You found our list of creative online Mother’s Day ideas for work.
Mother’s Day is on the second Sunday of May. The holiday celebrates the effort mothers make for their children and communities. Online Mother’s Day ideas are ways to celebrate the occasion remotely through the use of video meeting software. The purpose of these activities is to show appreciation for mothers from afar.
These events are similar to Mother’s Day ideas for work and online Father’s Day. Related experiences are a subset of online team celebrations, and virtual employee engagement activities.
This article contains:
- Mother’s Day Zoom party ideas
- remote Mother’s Day ideas
- virtual Mother’s Day activities
- virtual Mother’s Day program tips
Here we go!
List of virtual Mother’s Day ideas
From parties, to games, to special messages, here are some ways to celebrate Mother’s Day in virtual offices.
1. Other Than a Mother
Other Than a Mother is an interactive Zoom game that praises mothers for all their accomplishments.
To play, first spotlight the mothers on your team. If there are more mothers than spotlight slots, then you can ask all non-mothers to turn off their cameras. Next, read a list of prompts that start with the phrase, “other than a mother I am a….” If the statement applies, then team mothers leave their camera displays on, and if not, then they turn the webcam off. The game reveals common ground between coworkers, as well as highlighting the achievements of the awesome women on the team.
Here is a list of starter questions you can use for your game:
Feel free to add more prompts to the list.
In case your busy crew does not have time to enjoy the game via video call, another way to play is to ask each mom complete the checklist and upload it to a chat thread.
Check out our full list of conference call games.
2. Digital Mother’s Day Scavenger Hunt
This Digital Mother’s Day Scavenger Hunt is one of the most fun virtual Mother’s Day activities for moms and kids of any age. First, invite groups of mothers and their children to a virtual meeting. Then, read off the prompts one by one. Players rush off to retrieve the object. The first participants to virtually raise their hand and show off the item or perform the act wins a point.
You could also award honorary points to the most interesting submission.
Here are some starter prompts to use for your game.
Check out our full guide to online scavenger hunts.
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3. Virtual Tea Parties
Being a mother and a career woman is a lot to juggle. Teammates who work and parent are often in need of relaxation. Virtual tea parties are a calming online social event that prioritize self-care, and are one of the best Mother’s Day Zoom party ideas.
To host your Zoom tea party, send out a meeting invitation link and instruct attendees to brew a cup of tea beforehand. We recommend sending guests packages of high end tea bags or tea leaves prior to the party, or reimbursing for the cost of supplies. You could also send participants snacks like cookies, miniature cupcakes, and petit fours.
During the event, partygoers sip tea, chat, and relax. The group can play games like Bingo and scavenger hunts and enjoy activities such as mug-decorating. Or, you can opt for an unstructured event and let attendees unwind, recharge, and chat casually. Playing soft classical music in the background can help set the atmosphere. You could also begin or end the meeting with a short meditation exercise.
Check out more ideas for virtual tea parties.
4. Virtual Take Your Child to Work Day
The US officially celebrates Take Your Child to Work Day on April 22. However, many companies welcome kids into the workplace during other times of the year. Mother’s Day is as good a time as any to host a virtual Take Your Son or Daughter to Work Day.
On the Friday before the holiday, encourage mothers to let their children watch them work from home. You can plan special meetings and games to educate your young guests about the company and mom’s job. These events offer an opportunity for mothers to share their work lives with their family. Kids can gain a better appreciation for their mother’s professional role, and may show more respect for her home workspace as a result. If nothing else, the special day is a chance for moms to spend more quality time with their children and still get paid.
For more tips, check out our guide to virtual take your child to work day.
5. Take Your Mother to Work Day
Companies often host Take Your Child to Work Days to educate employees’ children about the industry and the professional world. Take Your Mother to Work Day offers a different spin on the event. For this occasion, employees invite their mothers to watch them work online. Staff mothers can either visit their child’s home office, or join via virtual meeting link. Throughout the day, the mothers attend meetings, ask questions, and join virtual team builders. One of the best parts of this event is that all teammates can participate, not just professional parents. Visiting mothers can learn more about their child’s career, and hopefully express pride.
6. Employee Mother’s Day Messages
Sending a special message to the mothers on staff is one of the best remote Mother’s Day ideas. You can either send each employee mama an ecard, or post a Happy Mother’s Day message in a company thread. A simple sentiment can mean a lot to your staff, especially if peers echo the encouragement.
You can use our tutorial on virtual holiday invitations as inspiration to design ecards or a graphic for your thread, and can draw inspiration from Women’s Day quotes.
7. Mother’s Day Card Stipend
One of the best virtual Mother’s Day ideas for work is to offer a one-time stipend for cards. First, find an online stationery store with appealing holiday card designs. Some larger vendors offer corporate discounts, and you may be able to strike a deal with an independent artist or seller.
Then, announce to the staff that the company will cover the cost of one card per employee as a special perk. Depending on the store’s preferred ordering system, employees can either order directly from the site, or you can collect their messages and addresses via Google Form and place a mass order.
If your group is the crafty sort, then you could create cards from scratch as part of a digital art class.
Pro tip: One card per employee should be sufficient for most team members, however you may want to note that staff can ask permission for additional cards. This gesture is more inclusive towards team members with non-traditional family structures.
8. Mom Day Presents
One way to acknowledge Mother’s Day in virtual offices is to send a small gift to the moms on staff.
Some ideas for Mother’s Day gifts for employees:
- Digital Starbucks or Amazon gift cards
- Flowers or succulents
- Candles
- Chocolates
- Mugs
- Photo frames
- Self-care items like tea and lotion
- Keychains
- Snacks
- Special swag with company name and “mom,” for example, “TeamBuilding mom”
You could even send a care package with little gifts for the kids like coloring books or mascot plushies.
For more gift ideas, check out our suggestions for remote worker gifts and inexpensive employee gifts.
9. Family Photo Album
Mothers in traditional offices often hang portraits of their families in their offices or place pictures of their kids on their desks. In remote offices, there are fewer opportunities to share photos of loved ones. Creating a family photo album is a meaningful way for professional moms to share their home lives with their coworkers, and a great way for remote colleagues to bond and learn more about each other.
Simply start a group photo album on a social media group page, in a cloud-based album, or online photo sharing app like Imgur. Or, you could start a group thread in Slack. Then, encourage staff moms to share pictures of their human or fur babies, if they feel comfortable doing so. Be sure that whatever platform you use is private, so that strangers and non-staff cannot view the pictures!
Pro tip: Sneakily use this album to create meaningful personalized gifts for your staff, like photo mugs or picture magnets.
10. Remote Brunch
Remote Brunches are one of the best ways to celebrate Mother’s Day online. First, either send guests a brunch box of premade pastries or breakfast foods, or cover the cost of ordering takeout. For low-budget online brunches, you can ask attendees to use their own groceries and cook, like a sort of virtual potluck.
Next, schedule a video call. When the time arrives, meet up and share the meal together from afar. While you eat, you can listen to a playlist of mom’s favorite songs, play games, chat, and perhaps watch a looped video slideshow of family photos.
This activity is ideal for a team meeting that falls near Mother’s Day. Remote brunches are also a great way to celebrate the holiday with the family if you cannot visit mom in person.
For culinary inspiration, check out our list of online cooking classes or you could also do a virtual tea tasting.
11. Online Story Hour
Hosting an online story hour is a great virtual employee engagement activity for Mother’s Day. You can invite workers and their families to take a midday break for storytime. Simply pick a children’s book, and recruit an engaging reader. Then, invite guests to a quick 15 to 20 minute Zoom story hour. This event is geared towards moms and families, but other coworkers can join as well!
Here are some children’s books perfect for Mother’s Day:
- Guess How Much I Love You
- Love You Forever
- The Runaway Bunny
- The Giving Tree
- Are You My Mother?
- Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother?
We recommend holding the reading the Friday before Mother’s Day, or the Monday after. This activity encourages workers to take a break and spend quality time with their children during the work day, plus is a way for staff parents to connect and bond.
12. Mother’s Day Icebreakers
One of the easiest ways to celebrate Mother’s Day online is to kick off virtual meetings with holiday icebreaker questions.
Here are some sample Mother’s Day Icebreakers:
- What is your favorite memory of your mother?
- If you have kids, what is your favorite memory of your children?
- Do you have/want kids? If so, how many?
- Which fictional character would you want to be your mother and why?
- Which historical figure would you want to be your mother and why?
- Which celebrity would you want to be your mother and why
- What is a habit or behavior that you picked up from your mother?
- What is one secret your mother doesn’t know?
- What are your Mother’s Day plans?
- Describe the perfect Mother’s Day.
Check out our full list of icebreaker questions.
13. Maternal Leave Policy
One of the best virtual Mother’s Day program tips is to use the holiday as an opportunity to review mother-centric benefits. While wishing mothers a happy holiday, planning fun games, and posting social media tributes are nice gestures, these actions may seem less sincere if the organization’s policies do not strongly support working mothers.
Mother’s Day is a prime time to reconsider or revamp maternal leave policies, introduce one-time or ongoing child care credits, or grant flexible working hours. You could also launch employee resource groups for working mothers and pass along helpful resources.
For more advice, check out our guide to employee perks and benefits.
Tips for celebrating Mother’s Day at Work
Here are a few best practices for celebrating Mother’s Day in the workplace.
14. Respect non-traditional family structures
Not every employee grew up in the same environment, and Mother’s Day may carry different connotations to different team members. For instance, some staff may have been raised by two mothers, a grandparent, or a step mother. Some teammates may be estranged from their parents or children, or some might have recently lost a mother or a child. Be sensitive to these different needs, and do not assume that your whole crew celebrates the holiday in the same way, or at all.
15. Hold the celebration on a workday
Mother’s Day is on a Sunday. Chances are, your staff wants to spend time with their own families. Your tribute should fall during the workweek. If you do plan an event on the holiday itself, then make attendance optional.
16. Involve the family
This occasion presents a great opportunity to invite parents or children of your staff into the workplace. We recommend planning family-friendly activities and welcoming kids, spouses, and employee mothers to join the festivities.
17. Avoid shallow gestures
Wishing women Happy Mother’s Day and planning fun events does not take the place of supporting working mothers yearlong. Celebrating the occasion is nice, however you should also make strides to build a work environment that supports mothers. For instance, by offering flexible working arrangements and showing compassion during family emergencies, such as a child’s sick day.
Conclusion
Though Mother’s Day is on a Sunday, there are many ways to celebrate the holiday in the office on the Friday before or Monday after. Employee recognition is important for all staff members, and is especially meaningful to working mothers who balance home lives with professional lives. Often, professional mothers assume a workload equivalent to two full time jobs, and this balancing act deserves praise.
Next, check out our list of online employee of the month ideas, this one with ideas for virtual family reunions and this list of online family games to play.
We also have a list of Father’s Day ideas for work.
Angela Robinson