| Shower games help to make baby showers fun and memorable. Planning for the games ahead of time helps you to have a successful and stress-free event. Before planning the games, it is wise to have information about the number of guests who are expected to attend the party.
Before the guests arrive have all the supplies required for the games such as pens, paper, and other items. Keep a few spare supplies in case more guests turn up than expected. Small prizes can be awarded to the guests, including candles, bath soaps, potpourri, picture frames, and food goodies like candy.
Below we have listed the most popular baby shower games to play during the baby shower.
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, and 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. Have guests write their names on the underside of the thick paper then place their masterpieces on top of the paper. After all 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!
Preparation: playdough/clay and construction paper
The Diaper Bag:
It is a memory game. 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.
How Big Around Is Mom?
Guests will guess the size of mom around the largest part of her waist. Pass around a roll of yarn, ribbon, or toilet paper to the guests. 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. To avoid having mommy walk around, measure her belly with ribbon and compare this accurately measured piece of yarn to those of the guests. The closest yarn wins!
Preparation: rolls of ribbon/yarn/toilet paper and scissors.
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. 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
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: baby items, tray, paper for the answers, 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, and have watch/clock handy.
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, watch and pen to record guest results.
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, and a 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!
- dog (puppy)
- cat (kitten)
- goose (gosling)
- duck (duckling)
- kangaroo (joey)
- penguin (chick)
- horse (foal)
- giraffe (calf)
- lion (cub)
- pig (piglet)
- seal -(pup)
- cow (calf)
- deer (fawn)
- goat (kid)
Preparations: game sheet, copies for guests, pens, and 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, and list of distractions
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.
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 and pens
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, obtain 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!
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. Use small 3-5 oz paper cups, the small bathroom cups, and place a baby ice cube in each. Near the beginning of the shower, paper, hand out the frozen babies to the guests all at the same time. 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. *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 and small cups. Tiny plastic African American baby dolls can be found a craft stores like Micheal’s
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.
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