the table about someone who mothered them. 3. When the yarn is wound, the turn is over. 4. Short pieces make short stories, and nobody has to fill a silence. Players: 6 to 60 in tables. Time: 15 min. Props: yarn cut in different lengths.

Garden games for the afternoon 8

  • Decorate Her Chair From the Garden 1. Two teams each get a lawn chair and five minutes. 2. They may decorate it with anything from the garden that is already loose or that she says can be picked. 3. She inspects both without sitting. 4. Then she sits in the one she prefers, and the other team brings her drink to it. Players: 4 to 12 in two teams, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: two lawn chairs.
  • Five Loves, Before the Tea Is Gone 1. She names five things she loves within walking distance: the neighbor's cat, the red door, the tree that flowers first. 2. She sits down with a cup of tea. 3. The family must find and photograph all five before the cup is empty. 4. She may sip as slowly or as quickly as she likes. Players: 2 to 8, and Mom. Time: 15 min. Props: a phone camera and a cup of tea.
  • Land a Note on Her Blanket 1. She sits on a picnic blanket in the middle of the lawn. 2. Everyone else writes a short message on a sheet, folds it into a plane and stands on the patio. 3. Planes are thrown one at a time, and one that lands on the blanket scores. 4. A paper plane contest decides distance: here it is aim that counts, and she reads every message that reaches her. Players: 3 to 12, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: paper, pens and a picnic blanket.
  • Name Ten Plants in Her Garden 1. She walks the family around the garden, or along the window boxes. 2. She points to ten plants in turn. 3. Each walker writes the name they think each has. 4. She gives the answers on the way back. Most right wins, and inventing a convincing name wins a consolation prize. Players: 3 to 10, and Mom. Time: 15 min. Props: paper and pencils.
  • One Photo Each, She Picks 1. Everyone has five minutes in the garden and may bring back exactly one photo. 2. Put the phones in a row on the table, screens up, in an order she has not seen. 3. She studies them without knowing whose is whose. 4. She chooses a favorite, and that photographer takes the family picture. Players: 3 to 10, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: a phone camera each.
  • Style Points Only 1. Set up three short events on the lawn: a walk to the fence, a turn around the tree, a bow. 2. Speed counts for nothing. 3. She scores each player from her chair for style alone, out of ten. 4. She must give a reason for every score. Highest total chooses dessert. Players: 3 to 10, and Mom. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Which Saucer of Seeds Is Which? 1. Tip a pinch of seeds from each of six packets into six saucers and hide the packets. 2. Players look closely and write which saucer they think belongs to which plant. 3. She reads the packets out. 4. Most matches wins. The seeds are planted together afterward. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: six seed packets, six saucers, paper and pencils.
  • Whose Footsteps on the Path? 1. She sits in a lawn chair with her eyes closed, facing away from the path. 2. One at a time, family members walk past behind her in their usual way. 3. She names each walker from the sound alone. 4. Second time around, everyone tries to walk like someone else. A walker she cannot name scores a point. Players: 3 to 10, and Mom. Time: 8 min. Props: none.

Making games that end in something she keeps 8

  • A Bookmark Each 1. Cut a strip of cardstock for each person. 2. Everyone has ten minutes to make a bookmark for the book she is reading now, without asking her what it is. 3. She lays them out and matches each to a book on her shelf that it suits. 4. The one she puts in her current book wins. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 15 min. Props: cardstock strips and pens.
  • A Crossword Only She Can Solve 1. The family writes eight clues whose answers only she is sure of: the street she grew up on, her first pet. 2. Fit the guessed answers into a rough grid on graph paper, leaving gaps where the family does not know the spelling. 3. She solves it aloud and corrects the grid. 4. The finished puzzle is hers to keep. Players: 3 to 8, and Mom. Time: 20 min. Props: graph paper and pencils.
  • The Coupon Draft 1. Write twelve favors on cards and lay them face up: breakfast in bed, a washed car, one hour of quiet. 2. Family members take turns choosing a card they promise to deliver, like captains picking teams. 3. Each signs the card they chose. 4. Staple the signed cards into a book for her. The favor nobody wanted is done by everyone together. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: twelve cards, pens and a stapler.
  • Fifty-Two Reasons Jar 1. Set a timer for ten minutes and put a jar in the middle. 2. Everyone writes reasons they are glad of her, one on each slip, as specific as they can make them. 3. Count the slips: the aim is fifty-two between you. 4. She keeps the jar and draws one a week. Whoever wrote the most seals the lid. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: a jar, slips of paper and pens.
  • Four Jobs, One Planted Pot 1. Each team has an empty pot, a bag of soil, a trowel and a small plant at the far end of the lawn. 2. The first runner adds three trowels of soil, the second sets the plant, the third firms it in, and the fourth carries it back level. 3. She judges the pots for neatness, not speed. 4. Both pots go on her windowsill. Players: 8 in two teams. Time: 10 min. Props: two pots, soil, two trowels and two small plants.
  • Memory Stones for Her Garden 1. Everyone chooses a smooth stone and paints one small picture on it that stands for a memory with her. 2. Lay the stones out to dry in a row. 3. She guesses the memory behind each one. 4. The painter tells it if she cannot. The stones go along the edge of a flower bed. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 20 min. Props: smooth stones and paint or paint pens.
  • Paper Quilt, a Square Each 1. Give everyone a square of paper of the same size and a theme, such as things she taught me. 2. Each person fills their square with a drawing or a few words. 3. Tape the squares together from behind into one sheet. 4. She guesses who made each square before turning it over to read the names. Players: 4 to 16. Time: 20 min. Props: paper squares, pens and tape.
  • Sunflower Height Guesses on a Stick 1. Plant one sunflower seed in a pot together. 2. Push a tall garden stake in beside it. 3. Each person ties a ribbon around the stake at the height they think the plant will reach, and writes their name on it. 4. The pot is hers to keep. The ribbon nearest the flower when it opens wins. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 15 min. Props: a pot, soil, a sunflower seed, a garden stake and ribbons.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions, written for this site for a Mother's Day at home with the family, with one set for a club or church lunch where many mothers are guests. The wording is ours, and the player counts and times are our estimates. No game asks about anyone's age, family size or circumstances, and none involves alcohol. An adult pours anything hot. No outside source was used: the list states no date, history or traditional rule as fact. Licence: own work