Baby Shower Games

From LoveToKnow Baby

Baby shower games are a great way to break the ice and keep the party rolling. It's wonderful to welcome the new arrival into the world and offer gifts and support to the new parents. You'll also need some fun activities to keep all of the guests entertained.

Traditional Baby Shower Games

Baby word games. Word games are a popular activity to do while sipping on punch and eating cake. These games might include anagrams, word searches, crossword puzzles, even Mad Libs, all with a baby theme. You can build your own word searches at Word Search Fun or use ones other people have made. Or make your own crossword with a Crossword Puzzle Maker.

Baby photo game. Have each guest bring a baby picture to the party (or collect the pictures beforehand). Each guest then has to guess which baby face goes with which guest.

Baby name game. Starting with the letter A, work your way around the room, with each person in turn saying a name that begins with that letter of the alphabet. A person is eliminated when they can’t think of a name within, say, 10 seconds.

Guess the girth. This shower game is a real classic, but don’t try it if mommy-to-be is sensitive about how much weight she’s gained. Using a roll of toilet paper or a spool of ribbon, each guest guesses how much will be needed to go around mommy’s stomach, and then each person gets to see how close (or far off) they were.

Memory game. Place 30 or 40 items related to babies (diapers, pacifiers, toys, bottles, etc.) on a tray. Let guests look at the tray for two or three minutes, then take it away and have them write down as many things as they can remember.

Baby food taste test. Get a variety of baby foods and have each person taste them and see if they can figure out what food its made out of. If you have a big crowd (or want your friends to still be speaking to you after the party) you can have them smell the food instead of tasting it.

The “poop” game. Admittedly, this one is pretty gross. Take some diapers (disposable or not) and fill them with different items (crushed candy bars, mustard, cake, pudding, etc.) and see if guests can guess what they are.

Counting contest. Put jelly beans or candies in a glass baby bottle (count as you put them in) and have guests guess how many pieces are inside. The winner gets to take home the candy.

Other Shower Game Ideas

Baby betting pool. This is a game you won’t know the result of for a while, but have the guests guess what day the baby will be born, whether it’s a boy or a girl (if the parents don’t know), what time of day it will be born and the weight and length. If you want to collect money for the bet, use it to buy a gift for the new parents, but you can also give the winner some sort of prize.

Advice game. Pick some action that you want to carry the game through the party, like someone sitting in a certain spot, holding a plate or standing. Set a timer to go off every 15 or 20 minutes and whoever is doing whatever your secret action was has to give the new parents a piece of advice.

Clothespin games. At the beginning of the shower, give each guest one to four clothespins and have them put them on their clothes. Then announce the rule for the shower, something like guests can’t say the word “baby” or the name of the coming child, or they can’t cross their legs, whatever you want. Whenever someone catches someone else doing the thing that’s not allowed, she can take one of that person’s clothespins. The person with the most clothespins at the end gets a prize.

Crafty baby games. Buy a terrycloth bath hoddie, some onesies or baby T-shirts and an assortment of fabric pens. Have each guest sign, draw, or write a special message on the item. Alternatively, you could have all the guest sign a picture frame or a scrapbook page, or have guests decorate scrapbook pages mommy can use in her baby book.

Baby Shower Prizes and Favors

If you’re having games, someone will win each game, so you have to have prizes, right? But it can be difficult to come up with prizes that everyone will get excited about, including single people and those without children and those with grown children in addition to those with young children. When you throw men into the mix it gets even more complicated.

Some showers offer prizes that are all related to baby, which can then be given to the expectant mother if the person who wins doesn’t want the prize. Options include small toys, blankets, rubber duckies, pacifiers, bottles and more.

If you want a broader range of prizes, consider small bottles of lotion, votive candles, a bud vase, chocolates, spa treatments and little picture frames. Visit your local discount or dollar store for more ideas that won’t break the bank.

If you have men participating in games you might want to broaden the selection even further. Think about sports bottles, key chains, nice pens, small gourmet food items and golf balls to get you started.

These ideas really just scratch the surface of what you can do at a baby shower besides opening presents. For more ideas, visit Baby Showers Central, Baby Shower Games, Etc. or Baby Shower Games A to Z. And have fun!