18 Baby It’s Cold Outside Baby Shower Ideas (Games for Kids!)

Planning a cozy winter celebration? These baby it’s cold outside baby shower ideas are packed with 18 games that work for every guest — kids included — and keep the whole crowd warm, laughing, and in the spirit.

Whether you’re hosting in December or February, this theme is endlessly charming and completely gender neutral, so you never have to worry about blue versus pink.

Think snowflakes, hot cocoa, woolly mittens, and a whole lot of fun. We’ve mixed printable sheets, lively group games, and sweet keepsake activities so the party flows naturally from start to finish. Grab your hot chocolate and let’s get the party started.

1. Cold Outside Baby Bingo

Baby Bingo is the classic shower opener for a reason — it gets every single guest involved from the moment the first gift bag crinkles.

For a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower, give each player a bingo card filled with winter-themed baby gift words like mittens, snowsuit, fleece blanket, and warm booties. As the mom-to-be unwraps presents, guests mark their squares and the first one to shout “Bingo!”

wins a cozy prize.

The beauty of this game is that it runs itself. You don’t have to explain complicated rules or referee anything — just hand out the sheets and pencils when guests sit down.

Kids love it just as much as adults because everyone is watching the same action and reacting together. It also keeps little ones engaged during what can otherwise feel like a long gift-opening stretch.

Print one card per guest and make sure each card has a different randomized arrangement of words. A small prize like a hot cocoa gift set or a cozy candle works perfectly as the winner’s reward and ties right back into the theme.

2. Book Plate Signing

Instead of a traditional card, ask each guest to bring a gently used or brand-new children’s book to the shower.

Tuck a small bookplate card inside the front cover and invite guests to write a personal message, a favorite memory, or a little piece of advice for the baby’s future reading life.

It’s the warmest, most heartfelt icebreaker — and by the time the shower ends, the family has the beginnings of a full nursery library.

This works especially well for kids attending the shower, since they can pick a book they loved growing up and write something sweet inside. Even a child who is too young to write can draw a picture or press a handprint.

Keep a basket of fun markers near the book station so guests can doodle, add stickers, or decorate the pages around their message.

Set up the station near the entrance so guests do it on arrival, before things get busy. A simple sign that reads “Bring a Book, Leave a Note” tells everyone exactly what to do without any explanation needed. The finished collection makes one of the most meaningful gifts the baby will use for years.

3. Words of Wisdom Jar

Set out a large glass mason jar decorated with a snowflake ribbon and a stack of small cards printed with the prompt: “A little wisdom to warm this baby’s life…”

Guests write their best parenting tip, life lesson, or funny piece of advice, fold the card, and drop it in the jar. The parents-to-be get to read them all later — sometimes laughing, sometimes tearing up — and they make a beautiful keepsake.

Kids absolutely love this one. Ask the little ones to share what they think babies need to know about life, and you’ll get answers that are pure gold. “Always eat your broccoli” and “naps are actually awesome” are fan favorites.

Having a mix of heartfelt adult wisdom and hilarious kid wisdom in the same jar makes the whole thing even more special.

Place the jar on a decorated side table with a small sign, a cup of pens, and a stack of pre-cut cards in a winter color palette.

You can theme the cards with tiny snowflake borders to match your Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower ideas without any extra effort. The parents can revisit the jar on the baby’s first birthday, fifth birthday, or whenever they need a smile.

4. Frosty Wishes for Baby

Wishes for Baby is one of those games that barely feels like a game at all — it feels like a gift. Each guest fills out a printed card with their warmest hopes and dreams for the little one on the way.

Think things like: “My wish for you is…” “I hope you always know…” and “One thing I want you to experience is…” The completed cards get bundled together and handed to the parents as a keepsake.

For a Baby It’s Cold Outside theme, lean into the cozy imagery: wishes can reference warmth, adventure in the snow, first snowflakes, and the magic of winter mornings.

Print the cards on cream or ivory card stock with a delicate snowflake border and they’ll look beautiful displayed in a frame or tucked into a memory box.

Kids at the party can draw their wish instead of writing it — the illustrated cards usually end up being everyone’s favorites.

Hand these out during the first 20 minutes while guests are arriving and settling in. That way the cards are filled out by the time the formal games begin, and you can collect them all at once without interrupting the flow of the party. It sets a lovely, warm tone right from the start.

5. Guess Who (Baby Photos)

Before the shower, ask every guest to email or text the host their most adorable baby photo. The host prints them all out, numbers them, and tapes them up around the room or lays them out on a table.

Guests mingle and try to figure out which baby photo belongs to which adult guest — the results are always hilarious and completely unpredictable. Nobody ever looks like their baby self.

This game doubles as a brilliant icebreaker because it gets everyone moving around and talking to each other. Guests debate, compare, and argue their guesses, which means even shy guests end up in animated conversations.

Kids especially love running from photo to photo and pointing at the ones they think are funny. Give each player a numbered answer sheet and let them make their final guesses before the big reveal.

Do the reveal out loud: call out each number, show the photo, and watch the room react. The guest with the most correct guesses wins a small prize. For an extra laugh, include a baby photo of the mom-to-be and ask everyone to guess what age she was — that one almost always starts a great story.

6. Winter Baby Word Scramble

Word Scramble is a crowd pleaser that works for every age group — competitive adults race to unscramble first while kids feel proud when they crack even one or two.

For a Baby It’s Cold Outside shower, choose a mix of baby gear words and winter-themed baby words, then jumble the letters. Think SNWOSUIT (SNOWSUIT), EHTEERT (TEETHER), BNKALET (BLANKET), and PEIRDA (DIAPER). The mix of easy and tricky ones keeps everyone engaged.

Set a timer for three to five minutes and let the scrambling begin. The silence that falls over the room while everyone furiously unscrambles letters is its own kind of fun — and then the timer goes off and everyone immediately starts shouting answers.

The guest who unscrambles the most words correctly wins. In case of a tie, have a single tiebreaker word ready to read aloud.

Print one sheet per guest and have extras on hand. Some players will want to attempt it more than once if they finish early. Add a small snowflake or mitten graphic to the header of the sheet to keep the design feeling on-theme, and you have a polished printable that looks like it came straight from a party store.

7. Late Night Diaper Notes

This game is both hilarious and genuinely useful — guests write encouraging messages, funny pep talks, or silly jokes on small cards that the new parents can read during 3 a.m. diaper changes when they need a laugh the most.

The printed cards can be shaped like diapers, decorated with snowflakes, or simply printed on card stock and cut out by the host ahead of time. Either way, they become a lifeline of humor in those early exhausted weeks.

Set out a stack of the blank cards, some colorful markers, and a collection tin or gift bag labeled “Open at 3 a.m.” Guests write their message secretly, fold the card, and drop it in.

Kids can draw a funny picture with a caption, and some of the best notes of the night come from the youngest guests.

The more specific and silly the messages, the better — “You’ve got this, even if you have no idea what you’re doing” is a perennial favorite.

This printable works double duty: it’s a game activity during the party AND a gift that keeps on giving for weeks afterward. Include a note in the gift bag telling parents not to peek until the first rough night.

Those notes have been known to make sleep-deprived parents laugh out loud in the dark, which makes the whole thing completely worth it.

8. Baby Food Taste-Off

Pick up eight to ten jars of baby food in mystery flavors — some obvious (bananas, sweet potatoes), some surprisingly tricky (mixed grain and pear, anyone?) — remove the labels and number the lids.

Set them out on a table with small spoons and napkins and challenge guests to taste and identify each one. It sounds easy. It absolutely is not. Watching grown adults puzzle over a tiny jar of pureed green beans is comedy gold.

Give everyone a numbered answer sheet and let them taste as many jars as they dare before writing down their guesses. For kids, this is thrillingly gross and hilarious in equal measure. For adults, it’s humbling.

Hint: the sweeter flavors are almost always easier to identify while the veggie blends and combination flavors will stump everyone in the room, every single time.

Tally up scores at the end and award the winner bragging rights and a small prize. You can also do a bonus round: blindfold the mom-to-be and have her try to identify three flavors while the crowd reacts. It always brings the house down. Clean up is easy — just toss the numbered jars and wipe down the table.

9. Cold Outside Baby Animal Match

Did you know a baby goat is called a kid, a baby swan is called a cygnet, and a baby kangaroo is called a joey? Most people have no idea — and that’s exactly what makes this game so fun.

Guests get a printed sheet listing adult animals on one side and a scrambled list of baby animal names on the other, and they have to draw lines matching each parent to its young. It sounds academic; it plays like a delightful puzzle.

This is one of the rare baby shower games where the “losing” is just as fun as the winning because everyone learns something surprising.

The room always erupts when the host reveals that a baby hedgehog is called a hoglet or that a baby platypus is a puggle. These facts stick with people for years.

Kids think the whole thing is brilliant and often outperform the adults, especially if they’re into animals.

Print one sheet per guest and work through it individually or in pairs. Allow about three minutes, then go through the answers together as a group for maximum laughs. The guest with the most correct matches wins, and everyone leaves a little smarter than when they arrived.

10. Nursery Rhyme Karaoke

Nursery Rhyme Karaoke is exactly what it sounds like and it is exactly as chaotic and wonderful as you are imagining. The host reads out the opening line of a classic nursery rhyme and guests have to sing — yes, sing — the next line.

No reading from a phone, no help from a neighbor. Just pure memory and a willingness to be a little silly in front of everyone. It’s the perfect game for a crowd that includes kids, because the little ones are often the best at this.

You can run it as a buzzer-style competition where the first person to jump up and sing correctly earns a point, or simply go around the room and give each guest a rhyme to attempt.

Include classics everyone knows (Jack and Jill, Twinkle Twinkle) alongside some that will genuinely stump adults (Wee Willie Winkie, anyone?). The goal is laughter, and this game delivers it in buckets.

No materials needed beyond your list of rhymes — just your voice and a crowd that’s warmed up enough to be a little goofy. Award the winner a small prize and keep a few extras for the kids who perform especially enthusiastically.

This one tends to get louder as it goes, which is exactly the energy a great baby shower needs.

11. Cotton Ball Scoop

Fill a large bowl with cotton balls and set it on one side of the room. Place an empty bowl on the other side.

Blindfold one player at a time, hand them a large spoon, and challenge them to scoop as many cotton balls as possible from the full bowl and walk them to the empty bowl — all without being able to see or feel whether anything is actually on the spoon.

Cotton balls are virtually weightless, so players never know if they’ve scooped one, ten, or none at all.

The combination of concentration and total cluelessness is absolutely hilarious to watch. Players shuffle carefully across the room with a spoon held out in front of them, deeply convinced they’ve got a massive haul, only to discover the spoon was empty the whole time.

Other times someone with no confidence shakes their way across the room and dumps fifteen cotton balls in the bowl. It’s completely unpredictable and wildly fun for spectators.

Give each player 60 seconds to transfer as many cotton balls as possible. Count the results, announce the winner, and let the next player try. Kids are especially determined at this one and often end up doing better than adults because they take it seriously.

Perfect for a Baby It’s Cold Outside theme since the cotton balls look exactly like fresh snowballs.

12. Snowy Due Date Sweepstakes

Everyone thinks they know when this baby is going to arrive — now they get to put it in writing.

Hand each guest a printed card with fields for their guessed due date, time of birth, baby’s weight, length, and whether the birth will happen before, on, or after the official due date.

Collect all the cards, seal them in an envelope, and hand them to the parents. The winner gets notified (and celebrated!) after the baby arrives.

This is genuinely one of the most exciting baby shower games because it has a long tail — the fun doesn’t end when the party does.

Guests go home still thinking about their guess, and the whole crew gets to reconnect when the baby finally makes an appearance.

It works particularly well as a group text moment: the parents can send out a winner announcement the week after birth and bring the whole shower community back together for one more celebration.

Print the cards on fun winter-themed card stock or add a snowflake watermark to the sheet. Keep the form simple — the fewer fields, the faster everyone fills it out. A fun prize for the closest guess (a restaurant gift card, a spa kit, anything the winner will actually enjoy) makes people think carefully before writing down their date.

13. Snowflake Photo Scavenger Hunt

Give each guest or team a list of photos they need to take on their phone during the shower.

Include items like: a photo with someone wearing the ugliest holiday sweater, a photo recreating the mom-to-be’s favorite childhood photo, a selfie with exactly four people making a snow angel pose, a shot of the most creative gift bow, and a photo of the messiest piece of cake.

Set a 20-minute timer and let the chaos begin.

This game gets everyone moving, mixing, and laughing without requiring any printed sheets beyond the task list. It works especially well for multigenerational crowds because kids and grandparents end up collaborating on the silliest photos together.

At the end of the timer, teams submit their phones to the host who flips through the photo evidence and awards points for creativity, accuracy, and pure entertainment value.

Display the best photos on a TV or projector at the end for a group viewing party — it always produces a second wave of laughter as everyone relives the best moments.

You can also create a shared album or group text thread so everyone can save their favorites after the shower ends. It’s one of those Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower ideas that guests talk about long after the party.

14. Don’t Say Baby

This is the sneaky game that runs the entire length of the party in the background. The moment guests arrive, each person gets a clothespin (themed with a snowflake or mitten clip if you want to go the extra mile) to clip onto their shirt.

The rule is simple: say the word “baby” and you lose your pin to whoever catches you. The guest who collects the most pins by the end of the party wins.

What makes this one brilliant is how quickly people forget the rule — and how quickly they remember it again when they’re about to lose a pin. The conversations that happen because people are trying to avoid saying “baby” are genuinely hilarious.

“The little one,” “the bundle,” “the snowflake” all start appearing with increasing desperation. Kids are ruthless at this game and excellent at catching adults off guard.

No setup beyond the clothespins required. Themed pins cost almost nothing and look adorable on guests’ outfits. It’s one of the most reliable games in any host’s toolkit because it requires zero explanation and runs itself. Just announce the rule at the door and watch the whole crowd start side-eyeing each other for the next two hours.

15. Baby Milestone Predictions Bingo

This is a bingo game with a twist — instead of marking off gifts, guests predict which baby milestones will happen and at what age.

Each square on the card contains a milestone like “First steps,” “First word,” “Sleeps through the night,” “First solid food,” and “First time rolling over.” Guests write their predicted age (in weeks or months) in each square.

The cards get collected at the shower and the parents hold onto them, checking off squares and mailing or texting the winner as each milestone hits over the next year or two.

This game creates a gorgeous ongoing connection between shower guests and the growing baby. It’s not just a party game — it becomes a yearlong adventure where guests get surprise texts from the parents announcing winners one milestone at a time.

Grandparents and close family members love it especially because it gives them something to look forward to and a reason to stay in the loop.

Print the cards on heavier card stock so they hold up well when parents store them. Include a note on each card reminding guests to write their name so the parents know who to contact for each win.

A running leaderboard in a group chat adds an extra layer of fun that keeps the shower community alive and connected long after the party wraps up.

16. Diaper Change Race

Line up volunteers — this works best with three to six players competing simultaneously — and give each one a baby doll plus a cloth diaper or a folded piece of flannel.

On the count of three, everyone has to remove the “dirty” diaper, wipe the baby, and fasten on a fresh one as fast as they possibly can. First one done correctly wins.

The word “correctly” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, because the diapers often end up sideways, backwards, or barely attached at all.

The spectators always enjoy this one as much as the participants. Watching confident adults suddenly realize they have absolutely no idea how to fold a cloth diaper is some of the best unscripted entertainment a baby shower can produce.

If you want to make it extra tricky, blindfold the players — now it’s both a race and a complete sensory mystery. Kids love competing in their own round against each other.

Award the winner a small prize and maybe a certificate declaring them the Official Diaper Champion.

For the most laughs, have an experienced parent demonstrate the correct technique at the end of the race — the contrast between the demo and what guests actually produced is always spectacular.

It also sneaks in a genuinely useful tutorial for any first-time parents in the room.

17. Baby Name Acronym

If the parents-to-be have already chosen a baby name (or even a shortlist), this printable is pure gold.

Write the baby’s name vertically down the left side of the card — one letter per line — and challenge guests to create an acronym using each letter to describe the baby or their wishes for the little one.

For example, if the name is NOEL: N = Nurturing, O = One of a kind, E = Enthusiastic, L = Loved always. Simple concept, endlessly creative results.

The beauty is that no two answers are ever the same, and some of them are genuinely poetic while others are hilariously literal.

Kids come up with unexpected answers that somehow work perfectly (“Never eats broccoli” for the N in a name is a real answer a real child has given).

If the name is still a secret, use a fun placeholder like BABY or SNOW and watch the creativity flow just as freely.

Collect all the completed cards at the end and read a selection of them aloud. It becomes a little celebration of the baby’s name and everyone who loves them.

The parents usually keep the stack as a memento — it’s one of those Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower ideas that costs almost nothing to execute but produces something genuinely treasured.

18. What’s in Your Bag? (Winter Edition)

What’s in Your Bag is a points-based game where guests earn points for every item on a master list that happens to be in their bag, purse, or pockets right now.

For a winter Baby It’s Cold Outside theme, load the list with cozy and seasonal items: hand lotion (2 points), lip balm (3 points), a hair tie (1 point), a loyalty card for a coffee shop (2 points), a photo of someone you love (5 points), tissues (2 points), hand sanitizer (1 point), a pen with no lid (4 points), gum or mints (2 points), and a receipt from a clothing store (3 points).

The more unusual the item, the higher the points.

Give everyone three minutes to dig through their bag and tally their own score.

Then go around the room and have people call out their totals — the honor system works fine, and anyone who cheats at a baby shower game is having a worse time than everyone else.

The winner is the guest with the highest point total, and the whole thing takes under ten minutes while revealing hilariously specific things about people’s bag habits.

This game is a fantastic opener because it requires zero prep beyond printing the sheet. No scissors, no jar of cotton balls, no advance planning — just hand it out and go.

It also works beautifully for guests who aren’t into competitive games because the discovery element (“Who has a clothespin in their bag right now?!”) is fun for everyone regardless of score.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best decorations for a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower?

Think cozy and wintry: snowflake garlands, string lights, lanterns, a “Baby It’s Cold Outside” banner, and white balloon arches. Pinecones and cotton branches make gorgeous low-cost centerpieces. Fake snow dusted on tables and branches sprayed white add a magical finishing touch without a big budget.

What colors go with a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower theme?

For a gender-neutral palette, stick to creams, ivories, whites, and soft grays with silver or gold accents. Evergreen and deep teal are beautiful for a woodsy winter feel. If you want something warmer, try warm whites with dusty sage and copper. Avoid baby pink and baby blue if you want to keep the theme truly neutral.

What food should I serve at a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower?

Comfort food is king. Mini grilled cheese sandwiches, mac and cheese cups, chili in bread bowls, and ham and cheese pinwheels all feel right for a cold-weather celebration. For sweets, snowflake cookies, a winter-themed cake, and hot cocoa cupcakes with marshmallow frosting are crowd favorites. Warm flavors like pumpkin, cinnamon, and mocha work beautifully throughout the menu.

How do I set up a hot cocoa bar for a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower?

Set up a dedicated table with a large dispenser or slow cooker of hot chocolate. Offer toppings in small bowls: mini marshmallows, whipped cream, crushed candy canes, caramel drizzle, chocolate shavings, and cinnamon. Label each topping with a small chalkboard tag.

Add a “Hot Cocoa Bar” sign, themed mugs or paper cups, and a few stirring spoons or cinnamon sticks for a polished look that guests absolutely love.

What are some fun games for a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower?

This article has 18 of them!

Highlights include Cotton Ball Scoop (players try to transfer cotton balls blindfolded — they look like snowballs), Baby Food Taste-Off (identify mystery baby food flavors), Don’t Say Baby (clothespin game running all party long), and Nursery Rhyme Karaoke (guests sing the next line of a rhyme).

The printables like Baby Bingo and Baby Animal Match are great for quieter guests and kids.

What are good favor ideas for a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower?

Personalized hot cocoa packets tied with a tag that reads “Thanks for warming our hearts” are a fan favorite.

Other great options include small snowflake soaps or candles, mini hand lotion sets, custom mug sets, or a small jar of flavored hot cocoa mix with a printed label. For a budget-friendly option, box up white and silver candies with a snowflake thank-you tag.

Can I use Christmas decorations for a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower?

Absolutely — that’s one of the best parts of this theme! Snowflake ornaments, string lights, lanterns, garlands, and even stockings all work beautifully.

Just add a few baby shower-specific touches like a “Baby It’s Cold Outside” banner or a diaper cake centerpiece to distinguish it from a holiday party. Shopping post-Christmas sales is a brilliant way to stock up on winter decor at a steep discount.

What should the invitations look like for a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower?

Go for snowflake-shaped invitations or classic cards with white lettering on a gray or navy background. Include winter imagery like snowflakes, mittens, or woodland animals (deer, owls, foxes). Keep the wording playful — “Baby it’s cold outside, but things are heating up inside…” works perfectly as an opener. Digital invitations with a snowy animated design are a great budget-friendly alternative.

Is the Baby It’s Cold Outside theme better for a boy or girl baby shower?

It’s one of the most naturally gender-neutral themes you can choose. Stick to creams, whites, silvers, and evergreens and it works beautifully for any baby.

If you know the gender, you can lean into blues or blush accents without abandoning the theme — but honestly, the wintry cozy aesthetic stands perfectly on its own without any gendered color cues at all.

How do I decorate on a budget for a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower?

Shop post-Christmas or post-holiday clearance sales for snowflake garlands, string lights, and winter decor at 50–75% off. Dollar stores are goldmines for white and silver balloons, candles, and small lanterns. DIY touches like printed free snowflake templates cut from white card stock, mason jars with battery-powered fairy lights, and pinecones gathered from outside cost almost nothing and look genuinely stunning.

What is the difference between a Baby It’s Cold Outside and a Winter Wonderland baby shower theme?

Baby It’s Cold Outside leans into the cozy, warm-inside feeling — hot cocoa bars, flannel textures, comfort food, and a playful nod to the classic phrase.

Winter Wonderland is more glamorous and ethereal, with lots of silver, icy blue, glitter, and a focus on the magic of snow and frost.

Both use snowflakes and winter imagery, but Baby It’s Cold Outside feels warmer and more rustic while Winter Wonderland skews more formal and sparkly.

What are some DIY ideas for a Baby It’s Cold Outside baby shower?

Make your own diaper cake decorated with snowflake ribbon and white diapers rolled into tiers. Create a hot cocoa bar sign from a chalkboard or painted wood plank. Assemble mason jar centerpieces with fake snow, battery fairy lights, and a small figurine inside.

Print your own game sheets at home (all the printables in this list!), and tie favor bags with simple twine and a hand-stamped snowflake tag for a handcrafted touch that guests genuinely appreciate.

There you have it — 18 warm, wonderful, and totally kid-friendly baby it’s cold outside baby shower ideas that’ll keep every single guest smiling from the first snowflake to the last piece of cake.

Print out your favorite game sheets, set up that hot cocoa bar, and let the cozy magic happen.

Pin this list so you can come back to it, and when you’re ready to plan the rest of your party, check out our complete guide to Winter Baby Shower Themes for even more inspiration.

📌 Save These for Later

Loved these? Pin your favorite image below so you can find this list again when you’re planning.