There’s a specific silence that happens at baby showers. Someone announces the next game, there’s a pause, and then twelve adults look very intently at their punch cups. Nobody wants to be the first to say they’d rather just eat mini quiches and talk.
The game flopped. You could feel it happening in real time.
The problem isn’t baby shower games as a concept — it’s that most articles recycle the same five ideas that have been circulating since 2004. The right game doesn’t just fill twenty minutes of awkward time. It becomes the story that gets repeated at the kid’s first birthday. “Remember when your grandma won the blindfolded diaper change? She was so fast.”
That’s what you’re actually planning for.
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Here are funny baby shower games that actually land — organized by what kind of crowd you’re dealing with, because that matters more than anything else.
Games for Mixed Crowds (Dads, Grandmas, Random Coworkers, Everyone)
When you’ve got a mixed room, the game can’t be too “girls only” or too silly or require everyone to know each other well. It has to have a low entry barrier and some actual laughs built in, not dependent on everyone already being comfortable.
Don’t Say “Mama” (With a Twist)
The classic version is fine. The twist makes it better.
Everyone gets a clothespin or a bracelet at the start of the party. The forbidden word is “baby” — not “mama,” because guests will slip up on “baby” within thirty seconds and keep doing it all party long. When you catch someone saying it, you take their pin. Most pins at the end wins a prize.
The twist: pick a second word that’s more obscure. “Sweet” works well because people say “oh how sweet!” constantly at showers. Now you’ve got two words to track and the game gets legitimately competitive around the 90-minute mark.
What you need: Clothespins or cheap bracelets (about 20–25). A sign posted somewhere visible with the forbidden words. You can make this yourself with cardstock or grab a printable version from Etsy if you want it to look more polished.
Why it works: It runs in the background with zero effort from the host. People forget about it, then suddenly get very invested. I’ve seen total strangers become fierce competitors.
Baby Food Taste Test (Blindfolded)
Get eight to ten jars of baby food, remove the labels, and number them with masking tape. Guests taste each one blindfolded and write down their guess. Most correct answers wins.
The key is variety. Include at least one that sounds normal but tastes terrible (prune puree), one that sounds disgusting but is actually fine (spinach pea), and one total wildcard like beef and sweet potato. The reactions are the whole game.
What you need: 8–10 jars of baby food, spoons, blindfolds (bandanas work), numbered answer sheets. Print answer sheets yourself with two columns — “jar number” and “your guess” — or find printable scorecards on Etsy. The DIY version takes maybe five minutes to make in Google Docs.
Why it works: Watching adults make involuntary faces while blindfolded is genuinely funny to everyone in the room. Even people who don’t want to participate will absolutely watch.
Labor Story: Two Truths and a Lie
This one works especially well if there are moms in the room, but it’s hilarious even if there aren’t.
Each person who has given birth (or been present at a birth) writes down three “facts” about their labor story — two true, one made up. The group votes on which one is the lie. The real stories are always wilder than the made-up ones.
If the shower is all first-timers, adapt it: two truths and a lie about the first year of parenting, or about the guest of honor during the pregnancy.
What you need: Notecards, pens. No printable needed — this is pure conversation. Though you could make a voting card if you want structure.
Why it works: Moms will one-up each other for twenty minutes and nobody wants to stop. Newcomers get genuinely useful (if alarming) information.
Games for Girls-Only Showers
When it’s just a close group of women, you can go a little more personal, a little more ridiculous.
Finish the Lullaby Quiz
Print or display the opening line of ten classic lullabies and nursery rhymes — just the first line. Everyone writes the next line from memory. They get scored on accuracy, but honestly you can also just award points for the funniest wrong answer.
Include a mix: obvious ones like “Rock a Bye Baby” and “Twinkle Twinkle,” a couple that people half-know like “Hush Little Baby” or “You Are My Sunshine,” and one or two that nobody remembers past line two.
What you need: A printed quiz sheet or a slide on someone’s laptop. This is the easiest Etsy printable to find, or you can write it yourself in about ten minutes — it’s just a list of sentence starters.
Why it works: Everyone thinks they know all the lullabies until they’re staring at the paper. The “how do I not know this??” face is universal. Pairs well with the baby food game if you want to do two rounds of something similar.
How Big Is That Belly?
Each guest cuts a piece of ribbon or yarn the length they think matches the circumference of the mama-to-be’s belly. Then you actually measure. The person closest wins.
People are always wrong by a shocking amount, both under and over. The overcounters immediately apologize. It’s very funny.
What you need: A ball of ribbon or yarn (one skein is enough), scissors, a measuring tape.
Why it works: Somehow still surprising even though it’s been around forever. The physical reveal — seeing everyone’s wildly different lengths laid out — is the payoff. Keep this one in the rotation.
Baby Predictions Card
Each guest fills out a card predicting: baby’s birth date, weight, length, hair color, eye color, and one personality trait. Seal them in an envelope and give them to the parents. After the baby arrives, someone reads them all aloud at a smaller gathering (or just for the parents’ entertainment in week three when they need a laugh).
What you need: Cards with the prediction categories printed on them. This is a beautiful thing to get on Etsy — there are gorgeous options that double as keepsakes. The DIY version is a half-sheet of cardstock with a list. Both work.
Why it works: Low pressure, personal, and becomes something the family actually keeps. The baby gets to read them when they’re twelve and learn that three people guessed they’d weigh eleven pounds.
Quick Games for Low-Energy Vibes
Not every shower has the energy for a full organized game. Sometimes it’s a small afternoon gathering, everyone’s tired, and you want something that doesn’t require anyone to stand up or do anything performative.
Baby Emoji Quiz
Print a sheet with fifteen to twenty well-known nursery rhymes or baby movies represented entirely in emojis. Guests write their guesses. First to finish correctly wins, or just compare answers at the end.
Example: 🐑🌙✨ = Goodnight Moon. 🐝🌻🍯 = Winnie the Pooh. 🚂😴💤 = The Polar Express (okay that’s Christmas but you get the idea).
What you need: A printable sheet. This is honestly the one game where I’d buy the Etsy version rather than make it myself — designing the emoji layout takes longer than you’d think. Pens for everyone.
Why it works: Guests can work on it while eating or chatting. No awkward “okay everyone stop and pay attention” moment needed. You can run this one completely in the background.
Baby Bingo
Every guest gets a bingo card with common gift items in the squares — onesie, diaper bag, swaddle, white noise machine, that one item everyone buys that the parents already have three of. As the mama-to-be opens gifts, guests mark their cards. First bingo wins.
This one keeps everyone focused during the gift-opening portion, which can drag if there are a lot of presents.
What you need: Bingo cards (every guest needs their own, so buy or print enough), small markers or coins. Etsy has dozens of printable baby bingo options, some very cute. The DIY version requires making each card unique, which takes a while — buy this one.
Why it works: Solves the “everyone staring blankly while gifts get opened” problem. Makes even the mundane gifts interesting because someone might bingo on a pack of washcloths.
A Hosting Note on All of This
Pick two games. Not five, not four — two.
Two games at full energy beats five games where everyone’s already checked out by round three. If you want, do one structured activity game (taste test, belly measuring, emoji quiz) and one passive ongoing game (don’t say mama, predictions card). That combination covers the energy arc of the party without anyone feeling like they’re being herded around.
For more ideas on running group games with a crowd that has mixed energy levels, the 16 Christmas Party Games for Adults post has some solid principles that apply directly — specifically the bit about not cramming everything in.
Also worth keeping in mind: the games that become stories always involve some physical or sensory component, or some surprising reveal. Tasting blindfolded baby food makes a story. Filling out a worksheet quietly does not. Weight that into which two you pick.
One more from the archives if you need backup options for mixed-crowd moments — the 20 Thanksgiving Games for the Whole Family list has a few that adapt easily, and 21 Valentine’s Games That Work for Any Crowd is good for the lower-energy quick games section.
The shower that gets talked about is the one where something memorable happened. Give people a chance for that.
FAQ
How many baby shower games should I plan? Two, honestly. One active game and one passive (like don’t say “mama” running in the background). More than that and people start to feel like it’s a mandatory fun situation.
What’s the best baby shower game for a co-ed shower? The baby food taste test blindfolded. No gender dynamic, everyone looks equally ridiculous, and the reactions are funny to watch. Don’t Say Mama (or Baby) also works because it requires zero participation — you just live your life and try not to slip up.
Are printable baby shower games worth buying on Etsy? For the complicated ones, yes — baby bingo (because each card needs to be unique) and emoji quiz (because formatting is a pain) are worth a few dollars. For something like the predictions card or the quiz sheets, you can absolutely make those yourself in twenty minutes.
What if the mama-to-be doesn’t want games? Honestly, a predictions card that she takes home counts as a game and nobody has to “do” anything at the party. The belly measuring is also low-pressure — it’s thirty seconds per person. You don’t need anything elaborate.
What prizes should I give for baby shower games? Small candles, nice hand lotion, a good chocolate bar. Nothing elaborate. The prize is mostly the recognition, not the object.
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