Mother’s Day is one of those occasions that calls for something a little extra. Not COMPLICATED extra – just warm, connected, everyone-in-the-same-room-laughing extra. And this free printable Mother’s Day left-right game delivers exactly that with zero stress and zero prep time.
I put together two complete story scripts – one that celebrates moms in a sweet, sentimental way and one that leans into the beautiful chaos of actually being a mom {because sometimes the funniest gift you can give her is proof that you see exactly how much she does}. Both are free PDF downloads below.
Whether you’re planning a Mother’s Day brunch, a family game after dinner, a classroom celebration, or a little something for a church group or women’s event, this game fits right in. Print it, grab a small prize, and you’re ready.
How to Play
If you’ve never played a left-right game before, here’s everything you need to know.
Sit everyone in a circle. One person starts with a small gift or prize – a pretty candle, a box of chocolates, a gift card, a little spring treat, whatever feels festive and fun. Then someone reads the story out loud.
Every time the story says LEFT, the gift passes to the left. Every time the story says RIGHT, the gift passes to the right.
Whoever is holding the gift when the very last word is read gets to keep it.
That’s it. Deceptively simple, genuinely chaotic, always a hit. The reader sets the pace – slow and dramatic or fast and frantic – and the group does the rest. Little kids can play, grandmas can play, the one person at the table who claims they don’t like games will absolutely be into it by the second paragraph.
Download Your Free Printable Mother’s Day Left-Right Game
Click here to download Mother’s Day Left-Right Game #1 – The Mom Who Does It All
Click here to download Mother’s Day Left-Right Game #2 – The Best Mother’s Day Ever
Print one copy for the reader, or print multiple copies so the whole group can follow along. Standard 8.5×11 paper works great.
The Full Story Scripts
Both stories are printed in full right here – grab the printable for game day, but you can read straight from the page if you need to.
Gather everyone in a circle and give one person the gift to start. Read the story out loud and have everyone pass the gift LEFT or RIGHT every time they hear LEFT or RIGHT.
MOTHER’S DAY LEFT-RIGHT GAME #1: The Mom Who Does It All
It started, as most mornings do in the Miller house, with Mom already three steps ahead of everyone else.
She had LEFT a note on the counter the night before reminding everyone that Sunday was Mother’s Day, which meant she’d be RIGHT back in bed after coffee and nobody had better ask her where anything was.
Dad read the note, nodded seriously, and immediately asked where the coffee filters were.
Mom pointed RIGHT without looking up from her book.
By nine o’clock, the kids had made breakfast – mostly RIGHT, with some scrambled egg LEFT on the stovetop and toast that was only slightly darker than intended. They carried it carefully RIGHT to where Mom was sitting, nearly tipping the tray LEFT on the stairs before catching it just in time.
“This is perfect,” Mom said, and she meant it RIGHT down to the slightly-too-dark toast.
After breakfast, the kids disappeared LEFT down the hallway and came back RIGHT away with a wrapped gift that had approximately fourteen pieces of tape on it.
“We wrapped it ourselves,” announced the youngest, RIGHT proud of herself.
“I can tell,” said Mom. “I love it.”
She set it RIGHT on the table beside her and looked around at her people – Dad hovering RIGHT behind the kids, the youngest bouncing on her LEFT foot, the older one trying very hard to look casual and failing completely.
“Should I open it?” she asked.
“RIGHT now,” said the youngest. “Open it RIGHT now.”
Inside was a small framed photo – nothing fancy, just a candid shot of all of them together from last summer, slightly off-center, everyone squinting into the sun. Someone had written RIGHT on the mat in careful handwriting: The best mom, RIGHT here.
She didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Is it okay?” asked the oldest, leaning LEFT to try to see her face.
“It’s RIGHT,” she said finally. “It’s exactly RIGHT.”
They spent the rest of the day doing whatever Mom wanted, which turned out to be not much at all – a slow walk LEFT around the neighborhood, a long lunch with the back door LEFT open, an afternoon where nothing was asked of her and nothing was LEFT undone.
By the time the sun was going down, she had LEFT her book on the porch swing and fallen asleep RIGHT there in the last of the warm light.
Dad covered her with a blanket, the kids tiptoed RIGHT past her on their way inside, and the youngest whispered, “Did we do it RIGHT?”
Dad nodded. “We did it exactly RIGHT.”
MOTHER’S DAY LEFT-RIGHT GAME #2: The Best Mother’s Day Ever
The plan had been simple. Breakfast in bed, a nice card, maybe a little gift. Mom would sleep in. Everything would go RIGHT according to plan.
It did not go RIGHT according to plan.
It started at seven in the morning when the youngest ran RIGHT into the bedroom to announce that they were making breakfast and Mom needed to stay RIGHT there and not come out no matter what.
Mom stayed RIGHT there.
From LEFT down the hall came the sounds of what she could only describe as enthusiastic cooking. Something clattered. Someone said “it’s fine” in the tone of voice that means it is not fine. The dog sprinted RIGHT past the bedroom door and then LEFT again, which was not a great sign.
Dad appeared in the doorway looking slightly LEFT of calm. “Everything is under control,” he said.
“Mm-hmm,” said Mom.
Ten minutes later she was presented with a breakfast tray that had been carried so carefully it had taken four people to get it RIGHT down the hall without spilling. There was toast {RIGHT-side up}, orange juice {only a little LEFT in the glass after the journey}, fruit that someone had cut into shapes {mostly hearts, one of which was more of a general suggestion of a heart}, and a card that had been signed by everyone including the dog, whose paw print was pressed RIGHT in the center in green paint.
“The dog’s name is RIGHT there,” the youngest said helpfully, pointing LEFT at the smudge.
Mom drank her slightly-depleted orange juice and declared it the best breakfast she had ever had, which was RIGHT about when the smoke alarm went off because someone had LEFT a burner on.
Dad disappeared RIGHT back down the hall. The kids looked LEFT , then RIGHT , then decided that now was a good time to give Mom her gift.
It was a coupon book. Handmade, slightly crumpled, stapled at an angle. Coupons for one free hug. One breakfast in bed {do-over}. One evening where Mom picks the movie. One day where nobody argues about screen time, which Mom noted was ambitious but appreciated.
She flipped RIGHT through it twice.
“This,” she said, “is the best gift I have ever received.”
“Better than the candle from last year?” asked the oldest.
“RIGHT,” said Mom. “Better than the candle.”
The smoke alarm stopped. Dad reappeared, slightly pink, announcing that everything was completely fine and also that they were maybe going out to brunch.
Mom laughed so hard she LEFT tears on the card.
It was, genuinely, the best Mother’s Day ever – not because everything went RIGHT , but because her whole ridiculous, wonderful family had LEFT nothing out when it came to trying.
And that, she decided, was RIGHT enough.
Ways to Use These Printables
- Mother’s Day brunch before or after the meal
- Family game time after Mother’s Day dinner
- Classroom or homeschool Mother’s Day celebration
- Church women’s group or ladies’ brunch
- Office Mother’s Day party or team gathering
- A cozy at-home game with grandma and the grandkids
- Gift exchange game at a moms’ group or playgroup
- A fun addition to any spring gathering where moms are present
Tips for Making It Extra Special
Pick a prize moms actually love. A pretty candle, a nice hand cream, a small bouquet, a gift card to her favorite coffee shop, a box of fancy chocolates – something that feels like a genuine treat, not an afterthought.
Let the kids be the reader. There is something absolutely charming about a kid reading Story #1 out loud to their mom. Bring tissues. Seriously.
Have a small backup prize ready. Once one round ends, someone always wants to play again. A second small treat means you can run both stories back to back and the fun keeps going.
Read slowly for maximum chaos. The more dramatically the reader pauses before LEFT and RIGHT, the more everyone leans in and loses their minds trying to track the gift. The suspense is half the fun.
Combine it with more spring fun. If you’re putting together a whole Mother’s Day activity lineup, the spring left-right game has two more stories with a general spring and Easter theme – great for playing a second round with a different story, or for saving to use at your next spring gathering. And if you want to send Mom into her day feeling genuinely celebrated, the 50 positive affirmations for a confident morning makes a sweet little add-on to print and tuck into her card – a small thing that she’ll actually use long after the day is over.
Whatever your Mother’s Day looks like this year – big family gathering, quiet brunch for two, something in between – I hope there’s a moment in it that makes everyone laugh. That’s really what games like this are for.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, the mother figures, the women who show up and love people well. You are the good stuff.
Save this on Pinterest so you can find it again next year – and share it with anyone who needs a last-minute Mother’s Day activity idea!
