Thursday, November 6, 2008

Baby shower games

Okay, ladies (and any gents who have attended baby showers), time to hit that "Comment" button, because I need some ideas. I'm helping with a shower on Saturday, and I'm in charge of games.

We're going to use play dough to make babies, and we'll let the mom choose which one she likes the best. (I'll be giving the ladies serious warnings about the dangers of play dough up the nose.)

But I need a second game. And I personally don't like the ones where each person is given an item such as a safety pin and has to surrender it every time she says a certain word such as "baby." That game stresses me out.

I also think the melted candy bars in diapers game is just a little too gross. Okay, a lot too gross.

Other than those...what would you suggest?

By the way, if you're in the "suggesting" mood today, head on over to Sasha's blog and let her know what your favorite dessert recipe is. Sasha's fame, fortune, and glory are at stake--or a least the personal satisfaction of winning an office contest. I'll be checking out the recipes she gets when I'm in the mood to bake, or even just to drool.

24 comments:

Lyndsay said...

The last shower I went to had the baby's name spelled out on the top and each person had a set time to see how many (baby-related) words they could spell out of the letters in his name.

Quick, easy, painless, and ended up being fun.

I'll be watching this thread, as I'm doing my first shower (for my sis) in January!

C. Beth said...

Oh, Lyndsay, I like that one! I've played one similar to it but had forgotten it. Great idea. We don't know the baby's name, but the mom's name would work too. Thanks!

Anna said...

there's always:
1. Baby Shower Bingo,
2.guess how many toilet paper squares, or how long the string of yarn that goes around mommy's belly is
or
3.if they're a crafty group have them make a scrapbook page for the baby book

Mary said...

i just threw a baby shower a couple of weeks ago.
one game we played was kind of like musical chairs, but with a gift. wrap a gift with many layers of gift wrapping (depends on how many people you are playing). have everyone stand in a circle and pass the gift while music is playing. when the music stops the person who has the gift in her hand has to unwrap one layer. continue on and whoever wraps the last layer wins the prize.
it was a hit with all the ladies. :) sorry this post is so wordy! lol

Mary said...

oh one more!
we also played the clothes pin game.
have two people hold a string full of clothes pin.
each person has to see how many clothes pin they can take off the string with using only one hand. they can not use any other part of their body.
it was fun seeing how competitive everyone was. :)

Angie said...

One of my faves can get a bit pricey, just a warning. You buy plain white onesies in different sizes. Get some fabric paints, brushes, and maybe a few stamps or stencils. (You can make your own stamps with household sponges.) Cover a table with a plastic tablecloth and let people decorate a onesie. It's a lot of fun to do and Mom ends up with a lot of creative, original onesies in different sizes.

Dan & Hillary said...

I have the best game for you! It a "Memory Game" with associated chocolate bars if you get the matched pair: ie... 'college'= 100 Grand, "Baby Girl"= Baby Ruth, "breastfeeding"= Milky Way. I'll send you an e-mail.

The Johnson 5 said...

Two shower games that I love are, Make up 15 questions about the mom to be and whoever has the most correct answers win. Some questions were simple like whats here middle name, some were a little bit trickier, like what was her high school or college mascot. The second game was on a piece paper right down "famous moms" either fictitious or real and you had to guess their children's names. One question was Carol Brady and the guess would be one of the Brady children, another one was Gloria Vanderbilt and the answer is Anderson Cooper. They both make you think and the first one is a little more personal for the mom to be.
Have fun at the shower!

Anonymous said...

Hi Beth!

This is my favorite game. And it can be used at any type of shower.)

While the Mom-to-be is opening her gifts, set a kitchen timer to go off every 5-10 minutes. Whoever's gift she is opening when the timer dings gets a little prize.

Easy peasy and makes the hourlong parade of "Oohs and Ahhs" much more fun!

And....the old ladies love to win free stuff!

Have fun - Erin

Anonymous said...

How about the baby food guessing game? Buy 10 jars of baby food purees, label each with a # on the bottom, make a master list (ex:#1= bananas), then take off the labels. Circulate the jars and have everyone write down what kind of food is in each jar. The person with the most right is the winner. The mom-to-be gets the jars and the list.
Have fun!
Teresa

Special K said...

We played on that was match the celebrity with the child, two lists on paper. It was fun!

We also played "Smell the babyfood."

And for a low-key small wedding shower at my house, I made up a bingo card and put wedding words on it and we picked wedding words. We played until all attending got a prize.

Anonymous said...

I bought small items the mom needs anyway and put them in brown paper bags...passed the bags around, each guest felt the bag and tried to guess what was inside and the one that guessed the most items won. I used things like a pacifier, bottle washer, cute pair of "panties" (what you would put over the diaper in the summer...looked like a duck..so cute!), nail clippers, diaper, bi, etc. The mom was soooo excited she got to keep all the stuff!

Sasha said...

Thanks for the shout out!

I like the one where everyone gets a safety pin or clothes pin at the beginning of the shower to clip on their shirt. No one can say the word "baby", or whoever hears you say it can steal your pin! The person with the most pins at the end of the shower wins.

I am terrible at explaining things, by the way.

C. Beth said...

These are great!!

Anna--Scrapbook page--very cute!

Mary--The gift game and clothespin games both sound really fun!

Angie--My artistic side really likes your idea! I'd have a blast with it.

Hillary--Mmmm.... Candy....

The Johnson 5--Those are both good. And Anderson Cooper is Gloria Vanderbilt's son? I know I'd heard that (on Oprah I think) but I'd totally forgotten it. Very interesting.

Erin--I like the time effectiveness of that one!

Teresa--I think I like your version better than the version I've heard where people actually have to try the baby food!

Special K--Sounds like fun, and prizes for everyone keeps people happy!

Paige--Very cute; I haven't heard that one before!

Sasha--You are CRACKING ME UP--go read my post and you'll see why. :-)

Ladies, I'll come back later to let you know what I choose.

C. Beth said...

Okay...I'm going to do Hillary's Memory game.

Thank you all so much for the excellent suggestions!

Robyn said...

I just did the "decorate a onsie" at the last shower that I hosted and it went over pretty well. It was pricey, but the guests had a good time. We went through the onsies together after the shower and laughed! I used fabric markers instead of actual paint. It was a little less mess. I also liked this idea because while the guests are mingiling and eating, they were able to stop by the table when they had a chance. Also, for those not interested in participating...there was no pressure.
I also did the Memory Game - but with a different twist. I purchased 15 items that the mom would use. Then gave guests 3 minutes to memorize the items. The guest with the most items memorized won. Bonus - the mom took home the goodies.

@findingkansas said...

Hi there! At mine and my sisters baby shower we played a game in which about 50 safty pins, the medium and small ones, were mixed with a cup or two of uncooked white rice. Guests then had to, while blind folded, pull as many of the safty pins out as possible, just the pins. You would not believe how many people scoff and thought it was so easy. It was so much fun when they realized how difficult it was. Certainly isn't "baby" related but sure was fun!

Anonymous said...

Seriously... I am also helping to host a baby shower on Sunday and we were just discussing what games we could play that aren't too painless.

We played the baby word for each letter of the baby's name for Olivia's shower (we had it after she arrived) and it went over pretty well.

Bingo while opening gifts is also a good one (bingo card filled with baby things. As mom opens gifts you cross off those items on your bingo card.

We're going to do the guess Mom's girth with string/ribbon. I'll have to look more closely at the suggestions to get another one for Sunday.

C. Beth said...

Robyn, Sharra, & Sarah--Thank you for the continued ideas! I know at least one other person is looking at this post for ideas for a future shower.

Bonsack Baptist Preschool Consignment Sale said...

I just did a baby 'sprinkle' for a second baby. We played Bingo and Baby Scramble. If you want I will send you the games on email so you don't have to make them up! Just let me know!

Anonymous said...

I know this is late for you Beth but the girl above that is hosting on Sunday might be able to use it. I always give a Starbucks gift card.



Pass the Gift game

You thought all the gifts were meant for you. But I have other items too.
So look around but a second or two, and give it to the one with eyes of blue.
You think you are the lucky one, but let us all share in the fun!
Look around with eyes discreet, and give it to the one with the smallest feet.
Your feet are tiny and very small. Now hand it to someone very tall.
Please, take your time, don't be harried. Give it to the one who is longest married.
You must be proud of your married life, now pass this on to the newest wife.
Although that’s wonderful news, you must give the gift to the one with the cutest shoes.
In my book you may be the smartest, pass the gift to the one who traveled farthest.
You traveled far for this shower, now give it to someone wearing a flower.
Diamonds, Pearls, lots of pretty things, pass the gift to the one with the biggest earrings.
Lots of proud mommy’s with babies, young & old, the one with the most gets the gift as the stories told.
Now don't get cross and please don't fight,
the game will be over when you pass it to the lady third on your right.

Anonymous said...

PS: You print it out and read it to the guest and pass around the gift card in a bag.

C. Beth said...

Emily Anne, Becca, and everyone else--

Thank you all for the great ideas! Our shower went really well with the play dough baby game and Hillary's memory game. I hope the ideas are useful for others planning showers.

Baby Shower said...

There are plenty of baby shower games out there on the internet. There are so many different games to choose from. I would suggest you try to match the theme of the baby shower with your games.