20 Baby Shower Activities for Kids Who Came Along With Mom

Baby shower activities for kids solve the one problem the invitation never mentions: what happens to the four-year-old once the gift bags come out and the adult games start. Stock a corner with something to color, something to build and something to count, and she stays busy without once feeling parked out of the way. Mix a few printable sheets with hands-on crafts and one or two games with real motion, and the kids’ table runs itself while the grown-ups get through bingo and gift-opening in peace.

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1. Draw the Baby Sheet

Hand each child a sheet and something to color with, and point to the big empty frame at the center. She draws whatever she imagines the new baby will look like, hair, outfit, even the stroller, and signs her name underneath when it is done. Nothing is judged, so the activity ends the moment she decides hers is finished and hands it to mom to keep.

Works for any age that can hold a crayon, needs five to ten minutes, and nothing beyond the sheet and a cup of crayons or markers.

The one hitch is a child who stares at the blank frame and freezes; give her three quick prompts out loud (what color are the baby’s eyes, what is the baby wearing, is the baby smiling) and the pencil starts moving. For a toddler too young to draw recognizable shapes, hand over crayons anyway and call it a color-the-frame activity instead, scribbles count.

2. Gingerbread Nursery House Decorating

Set a pre-baked or store-bought small gingerbread or graham-cracker house kit at the table along with bowls of icing and candy, and let each child decorate her own. The round ends once icing has been piped onto every wall and the last gumdrop pressed into place, no judging, no winner, each child keeps the house she built.

Best for three or more kids seated together, takes about fifteen minutes, and the only real setup is pre-assembling the cracker walls so little hands only decorate, not construct.

Icing that will not hold a candy up is the usual complaint, so thicken it with a little extra powdered sugar before the party starts. For kids under four, swap the roof panels for a flat graham cracker to frost and press cereal onto instead, far less structural engineering involved.

3. Baby Animal Coloring Pages

A sheet of five line-art baby animals, a puppy, a kitten, a duckling, a bunny, a lamb, gives each child something to fill in with no instructions beyond pick a color. The activity runs as long as she wants it to and ends naturally once every animal has color on it.

Needs one sheet per child, a cup of crayons or colored pencils, and no supervision beyond refilling the cup, it is the easiest of the lot to set down and walk away from.

Younger kids sometimes color outside every line, which is completely fine and worth saying out loud so nobody feels corrected. For a group with older kids mixed in, add a second sheet with smaller, more detailed animals so they are not rushing through a page built for toddlers.

4. Story Corner with the Gifted Books

Pile the picture books guests brought as gifts onto a cushion or low chair in a corner, and let an older cousin or a patient adult read two or three aloud while the little ones settle in. The corner runs until the stack is read through or until gift-opening pulls everyone back to the main room.

Best for a mixed-age group of two or more kids, takes as long as there are books, and needs nothing beyond the books themselves plus a soft spot to sit.

A toddler who wanders off mid-story is normal, not a failure, let her come and go. If the group skews older, hand one of them the book and let her read to the rest, it keeps her invested instead of waiting to be entertained.

5. I Spy and Count Baby Items

Each sheet shows a busy illustrated shelf scene stuffed with pacifiers, bottles, rattles, teddy bears, socks and bibs, and the child’s job is to spot and count each one, writing the total on the line beside it. There is no single pace, the sheet is done once every line has a number on it.

Suits kids who can count to ten or so, takes about ten minutes alone or with a sibling working together, and needs only the printed sheet and a pencil.

A child who loses count partway through usually just needs a finger to point with while she recounts, that alone fixes most wrong totals. For a younger child, read the items out loud together first so she knows what she is hunting for before she starts.

6. Baby Bottle Ring Toss

Line up several plastic baby bottles at different distances and let each child take three rings to toss. The turn ends after the third ring lands or misses, and whoever rings the most bottles across the group wins a small prize.

Works for two or more kids, five minutes a turn, and needs a set of bottles weighted with a little rice so they do not tip, plus a set of rings.

Bottles that tumble over on the first near-miss get frustrating fast, so test the weighting before the party starts. Move the bottles closer for a younger child or add one worth double points at the back row for an older one who wants more of a challenge.

7. Baby Item Bingo

Give each child a five-by-five bingo card filled with baby shower items, pacifier, rattle, bib, stroller and more, and call items out loud or let kids mark them as they spot them on the gift table. The first card with a full row, column or diagonal covered calls out bingo and wins.

Plays with any number of kids at the table, runs ten to fifteen minutes, and needs a card per child plus something to mark squares with, dried beans, buttons or coins all work.

Two kids calling bingo in the same breath happens often with a full table, so keep a small backup prize ready rather than arguing over who said it first. For younger players, skip the calling format and just have them cross off items as gifts get unwrapped. If the grown-up table needs backup sheets too, there are more in 15 free printable baby shower games you can print tonight.

8. Helping Build the Onesie Banner

Older kids get the fun job of clipping the plain or guest-decorated onesies onto the length of twine or ribbon that becomes the nursery banner, one clothespin at a time. The activity ends once every onesie on the pile has a spot on the line.

Best for kids around five and up who can manage a clothespin, takes about ten minutes with two or three helpers, and needs only the onesies, a length of twine and a bag of clothespins.

Little ones sometimes clip onesies upside down or out of order, let it stay, the banner looks charming slightly uneven. Give a younger child the job of handing clothespins to the one doing the clipping instead, everyone still gets to help.

9. Baby Animal Word Search

Sixteen baby animal names are hidden in the grid, running up, down, sideways and backward, and the child circles each one she finds. The sheet is finished once every word on the list has been found and circled.

Suits readers roughly six and up, takes ten to fifteen minutes solo, and needs only the printed sheet and a pencil or highlighter.

A child who gets stuck on the last word or two usually just needs a hint about which direction to scan next, top-to-bottom versus corner-to-corner. For a younger sibling who cannot read yet, let her sit alongside and circle the ones you point to instead, she still gets to join in.

10. Pin the Pacifier on the Baby

Pin or tape a large poster of a baby’s face to the wall, blindfold one child at a time, spin her gently, and let her try to stick a paper pacifier cutout as close to the baby’s mouth as she can. Once everyone has had a turn, whoever’s pacifier landed closest wins.

Works for any number of kids, runs about fifteen minutes total, and needs the poster, a blindfold and a cutout pacifier per child with a bit of tape or a pin on the back.

Dizzy kids sometimes wander well off the poster entirely, so skip the spinning for anyone under four and just let her aim from where she stands. Write each child’s name on her pacifier beforehand so there is no argument later about whose landed where.

11. Baby Items Matching Memory Game

Ten mama animals sit in a numbered column on the left, ten baby animal names sit scrambled in a lettered column on the right, and the child draws a line connecting each mother to her baby. The sheet is complete once all ten lines are drawn.

Fits kids who already know their basic animals, around five and up, takes about ten minutes, and needs just the sheet and a pencil.

A line drawn to the wrong baby animal is an easy fix, just let her cross it out and redraw rather than starting over on a fresh sheet. For a younger child, read the animal names aloud together first since matching gets much easier once she has heard calf, foal and joey out loud.

12. Stuffed Animal Freeze Dance

Each child holds one of the stuffed animal gifts and dances around while the music plays, then freezes completely the instant it stops. Anyone still moving after the music cuts out sits out that round, and the last child still frozen and standing wins.

Needs three or more kids, a phone or speaker for music, and a stuffed animal per child, runs about five minutes per round and resets instantly for another.

Little ones often cannot hold still even when they try, so for a mixed-age group let the youngest freeze close enough rather than enforcing total stillness. Add a rule that the stuffed animal has to freeze mid-air too for an extra layer that keeps older kids more careful.

13. Counting Baby Things Math Sheet

Twenty simple addition and subtraction problems, all themed around baby shower counting, bottles plus bibs, diapers minus pacifiers, line the sheet, and the child solves each one and writes the answer beside it. The sheet is done once every problem has a number next to it.

Built for kids who already know basic addition and subtraction, roughly six and up, takes about fifteen minutes, and needs only the sheet and a pencil.

A wrong answer usually traces back to a rushed subtraction, so a quick finger-count together catches most mistakes without feeling like a correction. For a younger sibling who is not counting yet, skip the sheet and let her just color the baby icons scattered around the edges instead.

14. Balloon Keepy-Uppy

Clear a little floor space, hand everyone a balloon, and set one simple rule, it cannot touch the ground. Kids bat it back up with their hands, the round ends the moment it hits the floor, and whoever or whichever team kept theirs up longest wins.

Works for two or more kids, takes two or three minutes a round so it resets fast, and needs nothing but a few balloons.

Balloons that pop mid-game upset small kids fast, so blow up two or three spares before anyone starts playing. For a bigger group, turn it into a team version where everyone in a circle keeps one shared balloon up together, nobody is out on her own.

15. Nursery Rhyme Fill-in-the-Blank Sheet

Eight classic nursery rhyme lines are printed with one key word missing from each, and the child fills in the blank from memory or by sounding it out. The sheet is finished once all eight blanks have a word written in.

Suits kids who already know a few nursery rhymes, roughly four and up with help reading, takes about ten minutes, and needs only the sheet and a pencil.

A child who draws a total blank on one line just needs the first word or two read aloud, the rhyme usually finishes itself from there. For a non-reader, turn it into a call-and-response instead, an adult reads the line and the child shouts the missing word for someone else to write down.

16. Paper Plate Rattle Craft

Give each child two paper plates, let her decorate the outside with markers or stickers, then help pour a handful of dried beans between the plates before stapling the edges shut. The craft ends once the rattle is sealed and makes noise when shaken, and each child keeps the one she made.

Works for kids of almost any age with an adult handling the stapler, takes about ten minutes, and needs paper plates, dried beans or rice, decorating supplies and a stapler.

Beans spilling before the plates get sealed is the main mess to watch for, so have the second plate ready to press down the second the beans go in. For toddlers too young for a stapler nearby, tape the edges shut instead and trade the beans for a few pom-poms so the rattle is softer and safer for small hands.

17. Baby Item Scavenger Hunt Checklist

A list of twelve things to spot around the party, a pacifier, something polka dot, a gift wrapped in blue or pink, sends each child wandering the room with a pencil, checking off each item the moment she finds it. The hunt ends once every box on the list is checked, or once time runs out.

Works well for three or more kids roaming together, takes about fifteen minutes, and needs the printed checklist, a pencil and a clipboard to lean on.

An item that simply is not anywhere in the room can stall a literal-minded child, so scan the list yourself before handing it out and swap anything that will not actually turn up. For younger kids, hunt in pairs with an older cousin so nobody gets stuck staring at a blank box.

18. Pass the Teddy Bear

Sit everyone in a circle and pass a teddy bear hand to hand while music plays, same idea as hot potato. When the music stops, whoever is holding the bear sits out, and play continues until one child is left holding nothing but the win.

Needs four or more kids, a phone for music, and one stuffed bear, runs about ten minutes total across several rounds.

Kids who get knocked out early tend to lose interest fast, so give eliminated players the job of starting and stopping the music instead of sending them off to sit alone. For a gentler version with younger kids, skip elimination entirely and just see who is holding the bear for a silly freeze-frame photo each time the music stops.

19. Button and Pom-Pom Sorting Sensory Bin

Fill a shallow bin with a mix of colorful pom-poms and buttons, set out a row of small cups each labeled with a color, and let the child sort the pile by color using fingers or small tweezers. The activity winds down naturally once the bin is empty and every cup is full.

Works for one child at a time or a couple working side by side, takes as long as the bin holds attention, usually five to fifteen minutes, and needs the bin, the pom-poms or buttons, and the sorting cups.

Buttons are a choking risk for toddlers under three, so stick to large pom-poms only for that age and save buttons for kids who no longer put things in their mouths. While the kids sort by color, the grown-ups can work through 12 baby shower card games for easy table fun of their own.

20. Baby Shower Charades for Kids

Write baby-themed actions, feeding the baby, rocking the baby to sleep, pushing a stroller, on slips of paper, and let kids take turns acting one out silently while the rest of the group shouts guesses. The turn ends the moment someone guesses correctly, and whoever guesses right acts out the next one.

Works for four or more kids comfortable performing a little, runs fifteen to twenty minutes, and needs only slips of paper with actions written on them and something to hold them in.

Shy kids often freeze when it is their turn to act, so let anyone pass her slip to a partner and act out the scene together instead of solo. For younger kids who cannot read the slips yet, whisper the action in her ear before she starts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should kids come to a baby shower?

Kids are welcome at most baby showers unless the invitation specifically asks for an adults-only guest list, so check with the host first. If young kids are attending, plan a dedicated activity table so they have somewhere to go once the adult games start.

How do you keep kids entertained at a baby shower?

Set up one table stocked with quiet printable activities like coloring or counting sheets, mix in a craft such as gingerbread decorating, and add one or two active games so energy has somewhere to go. Rotating between quiet and active keeps attention longer than any single activity alone.

What do you need for a kids table at a baby shower?

A kids table needs printed activity sheets, crayons or markers, a few craft supplies like paper plates or stickers, and seating low enough for small kids to actually reach the table. Keep a bin nearby for finished projects so the table does not get buried in paper by the second hour.

What games can kids play at a baby shower?

Kids can play active games like pin the pacifier or balloon keepy-uppy, printable games like bingo or word searches, and quiet crafts like building a rattle or helping with the onesie banner. Mixing all three types keeps a wider age range occupied at once.

Do you need a babysitter at a baby shower?

A dedicated babysitter is not required if the activities are self-directed and an adult checks the kids’ table every so often, but a sitter helps once more than four or five young kids attend. For a large guest list with many families, hiring one sitter for an hour frees the parents to actually enjoy the shower.

How long do baby shower games for kids last?

Most kids’ activities at a baby shower run five to twenty minutes each, so plan on three or four different options to fill an hour without anyone getting bored of one thing. Printable sheets tend to hold attention longest since kids work through them at their own pace.