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Important:
Remember to supply pens/pencils to guests for games that
require writing. If you don't have tables for guests, then
provide a flat surface such as a magazine or book to steady
the paper as they write their answers.
The Diaper
Bag:
I invented this game for my cousin's
baby shower. It is a memory game and I called it "The Diaper
Bag". Players sit in a circle or around a table. The first
player says "I grab a diaper bag and put a diaper (for
example) in it". The second person repeats "I grab a diaper
bag and put a diaper and a wash cloth in it" (adding another
item). The third person repeats the phrase with those two
items and adds a third one: "I grab a diaper bag and put a
diaper, a wash cloth and a pacifier". And so on. Players are
disqualified if they forget an article or misplace the order
in which items are added. It is very fun and hard to play. I
would like to thank you for your wonderful site and practical
advices.
Thanks to Ana Mar for this great game suggestion!
How Big Around Is
Mom?
Guests will guess the size of mom around the largest
part of her waist. Hand ribbon or rolls of toilet paper around
to each guest. Have each guest cut the ribbon to the length
that they believe the mom-to-be's waist size is. After
everyone has cut a ribbon, have the mom-to-be go around to
each guest and try the ribbon on. The closest ribbon
wins!
Preparation: rolls of ribbon/toilet paper, scissors,
a watch.
Unscramble the
words:
Scramble baby, pregnancy, and
labor-related words along the left side of a sheet of paper.
Put blank spaces to the right of each word. Ask guests to
unscramble the words within 2-3 minutes. You might want to
test the game on someone before the party to determine how
long you should time the guests. Give guests enough time, but
keep it challenging as well.
Preparation: print one
scrambled game for each guest, pens/pencils, magazines or
books to support paper while guest writes - if not sitting at
table, a watch.
Baby
Shapes:
Give guests a small amount of play dough or clay.
Have them each create their best version of a baby using their
piece of clay or play dough. They'll place their masterpieces
on a piece of cardboard or thick paper. After the guests are
finished with their creation, hold each one up for all to see.
Have the party clap at their favorite one - and that one wins!
Some parties have used gum in place of the clay - guests chew
and then mold. Obviously, this is determined by who your
guests are and if they would play along. After the
Preparation: playdough/clay/gum, construction paper
Poopy
Diaper
Crush various candy bars into diapers and have
guests guess what type of candy bar it is. This gets really
funny when guests start to sniff the diaper and taste the
contents. Yuck! Label the number of diapers that you'll be
using. Crush different candy bars and place each one into a
diaper. Give guests a piece of paper with the numbers of the
diapers on the left and a blank space to the right. If it is a
rather large party and you will have many tables, a suggestion
is to use that number of diapers and give each table a diaper.
Instruct that once finished with one diaper to pass along to
other tables. This is a great ice-breaker and gets your guests
to mingle a little. Candy bar suggestions: Snickers,
Hershey's, Three Muskateers, Butterfinger,
etc…
Preparation: candy bars, newborn diapers, pens for
guests to use, paper list for guests to write answers,
magazines/books if not sitting at a table.
Memory
Game:
Buy small baby items and place on a tray. Walk around
in front of guests with the tray so that each guest has time
to view the contents. Remove the tray from their sight and ask
them to write down the items that they remember. Time them for
two minutes, more or less depending on how many items you
have. The person with the most items correct wins! In addition
to a great game, you can give all the baby items to the
mom-to-be as a gift! Ideas on items: bottle, pacifier, baby
socks, baby hat, thermometer, nasal aspirator, rattle, ducky,
washcloth, spoon, baby nail clippers, travel baby shampoo,
diaper.
Preparation: buy items, tray, paper for the
answers, magazines/books if not sitting at table,
watch.
Noah's
Ark:
Write the alphabet in big letters down one side of a
piece of paper. Put two lines next to each letter. Have the
guests write down two animals that start with that letter for
each letter of the alphabet. (ex: A - alligator and anteater)
Time them for 2-3 minutes (you may want to test a few people
before your party to see how long it takes them). You want to
give guests enough time, but still make it challenging. The
guest who has the most at the end of the time -
wins!
Preparation: Write out the alphabet on paper as
described above, make copies for each guest attending the
party, magazines/books to support paper if not sitting at
table, watch/clock.
Taste Test:
A
very popular baby shower game! The object of this game is to
have your guests taste a variety of unidentified baby foods
and try to guess what they are tasting. Use around six
different baby foods and label each jar with a number. On a
paper plate, draw circles with numbers inside. Have guests
take a dollop of each baby food and place onto their paper
plate (ex: baby food jar #1 would be placed onto circle #1 on
their plate). Remember to take the label off of each jar and
keep track on a separate piece of paper as to which food
corresponds to each number. Have guests write their guess on
the paper plate next to the number (or provide them with a
piece of paper). The guest who guesses correctly
wins!
**Since guests don't know what they are eating, you
may want to consider who is attending. Ex: if some don't eat
meat, do not buy a jar of beef baby food.
Preparation: buy
jars of baby food, paper plates, pens, spoons.
Pins and
Rice:
A fun and surprisingly difficult game to play! Fill a
small bowl 3/4 full with dry rice. Add small safety pins to
the mix. Blindfold each guest and give them the chance to
remove as many safety pins as possible in one minute. The
guest who finds the most pins wins the game. It is actually
pretty hard to do since the pins and the rice feel the same.
Make sure to return all the pins into the bowl before each
guest starts. Then everyone gets a fair chance at
winning!
Preparation: small bowl, small safety pins,
blindfold, paper and pen to record guest results,
watch.
Children's songs:
Pick ten children's songs and select one line from the
middle of the song. Ex: "Out came the sun and dried up all the
rain" from Itsy Bitsy Spider. Number a piece of paper from one
to ten and write the line from the songs next to each number.
Ask guests to try and figure out which song each line is from.
Mix in some easy ones with some obscure ones to make it a
challenge. Time for two minutes. The one with the most
correct, wins!
**Nursery rhymes work well
too.
Preparation: game sheet with song lines on them,
copies for each guest, pens, book or magazine if not sitting
at table, watch.
Baby
Animals:
Ask guests to guess the correct name for each
animal's baby. Here are some for your use. Time guests for one
- two minutes. The guest with the most correct wins!
1. dog
(puppy)
2.cat (kitten)
3. goose (gosling)
4. duck
(duckling)
5. kangaroo (joey)
6. penguin (chick)
7.
horse (foal)
8. giraffe (calf)
9. lion (cub)
10. pig
(piglet)
11. seal -(pup)
12. cow (calf)
13. deer
(fawn)
14.goat (kid)
Preparations: game sheet, copies
for guests, pens, watch.
True to
Life:
This is a game of distractions, much like real life.
The object is to dress a baby doll while guests shout out
distractions. Get a baby doll that is close to the size of a
baby. Get some clothes that will fit, you can make it as
challenging as you'd like. Make a list of distractions such as
food burning on the stove, doorbell ringing, phone call, dog
throwing up, etc... Either have your guests pick one
distraction and read it out loud or have the hostess read each
distraction. Get a few volunteers to "dress the baby" and time
them for a few minutes. While they are trying to dress the
baby, have them check on the distraction. See who gets their
baby dressed the fastest. And they are disqualified if they
leave the baby by herself!
Preparations: baby doll, baby
clothing, watch, list of distractions
Guessing
Game:
Ask guests to give their best guess as to the baby's
weight, length, gender, date and time of birth. A great
keepsake for the baby book.
Preparation: paper, pen, book
or magazine to write on.
Baby Mad
Libs:
Create a story about the mom and her pregnancy or
labor/delivery. After it is written, go back in and take out
some key words (around 4-5 words, depending on the length of
your story) and replace with a blank space. Make note of the
word you removed and what it represented (adjective, adverb,
noun, verb, number, emotion, etc..). During the game, give
guests a piece of paper and ask them to write down the type of
words you removed. So, if you had removed an adverb, then the
guests would fill in an adverb like "slowly". After guests
have completed all of the words, hand them another paper with
the story and have them fill in the blank spaces with their
words. Be sure that you number each word assigned to the blank
spaces. You'll be surprised at how funny their stories will
be!
Preparation: create story with blanks and make copies,
number a paper with the key terms (adj, adv, noun,) and make
copies, pens.
Name some
Advice:
The perfect activity if you have a name picked out
for the baby. On a piece of paper, list the name of the baby
down the left side. Have each guest give some advice that
starts with that letter. Example:
B - Be nice to your
sister
E - Eat your vegetables!
N- Never forget, your
grandma loves you!Preparation: game sheet with letters, copies
for every guest, pens, books to write on.
Baby Gift Bingo
Just like regular bingo, guests will win if they get a
line in any direction on the card. Leave the boxes blank. Hand
the cards out to guests and ask them to fill in all of the
boxes on their card with items they think the mom-to-be will
get at the baby shower. Then, as the mom opens her gifts, the
guests mark off the items on their card. When a guest gets a
line in any direction, have them shout out "mommy" or "baby"!
You can continue the game even after the first person has
"bingo". There can be multiple winners to this game.
Preparation: make up or buy blank bingo cards,
pens
Don't Say
"Baby"!
As guests arrive, hand them each one clothespin.
Have them clip the pin to their shirt. If they say the word
"baby", then someone can take their clothespin. The person
with the most clothespins at the end of the party wins! An
easy game to play and a great ice breaker.
Preparations:
buy clothespins, keep near the entrance and hand out as guests
arrive.
Birth of a
Baby:
Freeze tiny plastic dolls in an ice cube tray. As you
hand out refreshments (all at the same time), put one baby ice
cube in each drink. The first ice cube to melt and "birth" the
baby wins. Let guests know that they cannot touch the ice cube
to help it melt. This is a good game to play as the mom-to-be
is opening her gifts. *Note: to make sure that the doll is
frozen evenly, first fill the tray's cups half full of water.
Place doll in and freeze. After frozen, fill the cup up to the
top. Freeze again.
Preparations: buy tiny baby dolls to
place in ice cube tray, have refreshments for guests. We have
found some tiny plastic baby dolls at: http://www.babyshowerrack.com/plasbabparfa.html
Unwrapping
Game:
Set a timer to go off every five to ten minutes as
the mom-to-be is opening her gifts. The guest whose present is
being opened at the time the buzzer sounds, gets a small
prize. A great game to play if time is limited for the
party.
Cotton Ball
Transfer:
Blindfold each player as they try to transfer
cotton balls from one bowl to another with a large spoon. Set
a timer for two to three minutes. The player with the most
cotton balls wins a prize. It is harder than it sounds since
the cotton balls are so light!
Create Baby's
Name:
Write out the mom's first name and the dad's first
name on a piece of paper. Make copies for each guest. While
you time them for about three minutes, ask players to find
names for the baby out of the letters in the parent's names.
Who is that
Baby?:
In the invitations, ask your guests to bring a baby
picture of themselves. With tape, place the pictures on a
poster board next to a number. Ask guests to write down who
they think each picture belongs to. Be sure to include a guest
list on the paper with names of guests AND ask guests to wear
nametags. It is very likely that all of your guests won't know
each other, so this will eliminate
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