How to run a great baby shower party

A baby shower is a party that is held for a mother to be in the weeks leading up to the birth of her baby. Traditionally it is held for women only, although it is becoming more common to have a baby shower with both men and women. A baby shower is usually organised by a close friend or family member of the mother to be. A baby shower can come in many forms, some ideas for baby shower themes are:

  • Afternoon tea party
  • Barbeque
  • Lunch or dinner at a restaurant
  • Picnic
  • Group cooking class
  • Group yoga class that is appropriate for pregnant women

Baby Shower Games

Nappy / diaper race

Each party guest gets a disposable nappy and a toy doll. They must put the nappy on the doll as quick as they can, without the nappy falling off. The winner must then put an adult nappy on the loser (whoever came dead last in the race), who must wear it for the duration of the party!

The Peg Game

Each party guest gets three pegs at the start of the day. There are three banned words throughout the day, such as 'baby', 'birth' and 'labour'. When a guest is caught saying any of these words, she gets a peg stolen by the first person to hear it and remember the banned word. The person with most pegs at the end of the party is the winner.

Baby Bingo

Give out a card to each guest. On each card, everyone must guess:

  1. What the sex of the baby will be
  2. What the baby's first name will be
  3. What the baby's middle name will be
  4. What the baby will weigh
  5. Where the mother will be when she starts goes into labour
  6. Where the father will be when the mother starts going into labour
  7. How long the labour will take

Obviosly, the winner of this game is not known until after the baby is born!

Pin the dummy / pacifier on the baby

Much like 'pin the tail on the donkey' - take a large photo of a baby, attach it to the wall. Cut out a small picture of a dummy. Blindfold the guests (one at a time), spin them around in front of the picture, and get them to try and put the dummy as close as possible to the baby's mouth - the one who gets the closest is the winner!

Mystery mush

Take five jars of baby food of different flavours and remove the labels, so that the flavour of each is unknown. Make sure you know which one is which before you do this! Give each baby shower guest a small taste of each baby food, and get them to write down what they think the flavour is. The guest with the most correct answers wins!

Girth

Guess the expectant mother's girth: guests cut pieces of ribbon, string, or toilet paper to a length they believe matches the mother-to-be's tummy circumference. The guest who gets the closest wins a prize!

Ideas for prizes

  • Lolly dummies (pacifiers)
  • Small cookbooks
  • Photo frames
  • Teacup and saucer sets
  • Tea towels
  • Aprons

Ideas for gifts

  • Beautiful photo albums or photo frames for all the baby photos the new parents will take
  • Skincare products for the baby, and for the mother – moisturizers, bubble bath, shampoo and conditioner

Also see: Hens Party Games, Bucks Night Ideas