15 Baby Shower Games, Sorted by How Much Setup They Need
15 baby shower games for every kind of shower, from no-prep icebreakers to printable bingo and quizzes, with how to play, group size and setup notes.
Updated
Baby shower games have one purpose: to give a room of people who may not know each other something easy and cheerful to do together. The best ones need little explanation, include everyone from teenage cousins to great-grandparents, and never make the parent-to-be feel like the evening's entertainment.
Here are fifteen games, grouped by how much work they need from the host. Pick two or three that suit your guests and your timings rather than trying to fit in all of them. Our baby shower timeline shows where games fit in a typical two-hour shower.
No-setup games
These need nothing more than pens, paper or the guests themselves.
1. Guess the due date and weight
Guests write down their guess for the baby's arrival date, weight and, if it is not known, whether it will be a girl or a boy. Collect the guesses in a jar. The parents check them once the baby arrives and send the winner a small prize, or simply a message.
Group size: any. Time: a couple of minutes as guests arrive.
2. Parent-to-be predictions
A step up from the guessing jar. Guests predict things like the baby's first word, who the baby will look like, and what the baby will grow up to be. These are opinions, not facts, so there is no winner. Parents keep the cards as a keepsake.
Group size: any. Time: five minutes.
3. Advice for the parents
Each guest writes one piece of advice, a hope for the baby, or a favourite children's book on a card. It is quiet, kind and suits guests who do not enjoy games.
Group size: any. Time: as long as guests like.
4. Baby name game
Pick a letter, or the parents' surname, and guests write as many baby names as they can starting with that letter in two minutes. The longest list wins. Duplicates can be crossed out to make it trickier.
Group size: any. Time: five minutes.
Low-setup printable games
These need a printed sheet per guest and a few minutes of host preparation.
5. Baby shower bingo
Guests mark squares on a bingo card as presents are opened, or as the host calls out baby words. The first full line wins. Bingo is ideal during present opening because it keeps everyone watching. See our full guide to how to organise baby shower bingo.
Group size: 8 to 100. Time: runs alongside present opening.
6. Baby word scramble
Jumbled baby words, such as NAPPY, RATTLE or PRAM, for guests to unscramble. Use UK or US words to suit your guests: nappy or diaper, dummy or pacifier, pram or stroller. The first to finish correctly wins.
Group size: any. Time: five to ten minutes.
7. Baby word search
A grid with baby words hidden in it. It is gentle enough for children and older guests, and works well left on tables for people to dip into.
Group size: any. Time: ten minutes.
8. Nursery rhyme quiz
Guests complete the missing words from nursery rhymes, or name the rhyme from a single line. Choose rhymes that are known on both sides of the Atlantic if your guests are mixed.
Group size: any. Time: five to ten minutes.
9. Baby animal names
Match the animal to the name of its baby: kangaroo and joey, goose and gosling, hare and leveret. Easy to write and fun to mark aloud.
Group size: any. Time: five minutes.
Games that need a bit of preparation
These are the ones guests talk about afterwards, but the host needs to do some homework.
10. Who knows the parents best?
A quiz about the parents-to-be: where they met, their favourite foods, who is more likely to get up for a night feed. Someone close to the parents writes the questions and the answers in advance. Every answer must be checked with the parents, because a quiz with wrong answers falls flat.
Group size: any. Time: ten minutes.
11. Guess the baby photo
Ask guests to send a baby photo of themselves before the shower. Display them numbered, and guests guess who is who. It is a lovely icebreaker for families meeting each other for the first time.
Group size: 10 to 30 works best. Time: runs throughout.
12. Mystery bag
Put a few baby items in a cloth bag, such as a dummy, a sock, a teething ring or a tiny spoon. Guests feel the bag without looking and write down what they think is inside.
Group size: any. Time: ten minutes as the bag goes around.
13. Price is right
Show guests a few baby essentials, such as a pack of nappies, a tin of formula or a bottle of baby wash, and ask them to guess the price. The closest guess without going over wins. Keep the receipts for the answers.
Group size: any. Time: ten minutes.
Active games for lively groups
14. Nappy changing race
Pairs or volunteers race to put a nappy on a doll. It is quick and funny, and works best with a small group of enthusiastic volunteers rather than everyone at once.
Group size: volunteers. Time: five minutes.
15. Pass the parcel
A grown-up version of the party classic, with a small baby-themed gift or forfeit at each layer. Music stops, someone unwraps a layer. Choose forfeits that nobody will mind doing.
Group size: 10 to 30. Time: ten minutes.
Choosing games for your shower
- Mixed ages and many strangers: bingo, guess the baby photo and the guessing jar.
- Close friends: who knows the parents best and the predictions cards.
- Co-ed showers: price is right, baby name game and the mystery bag tend to suit everyone.
- Short on time: bingo during present opening and one table game.
- The parent-to-be dislikes attention: choose games about the guests, not about her body or the pregnancy.
Games with a right answer, and games without one
Some shower games have a checkable result. Bingo does: the square matches a present or a word that was called. A word scramble does: the letters make one word, and the host has the list. Other games are opinions. A prediction about the birth weight is a guess, and a name suggestion is a kindness, not a test. A "who knows the parents" quiz can be scored against what the parents wrote, but say up front that a different answer is not a mistake. Print the host sheet separately, leave the predictions on the table, and tell people there is no prize for the most poetic guess.
Prizes
Small prizes make the games feel like an occasion. Candles, chocolates, a houseplant, a pretty notebook or a coffee voucher all work. Wrap them to match your colours and add a printed tag.
Printing tips
- Print on heavier paper so sheets survive being passed around.
- Print a few spares of each game.
- Keep answer sheets separate and give them to the host.
- Put pens on every table.
A matching game pack
PrintBloom Studio's baby shower games print a matching set in your shower's name and date. The Starter Pack includes 15 printables, among them bingo, prediction cards, a word scramble, a who-knows-the-parents quiz with a host answer sheet and prize tags. The Complete Pack has 38, adding more games, signs, advice cards for the parents, a gift tracker and party extras, with A4 and US Letter files. Predictions are never scored, because opinions do not have a right answer.
