Baby shower ideas please!

[mjkacmom]

This! I’ve hosted a few baby showers in my day, and this activity by far went over the best with guests and the parents-to-be.

I have a question, does anyone actually use them? I’m not artistic at all so mine would be ugly, and I remember with my first, I had so much clothing that I don’t think I would have used a hand painted onesie.

 

[Travel60]

The ones I've seen were very cute. Some people just wrote something like "Feeding Time" or "I'm the Favorite" while others did balloons, ice cream cones, flowers, stick figures, etc. Hostess could come up with a few ideas to display for inspiration. I've seen pics of them being worn.....babies sometimes go through a couple a day.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Baby bingo & how well do you know mama we’re big hits at both my daughter & daughter in laws showers

 

[usnuzuloose]

There is a game, bowl of rice and put safety pins in it to pick out

 

[maslex]

It’s been a while since we’ve had an exciting thread — Please tell me you only have one son.

LOL No, No, I have two sons. I should have elaborated more. My oldest son and his wife are having a baby boy and my youngest son with his girlfriend are having twin girls LOL

 

[neverlandsky]

Personally I would definitely go unisex/colors with the Showers because there will be an explosion of gifts in tradional blues and pinks. You could do a summer/bbq theme for the August Shower & Fall/Havest/Apples Theme for the September Shower.

Game Ideas:
Baby pictures - Everyone brings a baby picture of themselves and everyone guesses who is who.
Guess the jar - How many # of an item in a jar. Could be candy, baby pins, baby socks, etc.
Don't say baby/babies - Each guess gets a necklace and if they say baby/babies they lose it. The person with the most necklaces wins.

 

[gotomu212]

Please don’t do any of the games where everyone guesses how big the mom’s belly is and measures it with string or toilet paper. So many women are sensitive to their size and having dozens of people come up to wrap things around her and laugh at her size isn’t fun for most. Plus personally I’d like to get away from people feeling like commenting and laughing at others’ bodies is a game.

At mine everyone wrote a supportive nice pick me up message that was put into a book to look at when days were a little tough. That meant so much to me since few people talk about how hard those first weeks/months can be for a new mom and to see a message from an aunt or friend telling me I was doing great or I had this really was heart warming and helpful.

 

[mjkacmom]

Please don’t do any of the games where everyone guesses how big the mom’s belly is and measures it with string or toilet paper. So many women are sensitive to their size and having dozens of people come up to wrap things around her and laugh at her size isn’t fun for most. Plus personally I’d like to get away from people feeling like commenting and laughing at others’ bodies is a game.

At mine everyone wrote a supportive nice pick me up message that was put into a book to look at when days were a little tough. That meant so much to me since few people talk about how hard those first weeks/months can be for a new mom and to see a message from an aunt or friend telling me I was doing great or I had this really was heart warming and helpful.

I agree, I hate this game. I’d also stay away from any games involving baby food, diapers and bottles.

 

[Travel60]

One more activity from me. Cut out colorful balloon shapes (~4" tall) from construction or art paper. Ask each guest to complete the sentence "My wish for you is....."

After the shower, attach string to each balloon and attach them to an art board or canvas like they are floating. At the bottom of the board/canvas write "Wishes for Baby". Parents can hang in nursery.

 

[Tonys14]

At my niece's shower, they did a game of guess the most expensive item. The host would show 2 products on the screen and describe them. You had to pick which one was more expensive. Many of the products were very high end or unique, so the prices weren't widely known.

 

[aprilgail]

I hate when they have those stupid games at baby showers. the worst is when they tell you to rip off as much toilet paper from the roll that you think will fit around moms stomach. sure let’s just bet on how fat I am as if gaining weight isn’t bad enough they want to make a game of you.

 

[tcufrog]

2. Buy several packs of white/pink/blue onesies in sizes 3 mo., 6 mo, 9 mo, etc. Provide paint pens and ask guests to paint a saying or design on the onesie. Do this early in shower so they fully dry.

I've done that at all of the baby showers I've hosted and it's been really popular. Even a lot of the guys I've had at coed showers have had fun with it. They usually put jokes or superhero stuff on them. I recommend cutting out cardboard from mailing boxes to stick inside the onesie so the paint doesn't bleed through. I usually offer stencils, fabric markers, and fabric paint.

 

[Cheburashka]

I've seen a guess the candy bar game, in which different types of melted candy bars are each placed into a different diaper (yes, so it looks like poop), and people try to guess which candy bar it is. I'm not recommending or not recommending that game, just mentioning that I saw it.

I agree that games aren't necessarily needed. I was given three baby showers for my son by different groups of people (two were surprise showers), and each time there were no games, just socializing, sweets and presents. That said, if you think the people attending would be up for it, games can be fun and they're often part of a baby shower. A lot depends on the sense of humor of your guests.

 

[AgentMama]

Ask everyone to bring their favorite book with a note in it instead of a card. I'm in the no games camp, I personally don't tend to enjoy them or the feeling of forced participation.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

My son was just born last September and my shower was in late July. The theme was sports "The little rookie". I am not a fan of games at showers plus it was more of an open house due to Covid restrictions. We had individual food and favors. It was mostly eating, chatting, and opening presents.
They did ask for a book instead of a card and I love reading them to my son-it is fun to see the notes written in the books when I read them to him.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I like the games, especially the ones that take the attention off the mom-to-be - I know that I was very happy to have some time NOT as the center of attention. So, any games where she needs to be front and center, I'd pitch. But games like the baby picture one seem really fun (I'd have folks email the pics, so they don't need to mail or remember them...

 

[PollyannaMom]

I remember a game/quiz at one shower that had two lists - characters from children's books and places they lived (like Winnie the Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood). You had to match them up.

Also one called: Do you have a "mom purse?" - there was a list of items a mom might have in her purse, and you got a certain amount of points for each one. (This can be played with cell phones as well - things like different photos of your kids, children's songs in your playlist...)

I like the ideas above for guessing the amount of candy or baby items in a jar, too.

You can also set up a baby pool where people guess the date/time/weight/length. Closest in each category wins a prize - but that means you have to follow up later to give them out.

 

[Wendy31]

I like games because I think they serve the purpose of breaking the ice & get people chatting... especially if not all the attendees know everyone.

However, I’m not a fan of the yucky games - like the melted candy bars in the diaper or the games where you’re guessing how big the mother-to-be’s bump is or the type of games which single out anyone unnecessarily.

Just fun, harmless group games like the purse or cell phone scavenger hunt are good.