Don’t break your baby-shower budget purchasing supplies for games to keep guests entertained. Save a few bucks and still have a fun celebration with baby shower games you can pull together with things you may already have, or by firing up your printer. Here are a few of our favorites—along with links to some free printables!
Give Timely Advice
Set out colorful index cards and pens, and label mason jars with tags like “Newborn Days,” “Toddler Drama,” “Kindergarten Already?” and “The Teen Years.” Guests can write an encouraging note or piece of advice for the mom-to-be that applies to the different categories and slip the paper into the corresponding jar. Months or years later, when mama is tending to a baby who’s wide awake at 4 a.m. or wondering how her child is already in kindergarten, she can take comfort in words of wisdom from loving friends and family.
Hey Diddle Diddle
Find out if your guests remember their nursery rhymes by passing out this free printable. Available in multiple colors to meet your shower theme, this quiz asks participants to complete 15 familiar nursery rhymes. Set a timer for 5 minutes and see who can guess the most.
Who Is That Baby?
This game gets guests chatting. Ask attendees to bring along a baby photo of themselves (or email one to you in advance) and post them throughout the event space. Number each photo and give guests a slip of paper to write down who they think each baby is. The one who gets the most correct wins a prize!
Name the Baby Animal
Ideal for showers with an animal theme, test your guests’ animal kingdom knowledge with this free game printout that has guests guessing the name of all sorts of baby animals, from coyotes to kangaroos. Did you know a baby platypus is called a puggle? We love that this game will get your guests thinking…and laughing!
Apple, Blue, or Chicago?
Test guests’ entertainment knowledge with a quiz on celebrity baby names. Do a quick online search for wacky and recent Hollywood baby names (or make it easier on yourself with this free printable). At the shower, you can either give guests the quiz to complete or make the game interactive by dividing guests into teams to guess the baby names. Read the parents’ names aloud, and the first team to shake a bottle (fill a bottle you already have on hand with M&Ms) gets to guess the name of the baby.
Baby Diaper Relay Race
If you or your guests have kids, you likely already have a few extra dolls and diapers to spare. Put them to use with a baby diaper relay race. Clear a space, divide guests into teams, and set out the dolls and diapers on separate tables. The first person on each team runs to a table to retrieve the baby doll; the next takes the baby and grabs a diaper; the next takes the baby and diaper and bounces the baby while humming a lullaby; and the final member takes the baby and the diaper and completes a diaper change. This is especially fun for a co-ed shower when men can get in on the action.
What’s in Your Purse
An oldie but a goodie, the What’s In Your Purse (or Diaper Bag) game demonstrates that women are prepared for anything. There are a few ways to play, including giving guests points for various items they have in their purse, such as 1 point for a pen, 5 points for a lipstick, and 20 points for chocolate. Or, ask guests to search their purse for something bizarre, something inappropriate, or something edible. Hand out prizes to the strangest items.
What’s on Your Phone
For a more modern take on the purse game, have guests see how many points their phone is worth! Pass out this printable, which assigns point values to items you’d find on your phone, like whether you have the Pinterest app or a photo of your pet as the background.
Name That Baby Tune
Let guests show off their singing talents (or lack thereof) with a baby-themed edition of Name That Tune. To prepare the game, write song titles on slips of paper and put them in a jar or bowl. Each guest chooses a slip of paper and hums the song until someone guesses the tune. You can choose tunes like Rock-a-Bye Baby, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and other favorite childhood songs. Or choose familiar pop songs with the word “baby” in the title.
Guess the Book
Book-loving guests will love this fun quiz on their favorite childhood literature. Use this free printable, which lists 20 quotes from popular books, such as Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Mama or Daddy?
We love this game in which guests guess if a true childhood story is from Mama’s or Daddy’s past. Before the party, work with the parents-to-be, as well as their parents and siblings, to gather fun stories from their past. Read the stories one at a time and ask guests to guess the star of each story.
Relive Bad Advice
Ask guests to share the worst baby advice they ever received. Then have the crowd choose the winner of the worst baby advice. This game is easy, fun, and sure to get everyone groaning and laughing.
Mommy Mad Libs
Have a little fun coming up with “advice” for the parents-to-be with your own take on Mad Libs. Before the party, write a few paragraphs about babies and motherhood, and leave out some of the nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Have guests call out words as you give them the category and laugh as the mama-to-be reads the final product.
Guess the Baby Item
Gather common baby items, preferably in a variety of shapes, like a bottle, wipes container, and rubber duck. Put each item under a blanket and have guests guess what they are. This is a great one to do at the beginning of the event when people are arriving and mingling. Set up the covered items throughout the event space with a number beside each one so guests can write down their guesses. Hand out prizes to the guests who guess the most correctly.
Who Knows Mama Best?
Pass out this free printable to see which guest knows the most about the mommy-to-be. Or, skip the writing and have guests raise their hand or wave a colorful ribbon when they think they know the answer after you read a question out loud.
