Baby showers are a fun and exciting way for parents-to-be to celebrate the arrival of their child. While there are some who love the traditional and goofy games played at a shower, others may cringe at the idea. If you’re looking for fun and meaningful activities outside of the norm, here are a few of our favorite unique baby shower games.
Modern Baby Shower Games to Play at Your Party
Most baby showers are under three hours, so you’ll want to ensure you don’t plan too many activities. If your gathering is happening outdoors, you’ll want to consider the season and climate, as you may need an outdoor tent, or access to an indoor space if the weather turns bad. Having your shower outdoors allows for unique activities that aren’t possible inside like giant Jenga or yard dominos, a treasure hunt, bocce ball, twister, cornhole or capture the flag.
If you want to save more time for activities, you could skip opening gifts during your party, which typically takes the longest amount of time. Otherwise, plan to play one or two games or activities and factor in time for snacks and mingling. If you want to ditch the traditional games where you guess the circumference of mom’s belly or race to see who changes a diaper the quickest, here are some ideas for fun and modern games and activities.
- Guess the Baby Food: remove the labels from jars of baby food and have guests guess what each one is by smelling or tasting it.
- Baby Shower Bingo: create bingo cards with baby-related words, such as “diapers,” “pacifier,” or “stroller,” and have guests mark off the words as they hear them during the shower.
- Nursery Rhyme Quiz: create a quiz about popular nursery rhymes and have guests answer questions about the lyrics and characters.
- Emoji Nursery Rhyme Game: the aim of the game is to guess the nursery rhyme by looking at a set of emojis. Search the internet for a list or have fun making up your own.
- Baby Photo Match-Up: ask guests to bring a baby photo of themselves and then have everyone try to match the baby photo with the correct guest.
- Celebrity Baby Match-Up: collect baby photos of several popular celebrities and include names and pictures of them as adults. Players try to match the baby picture to the correct celebrity.
- Name the Baby Animal: create a list with common animals such as a deer, kangaroo, elephant, horse, etc, then name the baby animals for each species.
- The Price is Right Baby Edition: think of 10-12 items that are needed for a baby, such as a stroller, crib, car seat, diapers, etc. Each guest guessed the price of an item, and the individual closest to the price, without going over, wins.
- Baby Shower Feud: played just like family feud, guests write down their answers to a series of questions like “what’s the most popular nickname for grandma,” or “what’s the best tasting baby food?” The guest with the most correct wins.
Typically guests arrive at a shower and mingle for 15-20 minutes before food and snacks. After food and before mom-to-be opens presents, is a great time to start games. Activities that are short and sweet like words of encouragement or new mom advice, are best done after gifts to cap off a sweet event. Whether your baby shower is co-ed or just for the ladies, we hope these ideas will help inspire you to come up with fun and meaningful games and activities for all ages.
Do You Have to Play Games at a Baby Shower?
Are you hosting a baby shower but have a mom-to-be that’s not into games? You can opt for low key, meaningful activities instead like going around the room and offering words of advice or encouragement, or having guests fill out “who’s that baby” or “baby trivia ” as they arrive instead of in a game setting. You might also consider making the shower shorter if you’re going to eliminate games; a gathering from 10-12 with mingling, gift opening and a brunch buffet would fit perfectly in a two hour time frame.
You could also substitute special activities in place of games. These activities can be both helpful to the new parents and meaningful for all involved. Here are some sweet baby shower activities.
- Baby Advice Station: provide blank cards for guests to write down their best parenting advice, words of wisdom or advice for the new parents.
- Diaper Decorating: provide plain white diapers and markers or paints for guests to decorate with fun and creative designs.
- Bib, Burp Cloth or Onesie Decorating: provide plain white onesies and fabric markers or paints for guests to decorate with cute and creative designs.
- Baby Time Capsule: have guests bring small items that represent the current year, such as a newspaper, or a popular toy, to be put in a time capsule opened on the child’s 18th birthday.
- Storybook Library: ask each guest to bring a favorite children’s book to add to the baby’s library.
- Collaborative Art: forgo a guest book and instead have each guest add their finger print, picture, doodle, message, etc on a canvas or something that can be framed later.
- Alphabet Book: ask guests to help fill out the baby’s first alphabet book (you could assign a letter to guests beforehand so they can plan ahead).
If you’re planning a baby shower in Pennsylvania, consider Historic Acres as your venue for the momentous occasion. We can help you create a baby shower that is fun and beautiful for you and your guests at our scenic property. Contact our team to learn more or go on a tour of our property.