Fun activities for Mother's Day. Recreational games.
The second Sunday in May is Mother’s Day.
Many people give their mom a gift every year on Mother’s Day.
In households with small children, even if everyone wants to do something together, some may be unsure what exactly to do.
So in this article, we’ve gathered games and activities that everyone can enjoy while expressing everyday gratitude to Mom.
These ideas aren’t just for Mother’s Day—they’re also great for Mom’s birthday and other occasions.
Use them as inspiration whenever you want to show your appreciation to your mother.
Fun activities for Mother's Day. Recreational games (1–10)
Kiki Potato Chips
This is a game where you do a blind taste test of potato chips from different brands and try to guess which brand they are.
When you compare them, you’ll notice the flavor and texture vary a lot depending on the maker.
It doesn’t have to be potato chips—anything with the same flavor theme works.
It’s Mother’s Day, so forget about calories or what’s for the next meal and just enjoy eating to your heart’s content! Perfect for snack time.
Three-letter shiritori
Shiritori is a word game where you take the last character of a word and connect it to the next word.
If you add the rule “only three-letter words,” the difficulty suddenly increases.
It also sounds fun to raise the limit to only four-letter words, only five-letter words, and so on.
Intro Quiz
An intro quiz is the perfect recreation to liven up a Mother’s Day event that expresses gratitude.
This game is simple: listen to the intro of a song and guess the title or the artist.
To fit the Mother’s Day theme, choose songs that mothers’ generation will find nostalgic or tracks that evoke family bonds to get everyone excited.
Including songs you’ve sung together as a family or melodies your mother used to hum will spark conversation.
It’s also fun to make it a team competition and keep score, or prepare small prizes for those who answer correctly.
It’s an enjoyable game that deepens parent-child connections while reminiscing through music.
Shizuoka Pickled Game
As a Mother’s Day activity, try the “Shizuoka Pickled” game—a fun word game everyone can laugh and enjoy together.
Participants take turns adding words in sequence—“Shizuoka,” “Shizuoka pickled,” “Shizuoka pickled Shizuoka,” and so on—competing to see who can keep going without making a mistake.
As the phrase gets longer, it’s easy to lose the rhythm; whoever stumbles over their words or messes up the order loses.
The faster the tempo, the harder it gets, making it thrilling for onlookers and exciting for players of all ages.
When playing as a family, you can add a rule that the loser has to say something special to Mom, creating a warmer, more Mother’s Day–like atmosphere.
With simple rules that anyone can try, it’s a delightful wordplay game.
Mother’s Day Quiz
A Mother’s Day quiz that lets you share your feelings with the mom who always takes care of you is a recreational activity the whole family can enjoy.
Ask questions about the origins and customs of Mother’s Day and how it’s celebrated around the world, and compete to see who gets the most correct answers.
By mixing in trivia like “What is the classic flower given on Mother’s Day in Japan?” and “Which country is the birthplace of Mother’s Day?”, you can learn while having fun.
Adding original questions about your own family creates an even more homey atmosphere.
It’s a perfect game for Mother’s Day, letting you enjoy both knowledge about this special day that’s loved around the world and meaningful communication.
Ohajiki (traditional Japanese coin-flicking game pieces)
You flick small marbles made of glass and the like with your finger to play.
If you hit your opponent’s piece and knock it off the table, you win.
It’s a simple indoor game that even small children can join.
You can enjoy it in different ways depending on your ideas—for example, the one who flicks and stops their piece right on the verge of falling off the table wins.
Flag-raising game
It’s a game where each person holds a red and a white flag and raises or lowers the flag of the color that’s called out.
At first, you just practice with simple raise-and-lower instructions, and later you can add feints or speed things up.
Depending on your ideas, the difficulty changes—making it a fun indoor activity.
Mother’s Day Spot-the-Difference Quiz
How about doing a spot-the-difference game on Mother’s Day to get everyone’s brains buzzing? If you’re enjoying it as a Mother’s Day event or recreation, we recommend Mother’s Day-themed subjects, like illustrations featuring carnations or scenes of family togetherness.
In spot-the-difference, finding the differences as quickly as possible is key.
But as you gaze at the warm, heartfelt illustrations, you might find yourself recalling all sorts of days spent with your child and becoming filled with nostalgia.
Karaoke Showdown
This is a head-to-head game where you use the karaoke scoring feature to compete for the highest score.
The key is whether you can pick songs that tend to score high.
Think carefully and choose your setlist.
Since it’s Mother’s Day, it might also help Mom blow off some steam!
Handmade carnation
Let’s try making handmade carnations.
For the flower, stack and bundle several layers of toilet paper, then gently fluff them out to shape the petals.
For the stem, wrap a straw all the way around with green masking tape.
Making several and arranging them into a bouquet would be lovely, too.
It’s a gift of flowers that never wilt.
