If you or someone you know is having a baby soon, one of the fun ways to celebrate is by throwing a baby shower. It is one of the most traditional ways wherein your loved ones come together and express their happiness during your pregnancy. It is a time for family and friends to bond with the expectant parents and shower them with gifts, love, and good wishes before birth.[1]
The baby shower that we know today first appeared in the book “Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage” written by Emily Post in 1937. During those times, the tradition was referred to as a “stork shower,” and it was considered appropriate to be held in the early afternoon. Also, only intimate women friends of the mother were invited.[2]
But at the present time, everyone close to the expectant parents can attend the baby shower. In the United States, baby showers are mostly held in the early afternoon, around four to six weeks before the due date. But others also hold dinner time baby showers as well as baby shower brunches. Most of the time, baby showers are thrown by a friend or relative of the mother. It is also acceptable for the expectant mother to request somebody to throw a baby shower for her.[2]
If you are organizing a baby shower for a friend or a loved one, there are many things you need to consider, such as the food and drinks you will serve and the activities that will keep everyone entertained. One of the fun activities that you can do at baby showers is to play games. However, it is also sometimes the most challenging part of hosting a baby shower. Therefore, if you need help, you’re in the right place. In this post, we are giving you a guide to picking fun games for baby showers.
Advantages of Having Baby Shower Games
There are various ways to celebrate baby showers. Some do it by having a small gathering with some food and gifts. Others, on the other hand, would prepare a program to allow the visitors to interact with one another. There are also times when hosts would think of baby shower games to make the celebration exciting and memorable. But what good does playing games at baby showers bring? If you have the same question in mind, below are some of the advantages of having baby shower games:
Meet New Friends
Baby shower games can provide guests the opportunity to add more friends. There are games that require teaming up and pairing, which allows visitors to learn more things about motherhood based on their various experiences. The games can start conversations among guests, which may lead to friendships.[3]
Keep Guests Entertained
Playing baby shower games can prevent visitors from becoming bored. This is true, especially when there are lots of guests at the party. Not all visitors enjoy the event. But if you have prepared some games, everyone will be entertained and will get the chance to participate and share a memorable experience with the expectant parents.[3]
Break the Monotony of the Party
Playing games at baby showers can break the monotony of the event. Instead of guests simply enjoying the food and having conversations with other guests, games can provide them with something different to do. In addition to that, it is also a great time to divert the attention of the mother-to-be from any pain and weariness she might be feeling due to her pregnancy.[3]
Make the Party Memorable
Everyone will surely remember the baby shower when they have played fun games. Thinking of more unique games is better. This way, the event you’ve hosted will leave a mark on the guests, and you also get to share other ideas for them to use as well.[3]
The Best Baby Shower Games
One of the challenges when it comes to hosting a baby shower is coming up with games that the guest would actually want to play. To help you choose, we have gathered different baby shower games that are fun and will have your guests laughing throughout the party. These games can be played by a wide variety of guests. You can pick a few games, but do not go overboard. Sometimes, two to four games are enough for a baby shower, as you also need to save time for eating and opening gifts.
Passive Baby Shower Games
These games are great for guests who love the fact that they can win a prize by chance. Below are some examples of passive baby shower games:
- My Water Broke: This is a pretty easy game to play. You just need some small plastic trinkets that you can purchase from craft stores, such as baby rattles or plastic baby booties. Then, freeze them in ice cube trays. When the game is about to start, provide each guest a plastic cup with an ice cube containing the trinket in it. The first guest who can melt the ice and release the trinket inside will call out, “My Water Broke!” to win the game.[4]
- Baby Shower Bingo: This game will get your guests to be involved in the opening of gifts. You only need to make a grid for your guests and let them fill in the spots with shower gifts that they think the guest-of-honor will receive, such as blankets, diapers, a stroller, toys, a car seat, and more. After that, as each gift is opened, they will mark off the correct spot for each gift item. The first one with Bingo wins.[4]
- Time’s Up: This is a game of chance that everybody will enjoy. Start a timer for 15 to 20 minutes, or even longer if you like, when the guest-of-honor starts to open the gifts. After that, when the timer ends, the provider of the gift the expectant mom is unwrapping will be the winner and will receive a prize.
Thinking Games
It is also fun to play thinking games at baby showers. These games are easy to put together, and they will enable the guests to think and have fun together. They can also be played at both large and small parties, and any age group will enjoy them. Below are some thinking games to choose from for baby showers:
- Nursery Rhyme Quiz: This is a classic baby shower game that will test everyone’s knowledge of popular nursery rhymes. Put together a list of around ten to fifteen nursery rhymes and create a timed quiz for the guests. The guest that has the greatest number of correct answers at the end wins. Some example questions could be “What was Little Miss Muffet eating?” or “Where did the itsy bitsy spider climb up?”
- Would She Rather: If you want to put the spotlight on the mom-to-be, this is a great game choice. This will also test the guests on how well they know the mom-to-be. Before the baby shower, you can ask the mom some simple questions, such whether she would rather drink coffee or sip tea or if she’d rather sleep in late or get up early. At the party, the guest with the most correct answers wins.[4]
- Baby Shower ABCs: This is a minute-to-win-it type of baby shower game that will test the guessing skills of your guests. Each of them will be provided with a piece of paper wherein the alphabet is listed down the side. Ask each of them to think of one baby item that starts with each letter. Once they are all ready, set the timer and have a fun listing. The person with the greatest number of answers when the timer goes off wins.[4]
Active Baby Shower Games
If you are planning to host a co-ed baby shower or if there will be lots of guests, playing active games can be fun. These games will get everyone up and moving. Below are some examples of active baby shower games to help you choose:
- Pass the Pacifier: This is similar to a game of hot potato. The guests need to sit in a circle and pass around a pacifier as fast as they can. The guest holding the pacifier when the music stops is out. Keep passing the pacifier around until only one person remains. The last person remaining wins. You can also decorate the pacifier to make it more difficult to pass.
- Let’s Make a Baby: In this game, each guest will be given a can of Play-Doh and a cupcake liner. Set a time limit and let them make a baby out of the Play-Doh and put it in the cupcake liner. When the timer ends, the guest-of-honor will critic the babies and choose her favorite. The guests should not put write names on the makings so that the mom-to-be has no clue who made them.
- Bottle Bowling: This is a very easy game to prepare. All you need to do is put up 10 baby bottles on the floor, or better, in a hallway. Then, provide your guests with a tennis ball. Their goal is to knock over the baby bottles by rolling the ball. Anyone who knocks down all 10 bottles moves on to the next round. You can play at least three to five rounds before declaring the winner.
Celebrity-Based Baby Shower Games
Since most people today are updated with the latest showbiz, movies, and television trends, why not take advantage of it and center the baby shower games on a topic that many guests know well. Below are some examples of celebrity-based baby shower games that you can choose from:
- A Star is Born: There are lots of celebrity couples out there who gave their little ones very unique names. One example was when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West named their child North. But how much do you think your guests know about these? In this game, you will provide your guests a couple of minutes to match the celebrity couple to the name of their child. Whoever gets the most correct answers wins.
- The Price is Right: You can also play a modern take on the classic game show to put the skills of your guests to the test. To prepare for the game, you can list some common baby supplies, such as a bottle of baby wash, a pack of baby wipes, or maybe a box of diapers. Try to list around 15 items and keep the prices to yourself. Your guests will need to guess how much each item costs without going over. The guest who guesses the closest price on the most items wins.
- Name Those Kids: If your guests love to watch television, they will surely love this matching game. Like other celebrity games, it focuses on matching the television kids to their television parents. For example, what was the name of Lorelai’s daughter in the show Gilmore Girls? It would be great if you could come up with 10 to 15 questions using the guest of honor’s favorite television shows. The guest that has the most correct answers wins.
Baby Shower Games You Can Buy Today
If you do not have enough time to plan your own unique baby shower games, you can simply purchase ready-to-play games. There are lots of games that you can buy today that include all the materials that you need to play. These will save you lots of time when it comes to planning and preparation. Below are some of the best baby shower games that you can buy today that might help you choose:
- Pin the Pacifier on the Baby Game: This game includes a large poster with cute graphic art of a baby, an eye mask, a soft blindfold, and 54 pieces of pacifier stickers. The stickers are removable and reusable, and the guests can write their names on the pacifier stickers. To play this game, one will wear the eye mask, take a pacifier sticker, and pin it on the poster. The guest that pins the pacifier on the mouth or closest to the mouth of the baby on the poster wins.
- Guess Who … Mommy or Daddy: This is a simple game that can be played by everyone at the party. All they have to do is to guess who, for example, will change more diapers, spoil the baby the most, will be more patient, and more between mommy and daddy. It includes 50 cards that your guests can answer. This game can liven up the party, filling it with fun and laughter.
- How Big is Mommy’s Belly: It is also fun to celebrate the baby’s arrival with this game. Your guests will need to guess how big the belly of the mom-to-be is. They will be provided with guessing cards. Once everyone has written down their guesses on the cards provided, the host will then measure mommy’s belly. The guest with the right or closest answer wins.
- Oh, Baby Trivia Game: This is another quiz-type of baby shower game. Each card has various statements, and the guests need to answer whether the statements are true or false. The guest that has the most correct answers wins.
- Family FEUD Baby Shower Edition: You can also play one of the hottest television game shows at the baby shower, which is Family Feud. This set includes 150 face-off questions, 50 fast money cards, a dry-erase scoreboard, a dry-erase marker, and an instruction sheet. It is also complete with hundreds of survey questions. To make the game more fun and alive, you can download the Gamestar+ app with sound effects straight from the show. Competing with family and friends over this game at the baby shower will surely be loads of fun.
- Did Baby Poopie Baby Shower Scratch-Off Game: This is a simple and cute baby shower game. It comes with 30 cards, which include 28 losing cards and 2 winning cards. To start, the guests need to scratch the silver circle on the lottery cards to reveal their fate. If they win, they will reveal a poop emoji, and they need to scream, “I got the poop!” However, if they lose, they will reveal the losing remark that says, “Whew, false alarm!” It is a simple but very fun game to play at baby showers.
- Baby Shower Bundle Party Games: If you want to conveniently set up games for a baby shower, this bundle is for you. It is a collection of baby shower games that provides all you need to host a hilarious and memorable party for the expectant parents. It includes seven games, such as “How Big is Mom’s Belly,” “Baby Shower Taboo,” “Baby Shower Charades,” “Guess Who,” “Word Search,” and “Tinkle in the Pot.” It is a unique mixture of classic games, icebreakers, team games, and solo games that will surely entertain guests at the party.
Conclusion
Playing games at a baby shower can indeed add lots of fun for the guests and expectant parents. These games can help in creating more happy memories between friends and loved ones that the parents-to-be will cherish for many years. Whether you choose to play active games or simple passive games during the party, the important thing is that everyone is entertained and that the soon-to-be parents are happy and feel loved. We hope this post helped you learn more about picking fun games for baby showers.
References
[1] Klepchukova, D. A. (2021, November 25). What is a baby shower? background, planning, and etiquette. Flo.health – #1 mobile product for women’s health. Retrieved November 17, 2022, from https://flo.health/pregnancy/nesting/baby-showers/what-is-baby-shower
[2] Gains, E. (2021, May 9). Everything you ever needed to know about baby showers. Bunnies By The Bay. Retrieved November 17, 2022, from https://bunniesbythebay.com/blogs/how-to-delight/everything-you-ever-needed-to-know-about-baby-showers
[3] Baby Toddles, E. (2011, June 5). Baby shower: Benefits of having Baby Shower Games. Babytoddles. Retrieved November 17, 2022, from http://babytoddles.co.za/baby-shower-benefits-of-having-baby-shower-games/
[4] Gordon, S. (2022, January 12). 20 best baby shower games. Verywell Family. Retrieved November 17, 2022, from https://www.verywellfamily.com/20-best-baby-shower-games-5083022