This is the most exciting stage of pregnancy, getting prepared to welcome a new baby (or babies)! A baby shower is a great time for friends and family to get together to help the new mum and dad prepare for their new arrival by 'showering' them with gifts and words of wisdom.
Is the Baby Shower for Mum, or for both Parents?
Traditionally a baby shower has been just for the expectant mother and her friends, however these days baby showers are often for the mum anddad. If you're hosting a co-ed baby shower party, you need to make sure the games are all suitable for all attendees.
Some new parents might plan a co-ed baby shower for everyone to celebrate together, and others prefer to host a separate baby shower for mum and one for dad. Make sure you check in with the new parents about who they want to invite and what kind of games they are comfortable with.
You can also save time by organising your thoughtfulBaby Shower Gift Hamper she'll love with us!
How Many Baby Shower Games Do I Need to Plan?
Most baby shower events last for just a couple of hours, so you'll need between 2 and 4 baby shower games. The purpose of baby shower games is two fold. The first is as an ice breaker, because there are likely to be guests who don't know anyone else, so the baby shower games are a good way to get everyone comfortable with each other and having a good time. If the baby shower guests know each other well, you can probably skip the ice breaker games, and be a bit more daring with the type of baby shower games you plan to include.
The second purose of baby shower games is to create beautiful memories for the new parents and help them celebrate the next big stage in their life. This is why it is important to get lots of photos of the event, as well as baby wishes from the guests that the new parents will cherish.
It's a good idea to plan an extra one or two baby shower games and then decide which ones to play on the day depending on how things are going. If everyone is having a great time socialising and the expectant mum is enjoying herself then it's a good idea to pause and wait until the party needs a bit of a boost before introducing the next baby shower game so you're not rushing everyone.
Don't forget: Make sure you take a lot of photos, and ask the guests to share their best photos too, so the parents can put them in their baby journal.
We've researched and asked the Milk and Love Mum community for the very best baby shower games that can be used for any baby shower event.
Check out our Free Printable Baby Shower Games
Ice Breaker Baby Shower Games
Tell two truths and a lie
This is a popular game that you can adapt to your baby shower theme. The theme of course, needs to be baby related, and each guest needs to take turns in telling 2 truths and 1 lie. The other guests try to guess which is the lie. The person who correctly identifies the most lies from all the guests wins.
They might like to include funny baby stories, great baby advice, weird and wonderful baby related facts etc.
Most embarrassing baby story.
A small shower allows everyone to have a chance to speak during this fun game. Let everyone share their most embarrassing story either from their childhood or their children’s’ childhood. Believe it or not, we all can dig deep and think of a traumatic moment dealing with children!
This is also a great way to help the new parents feel better about making mistakes, because we are really all just making it up as we go along!
Simple and Easy Baby Shower Games
Baby Bucket List
Ask the guests to add their thoughts and ideas of important things for parents to do with their baby in the first year. This can be in a book, or you can distribute a sheet of paper for guests to write their advice onto either at the baby shower party, or before they come. The parents can read them all after the baby shower, or it can be amusing to read them out in a group too.
Mum or Dad Game?
This is a great baby shower game for couples, and can easily be adapted for same sex couples as well - just use names instead of 'mum' and 'dad.
You quiz the parents in advance about what they think their parenting strengths and weaknesses might be. You could ask things like whether they have ever changed a nappy before, or if they need 8 hours of sleep every night.
Guests then have to write down their guess as to which statement belongs to which parent. The guest who answers the most correctly wins.
Don’t Say Baby!
This is popular at most baby shower games. You turn the most popular word into a taboo - guests are not allowed to say the word "Baby"!
You need a peg for every guest. As each guest arrives, you clip a peg onto their clothes. The guests have to monitor each other, and if they catch someone saying 'Baby', they take that persons peg, and put it on their own clothes.
The person with the most pegs at the end of the baby shower, wins!
Baby Word Scramble
Take 10 baby related words, and scramble them. Distribute the list of scrambled baby words to guests, along with a pen or pencil. The guest who correctly unscrambles all of the words first wins.
Finish the nursery rhyme
Take a list of popular nursery rhymes, and remove parts of them, or some of the key words. Distribute this list to all guests along with a pen or paper. The guest who correctly completes all the nursery rhymes wins.
Many of these games are included in our Free Printable Baby Shower Games. Head on over to get organised>
Funny Baby Shower Games
Guess the Candy Bar Game
This is such a totally gross and hilarious game, you'll want to make sure you are ready to take photos of everyone's reactions. The best part about this game is that it is quite simple to organise and will get everyone laughing.
What you need
- a variety of candy bars, melted
- the same number of cheap, disposable baby nappies
- pens and paper for each guest
You can prepare this one in advance by melting each chocolate bar separately (pop in a microwave for a short time), and pour the melted chocolate into a disposable baby nappy and number each one with a permanent marker that is easy to see.
The Goal: The goal of the game is for the guests to correctly guess which chocolate bars are in which nappies. You can make it easier by providing a list of the chocolate bars used, and then the guests just have to work out which bar is in which nappy, or make it harder by not providing any information about which chocolate bars were used!
How to Play
When you're ready to play, line the disposable nappies up on a table in number order and give each guest a pen and paper.
The guests line up and take turns smelling, looking at and tasting (optional!) the chocolate in the nappy, and write their guesses on the pieces of paper, along with their initials or name.
Once everyone has recorded their guesses, you can reveal the answers!
The winners are the guests that have correctly identified every chocolate bar.
Blindfolded Change the Nappy on the Baby
This can be a lot of fun for guests and parents, and is great for co-ed baby showers! Split the party into smaller groups of up to 3 or 4 guests in each group and line up a baby doll for each group, along with a blindfold.
Every guest gets a nappy, and they take turns being blindfolded and changing the nappy on the doll.The first person in line for each team must put the blindfold on, remove the nappy from the doll and replace it with a new one. After the first team members are done, the next person in line goes, and so on. The first team to finish wins.
Baby Shower Charades
This is a spin off from the incredibly popular charades. Check out our printable baby shower games to get topic ideas, and grab a timer to make it more competitive.
Each guest takes a turn acting out the charade, and all the other guests have to work out what it is.
Baby Shower Guessing Games
Guess the Baby Food
This super fun baby shower game can be challenging! You'll need to prepare for this with pureed baby food, and unlabeled bowls or jars, along with paper and pen for each guest.
Each guest has to smell (and optionally taste) each bowl of food and write down the food they think is inside. If you want to make it extra hard, you can also blindfold them.
The guest who guesses the most correctly wins!
Guess the celebrity baby
This one requires a little more preparation. You need to print off some celebrity baby pictures and pin them on a board to display for all guests in a numbered order.
Each guest needs to write down which celebrity each picture is of. You can make it a little easier by also printing off the grown up version on another board, and ask guests to match the baby to the grown up.
That's it! Let us know what you think and if there are other baby shower games you've enjoyed and why.
