The Best and Worst Baby Shower Games of All Time

We all know that slight sense of dread when we hear the words "And now we're going to play a little game..." at a baby or bridal shower. Am I right, ladies?

While the shower hosts always have the best of intentions, they often miss the mark. Some shower games are cute and fun, but most are merely tolerable or just plain... awkwaaaard!

Here are some pretty terrible baby shower games, in my opinion: 

  • Guess the melted candy bar in the diaper... Ewww! The poor mom-to-be is about to have years of diaper changing ahead of her. Can we keep her baby shower relatively free of poop references, and just let chocolate be chocolate?!
  • Guess the mom-to-be's belly circumference... Really? Can the guest of honor please take a guess at your waist measurement and have you sheepishly raise your arms so someone can measure your tummy? Didn't think so.
  • Anything involving toilet paper... Whether it's racing to wrap the mom-to-be (or bride-to-be) in a roll of toilet paper, using toilet paper to "diaper" a baby doll, or some other "creative" use of TP, this game is usually more wasteful than entertaining.
  • Anything related to conceiving a baby or giving birth... Sure, you can have some fun creating a baby-themed word search online or some other game full of pregnancy references. But please avoid mentioning "sperm," "vagina," "epidural," or anything else that could make the mom-to-be blush or dread her looming childbirth experience -- it's on her mind enough already. The shower is a day of sweet celebration -- not an occasion for references to sex or one's water breaking!

So what games are great way to mix up the party? Here are some crowd-pleasers:

  • Classic Baby Shower Guessing Game... Cut out the printable slips and ask shower guests to fill in their guesses about the baby's birthday, weight, and more! After the baby arrives, send a small prize to the best guesser, or just collect all the guesses for the mom-to-be's scrapbook. Nothing too exciting, but it never goes out of style and does get guests talking about the bundle of joy.
  • Name That (Baby) Tune... I played a version of this at a baby shower once, and it was such a hit. For this musical game, create a playlist of songs that have the word "baby" in the title (hint: use a mix of older and newer songs so that all players have a fair chance). Print a game sheet for each guest to guess the song title and artist while you play a snippet of the song. Give one point for each correct title and two points for each correct artist. The player with the most points wins!
  • Finish the Nursery Rhyme... Hey, Didddle, Diddle...! Here's another fail-proof option for all generations of shower guests. Simply print out the game sheets and ask guests to fill in the blanks to complete the nursery rhyme lyrics.
  • Baby Shower BINGO! ... This game is always spot-on, giving guests something to do while the guest of honor opens her gifts. Print the game cards for guests to use to mark off popular baby shower gifts as the mom opens them.
  • Pin the Baby on the Belly... This one gets guests up out of their seats, so it's a great "intermission" activity if the mom-to-be has tons of shower gifts to open! Print off the pregnant belly template and a baby for each guest to play this fun twist on Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

When all else fails and you can't decide on a shower game, skip it and stick with the basics: good food, cute decor, and light music in the background (you could also set some slips of paper and an "advice jar" on each table for people to pass on words of wisdom for the new mom!).

Pass along all 5 of these shower game ideas and other baby shower planning tips to your co-hosts and let the brainstorming begin! It's going to be a great event!

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