17 baby shower games and activities

Guess the baby photo

These can be of guests who have sent through baby photos to the organiser, or of celebrities and famous figures. With the photos numbered on a pinboard or slideshow, guests must try and identify as many of the babies as possible to win.

Create a baby scrapbook

During the baby shower, have guests pass around a good quality scrapbook with pens, pencils, crayons or textas. The idea is to add tips, hints, messages, illustrations or anecdotes for mum that she can read and enjoy once baby is born.

Guess the baby food

Notoriously bland to the adult palette, baby foods can be as hard to identify by taste as by sight. Set up a taste test of unlabelled baby foods and see if guests can correctly identify just what that colourless mushy purée really is. Peas a la carrots, or banana aux custard?

Name the TV children

Using a list or slideshow, have guests see if they can name the children from famous television families. Draw from a variety of different eras to really test your guests’ knowledge, and see whether they can tell their Bundys from their Bradys.

Feed the (big) baby

This can get messy. Have guests pair off and each nominate one poor soul who will be fed applesauce by the other. The winning team is the one to finish their jar fastest (and ideally with the least food down their front!).

Guess mum's waist

It’s not often that we’re happy to share our expanding waistlines, but it’s a baby shower after all! With a ball of string and scissors, have each guest estimate mum’s waistline at its widest point and see who comes closest.

Nursery rhyme trivia

Test your guests’ memories of their own childhood with a few rounds of nursery rhyme trivia. Either individually, in pairs or in groups, guests compete to answer a range of questions on nursery rhymes such as ‘What was Little Miss Muffet eating when the spider sat down beside her?’ or ‘From which rhyme is the line “all the king’s horses, and all the king’s men?”’ Enjoy watching everyone roll back the years.

Name the 'baby' song

A sort of musical trivia where each sound byte played is from a song with ‘baby’ in the title. Think ‘Baby Be Mine,’ ‘Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing’ and ‘Baby Got Back.’ Alternatively, set a timer and see how many songs guests can name on their own before time runs out.

Decorate the onesie

Using coloured permanent markers or acrylic paints, have guests decorate some pure white onesies for the new arrival. This can be a nice personalised way to start their new wardrobe, while daily reminding mum of the support she has in her family and friends.

Make a time capsule

This one might require a bit of forward planning on something like a Facebook event page, but the long term payoff is great. Have each guest bring in something from the current period such as a coin, CD, newspaper or magazine and explain the item’s significance. Find an appropriate box or container that will last and lock the items away for a future birthdate like an 18^th or 21^st.

Name the baby animals

Using either a list or slideshow of animals, have guests write down the corresponding name for the species’ babies, such as ‘calf’ for cows or whales, ‘kid’ for goats or ‘gosling’ for geese. Really test your guests with the baby form of a cockroach (the very un-cockroach like ‘nymph’!).

Chug it down

Perhaps a game for a more jovial crowd – guests race to drink from baby bottles – whatever you decide to put in them – as fast as they can. Expect to see some red faces!

The Price is RIght

Channel your Larry Emdur and set up a Price is Right scenario using common baby products (hopefully ones that mum needs) and have each guest write down the pre-written prices with the corresponding items. It can also be fun for the organiser trying to describe the features of the items as though a luxury car or travel package!

Count the lollies

A nice little throwback to the school fair, fill one to three baby bottles with lollies like Smarties, Skittles or Maltesers and have each guest estimate how much they think is in each.

Make your own ABC blocks

You’ll be able to buy blank wooden blocks from either a craft or hardware store, along with acrylic paints or coloured markers. Decorating these blocks with letters and pictures can be a fun activity and a great way for all guests to make a lasting connection to baby’s life.

Guess the baby movie

A series of slides or video clips displayed showing parts of movies that focus on a baby or the birth of one. There are plenty of classics from all eras, with examples like 3 Men and a Baby, Juno and Look Who’s Talking.

Pregnant Twister

Not actually played by mum (or anyone else pregnant) this activity calls on the classic game Twister, but with participants having cushions or balloons up their shirts. Much hilarity ensues, but give your guests some space!

You can choose whether to award prizes to the winners of the games, or maybe offer each guest a party favour to take home when you wrap up. At the end of the day, these games are a great opportunity to get silly and help mum relax before birth.