It’s always a time for celebration when a baby is on the way – and one of the best ways to rejoice with friends and loved ones is with a classic baby shower. Filled with cute gifts and scrummy food, baby showers are joyful, love-filled occasions, giving the mother the chance to be surrounded by the people closest to her as they prepare for their precious new arrival.
But no baby shower is complete without some fun, silly games to get everyone in the mood. If you’re planning a baby shower – whether it’s your own or someone else’s – peruse through our list and find inspiration for games to play at a baby shower. Make the atmosphere as competitive or as carefree as you like. After all, it’s the taking part that counts, and choosing a game that sparks laughter and merriment is what baby showers are all about.
And why not get the ball rolling on your baby shower with one of our new baby cards? All our cards are printed on premium paper with vegan ink and are designed by an amazing team of independent creators! See some of our examples below:
And if you’re struggling with what to write in your card, check out our handy guide on what to write in a baby shower card. Don’t overcomplicate it; a few loving words will be enough to let the new mother know how excited you are for their new venture.
Where did baby showers come from?
Baby showers, in a sense, can be traced back to ancient civilisations. In Ancient Egypt, families held feasts and gatherings to celebrate a newly pregnant mother, while in Ancient Greece, people offered practical gifts and support to the family — not too far from what we do today!
Baby showers didn’t become popular in Europe and America until around the 19th century. These early gatherings were much more formal than today’s celebrations, with the focus being on the mother’s care and offering advice. A rather boring day from today’s standards.
By the 1950s, baby showers had become widely accepted across different regions and traditions and had moved firmly into mainstream culture. This is when games and activities started becoming more common, and baby showers moved from a formal meeting to a party filled with silly baby games and drunken antics – not for the mother, of course!
There’s no exact rulebook for a baby shower — you can celebrate a new arrival in whatever way feels right. If you’re unsure where to begin, we have a helpful guide on how to plan a baby shower, and another on the best baby shower gifts if you’re stressing about finding the perfect present.
7 baby shower game ideas
Now, it’s game time! We have listed 7 different baby shower games ideas to help you out when the day comes. Take a look at our list below:
The baby bottle race
Baby bottles make sure a newborn can suck contently without any spillages. But how easy are they to actually use? Well, now it’s time to find out!
For this game, you will need:
- Two baby bottles
- Juice or squash
- A timer or a phone
First, you want to fill two baby bottles with juice – preferably a coloured squash so it is visible in the bottle. Then you want to get two people to compete.
The rules are simple: set a timer for a minute and see how much juice the contestants can drink from the bottle in the time limit. (It’s harder than it looks!) Once the time is over, measure who drank the most and claim them as the champion. Wash the bottles and repeat for the next contestants. Soon you will all look like big babies asking mummy for their bottle!
Guess the belly size
This game works best if the mother is sporting a visible bump. It doesn’t matter how big the bump is, but it must be apparent for this fun game. It’s also one of the best baby shower games for kids as it does not require too much preparation or thinking.
For the setup, you will need:
- A ball of string
- A pair of scissors
It couldn’t be simpler! Each contestant takes turns in figuring out how round the mother’s belly is and measuring it on the string – you can’t measure it on the mother herself, you can only estimate using your own waist or other contestants’. Once you have decided, cut the string with the scissors until everyone has one strand. Once everyone has their strings, take turns in putting it around the mother’s belly and seeing who estimated the closest. Some will be too short, and others will be way too long – but that’s where the laughs come in! Whoever measured the closest is claimed the champion.
Guess the baby
This game needs a little more planning but is an absolute hoot if you can pull it off. It can work with a close-knit group or even with different friendship groups.
For this game, you will need:
- A printer
- Pen and paper
- Baby pictures of all the attendees
Before the baby shower, you will need all of your guests to send you one of their baby pictures. Then print them out and tape them around the room you’re hosting in. Number each baby picture as well for clarity.
Once game time has begun, have each guest go around the room and try to guess who each baby picture is. It’s advised that everyone has a list of the guests’ names if they are unfamiliar with everyone there. Record your guesses on a notepad, using the number to correctly allocate.
Once everyone has finished, regroup and go through the answers. The guest with the most correct guesses wins! And even the losers still get a laugh out of seeing everyone swaddled in blankets with a dummy sticking out of their mouth.
Make a nursery rhyme
This one will really get the creative juices flowing. We all know classical nursery rhymes, but now it’s time to make your own! It’s one of the games that requires more thinking but can end up being one of the funniest baby shower games ever.
You won’t need any equipment for this game. Simply organise your guests in a circle and let the fun commence.
First, pick someone to start. They will create the first line of a made-up nursery rhyme. Something along the lines of: “The little blue bird came down from the sky.”
Then the next person in the circle will continue the rhyme: “The poor thing was so hungry it dove straight for a pie.”
The third person will then change the rhyming couplet: “He got stuck in some blueberries and didn’t know where to go.”
And the fourth person will finish the rhyme off: “So he stayed in the pie and nibbled at the pastry dough.”
The circle will continue like this, with the next person starting a new rhyme. If anyone struggles for longer than 10 seconds or messes up a sentence, they are out of the game, and the cycle begins again without them. This will go on until two people are left, and they will have to rhyme their way to victory.
Take liberties with this game – make it as naughty or as sweet as you want. If you want this to be one of the adult baby shower games, tailor the story to have more adult themes and words. The fun of this game comes with the mistakes, so don’t be afraid to make a fool out of yourself!
The baby name game
Perhaps the new mother is still looking for possible baby names. This game is perfect to give her inspiration and ideas, and it’s also just good fun. It’s one of the more simple baby shower games so everyone can get involved!
For this game, you will need:
- Multiple sheets of paper
- Lots of pens
Firstly, have everyone divide their paper into all the letters of the alphabet from A-Z. Then give them some time to think of a male and female name beginning with that letter. (This may take some time, so have snacks and drinks on hand.)
Once everyone is finished, go around the room and state your chosen name. If you chose a unique name that nobody else wrote down, you get a point. But if someone else chose your name, you get no points. The aim is to try and be as creative as possible to receive the most points as possible.
When you have finished, tally the points and see who came out victorious. You could even pre-wrap gifts for the victor if you want to really add some stakes to the game!
Change the dolly
This game is great practice for any upcoming parents – albeit a little easier, as the doll won’t be screaming and crying.
For this game, you will need:
- A pack of nappies
- 2 baby-sized dolls
- 2 baby blankets
First, you want to split your guests into two teams and prepare the two dolls by putting them in a nappy and wrapping them in a blanket. Then ask which team member wants to volunteer to go first and then organise the rest of the team behind them in a line. Once the game has started, the first member of the team needs to unwrap the doll, change its nappy for a new one, and wrap it up again. Then it’s time for the next team member to go and to repeat the same process.
Once it’s down to the final team member, they need to finish changing the doll and present it to the mediator – ideally the mother, as the game might get a little heated! Whichever team is able to finish first is the winner.
Baby charades
This fun twist on a classic game is a sure way to liven up the party and fill it with laughs. If some guests aren’t confident with acting scenes out, split the group into teams – some people can be the actors, and the rest of the team will guess.
For this game, you will need:
- Small pieces of paper
- A pen
- A timer or phone
Before your guests arrive, write different movies, TV shows and books on the pieces of card. Then put them all in some sort of container, after folding the cards to hide away the titles.
Once it is time to play, the first actor or team chooses a title, and the game begins. Unlike usual charades, you can’t show how many words are in the title, and you can’t act out specific words. You have to make sounds and gestures as if you were a baby and try to replicate the story through those sounds and actions alone.
It may take some practice, but soon enough it will come more naturally. If no one can guess it, it’s ok to move on to the next one to try and find an easier title. After five minutes, tally up how many your team or the group guessed and add that to your score. The team or person with the most points wins!
And there you have it, 7 fun baby shower game ideas that will leave your guests in stitches. And if you have been invited to an upcoming baby shower, don’t forget to browse our range of new baby cards and celebrate this wonderful event in style. And check out our guide on what to write in a new baby card for some more tips and ideas!
