A Grand Girth, Prior To The Birth!
Before playing this baby shower game, run it by the mom-to-be, and make sure she will not be embarrassed by the activity. If she grants you permission, you'll have a ball at the shower! Provide each guest with an index card, or piece of paper and a pencil. Ask them to guess the circumference of the stomach of the mother-to-be to the nearest half-inch. Have a flexible tape measure on hand, and measure the girth of the guest of honor. Award a prize to the person with the closest guess.
For a fun variation on this baby shower game, have guests guess by cutting off a piece of yarn or string to a length that they think will fit around the expecting mother's tummy. Once everyone has had a chance to cut a length of string, put each around the mother's stomach, and cut off the extra. Whoever is left with the shortest string wins!
Baby Animal
Compile a list of proper names of baby animals, like fawn, gosling, kid, etc... Use a dictionary or a kids book; they usually have the oddest ones. And the odder the better! Make a list of 15 to 20 names, and the guests have to name who the mom is like goose, deer, goat, etc... whoever has the most correct names wins!
Baby Betting Pool (Great Games for Couples Baby Showers)
For your friends who can't resist the opportunity to gamble, create a pool with chances to bet on the date of the baby's birth, birth weight, length, and gender. Either bet nominal amounts of money, or agree that the overall winner will be the recipient of a favor or two amongst the friends gathered. A night out with babysitting provided and a gift certificate for dinner and a movie would be an awesome grand prize something that can be appreciated worldwide by parents old and new.
Baby Business
Gather 10 baby objects that aren't easily identified, like a nasal aspirator, a breast pump, a teething ring. Arrange objects on a tray. Ask guests to write down what each object is used for. Player with the most right answers is the winner.
Baby-Food Taste Test
For this baby shower game, you will need 10 jars of baby food, paper and tape to make new labels for the baby food, paper (numbered 1-10) and pencil for each guest, and disposable spoons or Popsicle sticks for each guest. Cover or remove the labels of each jar of baby food (the labels are easy to remove) and number them 1 through 10.
Pass the jars around the room and ask guests to identify each one (smell, taste, appearance), and record their guess on the sheet of paper. To make this game challenging, include a couple of the standard fruits and vegetables, but also add several of the mixed combinations. The more interesting/disgusting the better this baby shower game gets! Sweet potato or blueberries are always toughies... It's always lots of fun to watch peoples faces when they taste peas or squash.
Baby's Name
Take the baby's name and put at the top of a piece of paper. Make copies and give one to every guest. Give the guests a minute or to to make as many words out of the baby's name as they can.
Baby Price Is Right
For this baby shower game, you will need 10 small baby items and their store receipts. Arrange a tray with the baby items. Next to each item, write the price of the item on an index card and place it face down. Point to each item, and have guests write down what they think is the correct price. Then, go through each item and reveal its price. The player closest to the actual price without going over gets a point. Player with the most points wins.
Baby Talk
Give each player a bag or baby bottle with 10 small treasures in it (candy, chocolates, little favors). Have bags labeled (or tie a tag around the neck of each bottle with pink or blue curling ribbon) with players' names, so they don't get mixed up. Let players know at the start exactly when the game will be ending. It can be played throughout an entire party if you so choose. The object of the game is to catch fellow players saying one of the following words or phrases:
BABY, BOTTLE, DIAPER, CRYING, FORMULA, PACIFIER
To help players, post the words prominently on a board where they can be seen often. If someone is caught saying one of the words on the list, that person has to give up a treasure from their stash. The player with the biggest haul of goodies at the end of the game is the winner! If you choose to use baby bottles, each guest can keep the prizes they win, but the bottles can be given to the new mother. This one is always a big hit.
Baby Un-scrambler
The hostess should have this baby shower game prepared before the guests arrive. Make a list of twenty words all dealing with pregnancy such as bottle, diapers, crib, stroller, etc. Give every guest one minute to unscramble the words. Example: BRIC = CRIB
Beat the Clock
Gather two dozen or so small objects, such as a thimble, a coin, a baby rattle, etc. Be sure they are interesting shapes, but recognizable household items. Arrange a tray with 10 of the items, cover the tray with a towel. Have guests sit where all can see the tray. Set the timer for two minutes. Guests have that time to look at and try to memorize the items. No talking or note-taking allowed. The player guessing writes down all the items they can remember. The player with the most memorized items wins this baby shower game!
Bottles Up
Fill enough bottles of juice so there is one for each participant. Guests race to finish their juice, drinking out of a bottle fitted with a newborn nipple! The winner is the one to finish first. This baby shower game is especially amusing with dads involved and the bottles can be sterilized later and given to the new baby!
Diaper Mania (Great for Couples Baby Showers)
You will need a baby-sized or large doll, a cloth diaper, two diaper pins, and a watch with a second hand. For guests who are already experienced parents, provide a pair of bulky mittens to even the playing field. The contestant who posts the fastest diapering time is the winner! Another variation is to play a game (with each couple working together) to assemble a Port-a-crib. Mittens to the experienced! These games might seem quite silly, but they are guaranteed to fill a room with howling laughter.
Door Prize Idea
As each guest arrives, have them fill out an envelope with their name and address and place it in a basket. You can draw the names for your prizes and centerpieces. The envelopes go to the mom to be used for thank you notes.
Draw the Baby
Distribute paper and crayons to the guests. Set timer for 10 seconds. Have each guest place paper on top of their heads and draw a picture of a baby. Collect drawings and present to the mom-to-be, who will act as judge and declare a winner.
Family Night at the Movies
Set timer for two minutes. Have guests write down as many movie titles as they can think of that contain words like mother, father, baby, child or other family member. Examples: The Parent Trap, Father of the Bride, Sister Act. The player who comes up with the most titles in the allotted time wins.
Famous Mothers
For this baby shower game, challenge guests to think of as many famous pairs of "mother & child" as possible. The prize goes to the guest with the longest legitimate list (fictional pairings are perfectly appropriate!). As an alternative, offer guests a list of famous individuals, and have them come up with the name of the famous parent. (For example - Judy Garland/Liza Minelli, Joely Fisher/Connie Stevens, Patti Davis/Nancy Reagan.)
Memory Game
Fill a tray with lots of baby necessities such as a pacifier, bib, bottle, nipples, teething ring, thermometer, bottle brush, baby monitor, nail clippers, rubber duck, etc. Try to fill it with 25-30 items. Cover the platter with a baby blanket. Pass out paper and pencils, and then lift the blanket and show your guests the items on the tray for 15-20 seconds. Cover the tray again. Whoever can remember and record the most items wins. The items on the tray can be given to the mom-to-be.
Memory Game with a Twist
This is a classic with a twist. Purchase several baby items (diaper, bottle, pacifier, comb etc) before shower and arrange them all on a tray. Have the mom-to-be pass the tray around then find a reason to excuse herself. Once she is gone the hostess tells the guests to write down as many things as the Mom-to-be was wearing (color outfit, hair accessories, earrings etc). This will shock your guests because they are expecting to write down the items. They were probably not looking at the mom so it will be tough, but fun.
Motherly Advice
Upon arriving, each guest is given an index card and is to write a question a new mother would ask (example: How can I stop my baby from crying?) Then during the shower, these same cards are passed back out to the guests only face down so questions can not be seen by anyone. Guests are to write the answer to the question on the back that they placed on their card from the beginning. Then someone can read question from the front and then answer on the back (This is a hilarious baby shower game!)
Name That Tune
Divide guests into teams, and have each team try to think of as many songs as they possibly can with the word "BABY" in the song. After a specified amount of time, each team will have a list. At that time, you can share with them how the scoring is determined. They can choose to read their list, and receive one point per song, or they can sing a few bars of each song, and receive five points per song. Let them know that there will be no deductions for singing off key! The team with the most points wins. If your group needs a little help to start with, here are a few songs to inspire them:
I got you Babe ? Sonny and Cher Baby Face ? Art Mooney Yes Sir, That's My Baby ? Frank Sinatra Maybe Baby ? Buddy Holly Love Shack ? B-52s You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby ? Bing Crosby Baby Baby ? Amy Grant Baby Love ? Diana Ross Babe, I Love You ? Styx Baby of Mine ? Bette Midler For a slight variation, ask teams to come up with titles of Nursery Rhymes, famous Parent/Child pairs, or animals and their babies (for example - swan/cygnet; pig/piglet; frog/tadpole).
Next Mom-to-Be
Tradition says whoever brought the seventh gift opened at a baby shower will be the next to get pregnant. I made a badge with a picture of a pregnant woman and the caption "I'm Next!" for her to wear.
Nursery Rhyme
Pick certain lines from nursery rhymes and have the guests figure out which rhyme the line came from. Example What! Lost your mittens. Answer Three Little Kittens
Pudding Game (Great for Couples Showers)
This is the best baby shower game ever! Before the baby shower, buy those already made pudding cups for each person playing or whom you think would play.
Before you start, pair up couples across of each other, blind fold them, and put a trash bag over them so their clothes won't get dirty.
Start the timer for 30 seconds or how ever long you prefer, and as soon as you say "GO", each couple will have to feed each other as fast as they can. The couple who finishes their pudding first wins!!
Switch or Keep
Deal out a deck of cards to the guests. Each guest receives three cards. You might have to deal two decks. Keep two decks of cards for yourself. Yell out the cards. Those with corresponding cards then hand them to the hostess and grab a gift. There should at least be five gifts (non expensive, be creative). This gift can be kept by the recipient or taken by another person playing. The next card is called and the game continues with the gifts being passes around until the last card is called. The gifts are then opened by those who still have one. ENJOY!!!
The Bag Game
For this baby shower game, you'll need large paper bags (you can get them free at the grocery store!) Give all your guest a bag and have them to place the bag over their head. Then ask the participants to take off something they really don't need. It may sound boring but it is so funny when you see women taking off rings, shoes and even clothing not thinking it's the bag on their head that they really don't need. And of course whomever takes off the bag first is the winner! And the participants who still have the bag on, you continue to ask them to take off something they really don't need, if the participants still don't get the hint just tell them without laughing too loud to take that silly bag off their head(s).
Touch and Tell
Label 10 pastel colored (adult-sized) socks with numbers 1-10 by using small pieces of paper attached with safety pins. Fill each sock with a different small "baby item" such as a pacifier, mucous suction syringe, formula scoop, thermometer, nail clippers, baby brush, rattle, teething ring, bootie, etc. Give a piece of paper labeled with numbers 1-10 and a pencil to each guest, and pass the socks around the room. Guests can only feel the outside of each sock to try to guess what is inside. The person with the most correct answers wins---but it's not as easy as it sounds! This one is great fun!
Venus and Mars (Great for Couples Showers)
Divide the players into two teams, men vs. women. Send each team into a separate room or on opposite ends of a big space. Give each team index cards and a pen and have them come up with gender-based questions designed to stump the other team. The women might ask: What's a bobbin? What is Martha Stewart's area of expertise? How much does a newborn weigh? The men might ask: What's the role of the carburetor? Who played in the first Super Bowl? What does RAM stand for?
After the cards are finished, place them in two piles in the center of the room. Each team member will stand and take a card from the opposite team's pile and try to answer the questions. Teams get one point for each correct answer. The team with the most points at the end of this baby shower game wins.
When I Was Born
Ask guests to recount the story of when and where they were born, and to offer any special details of unusual events surrounding their birth. Based on the warm and inspiring conversation, provide prizes for a few of the following: "longest labor", "highest birth weight" (there's a 10 pounder in every group!), "most interesting birth environment", "traveled furthest from birthplace to be at this shower", etc.
Who Am I?
Write the names of famous people the same number of stickers as there are players. Place a sticker on the back of each player. Players mingle and ask each other questions to try and figure out the name on their own backs. Players may only answer yes or no to questions. First person to correctly guess the name on his or her own back wins.
You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby
Prior to the baby shower, contact your guests and ask them to send you one of their own baby pictures (or have them bring the photos to the shower). Number the pictures with post-it notes or attach the photos to a piece of poster board with numbers assigned to each picture. Hide the photos until all the guests have arrived, or the early arrivals will have an unfair advantage. Distribute paper and pencils to your guests, then display the photos. Have guests try to identify who each baby has grown up to be! The guest who identifies the most baby faces wins the game.