Life
It’s stressful planning a baby shower. There’s the theme, decorations, guest list, pregnancy-friendly menu and beverages — and the games. I’ve successfully thrown two of them, and I have to say, coming up with games was the hardest part. You want to make sure everybody is having a good time, and most importantly, that the mom-to-be isn’t too embarrassed, feels loved, and is enjoying herself. When it comes to planning baby shower games, you really don’t want to bore the guests or potentially humiliate your friend, so you have to find baby shower games that don’t suck. Like, it's a requirement.
Though most baby shower games are expectedly cheesy, none are more horrible than the “guess how big mom-to-be’s belly is” game. You take a piece of yarn and cut it to however big you think her belly is, and then you wrap it around her and the one closest to the correct width wins. The mom-to-be deserves more than a game where people are literally measuring how big she is or a game that requires eating melted candy bars from a diaper (gross). She deserves baby shower games that don't suck.
So why not think outside of the box and play games where you’re creating stuff for the new baby or creating things the new parents can use? What about a baby shower for both parents? Her partner is going to be a new parent (or a new parent to another child) soon. And if her SO is a dude, they may even want to have more “dude” elements in the shower, whatever that may entail. No matter who's there, you definitely want baby shower games that don’t suck or humiliate the guest of honor so your friend can have a really fun day.
1
Emoji Pictionary
Though similar to tired baby shower bingo, Children's Book Emoji Pictionary ($10) puts a modern twist on a fun game. You can print as many games as you need at this Etsy shop, and it's really cute, creative, and a bit challenging if you don't know your emojis or children's books. First one to finish is the winner.
2
Guess The Beer (Or Beverage of Choice)
Instead of smelling and tasting melted candy bars made to look like nasty, nutty baby poop in diapers or blind taste testing baby food, why not put something in baby bottles that everyone will enjoy for a taste test? Beer. This may be especially good for a co-ed shower that honors both sexes by "inviting their closest female and male friends," according to The Stir. Now, if the mom-to-be will get angry that everyone can drink but her, that's totally understandable, so don't do it unless she agrees. If you can't do alcohol, maybe do different clear beverages, like Sprite, club soda, 7 Up, water, or even Sierra Mist in each bottle and have everyone guess. If you want to do beverages where the coloring will give it away, just use a blindfold. Whoever guesses the most beverages accurately wins (in more ways than one if you're playing with beer).
3
"Wishes For Baby"
We did this at my friend's baby shower recently, and I have to say, I thought it was a hit. You can make it as sentimental or funny as you'd like, but you basically fill in the blanks on a card titled "Dear Baby," from Popsugar. The card says things like, "I hope you learn..." or "I hope you never forget..." The ones that can get funny are "I hope you get..." and "I hope you ignore..." and "I hope you grow..." among others. The idea is the parents will keep these to give to the baby once they're older, so everybody wins at the end of this game.
4
Guess The Baby Picture
Ask everyone to bring in baby pictures of themselves, and have everyone guess which baby picture belongs to each guest. You'll need sticky notes to write names on to match the name to the baby picture, a cork bulletin board for the photos, some tacks, pens, and of course baby pictures. It's fun to see what your friends looked like as babies, and you may even get a bit of a sneak peek of what the new baby might look like. Whoever guesses the most correct matches wins.
5
Decorating Onesies Or Diapers
Though not technically a "game," unless you have a contest for funniest or most creative, bring paint, markers and other crafty things to decorate white onesies for the new baby or diapers for those late-night diaper changes. Seeing something funny or a word of encouragement from your friends and family will probably mean a lot when you're up at 4 a.m. So that's definitely a win.
6
"Water Breaking" Game
Buy those little plastic babies that go in King Cakes for Mardi Gras and put them in an ice cube tray with water. When it's time for the game, pop out the ice cube and give one to each guest in a glass with or without liquid. Whenever someone's ice melts, they have to yell "My Water Broke." The first person's water to break wins a prize.
7
"Name That Tune" Baby Shower Style
Create a Spotify playlist of songs that have the word "baby," "child," or "kid," in the title and/or the sex if you know it. Play a short clip of each song and have everyone write down a guess of what the song is.
Baby shower games are definitely a matter of taste. What may be lame and boring for one person may be super fun and memorable for another. Remember, you can't please everyone, but the most important part of the baby shower is to make sure the guest of honor has a great time and feels loved and pampered for a day. As long as she's pleased, you've completed your mission successfully.
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