Friday, May 11, 2007

More Games for a Baby Shower

This is a companion article including several more games for baby showers which I've found to be entertaining for guests in my extensive experience hosting baby showers. As I mentioned in my previous article, having games for your guests to play at the baby shower helps break the ice among those who aren't acquainted and is a great way to make your shower exciting and fun.
1} Piggy Bank Game. Fill a small piggy bank with quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, keeping a tally of how many coins it takes to fill up the piggy bank. At the baby shower, pass the piggy around to all your guests and ask them to write down how many coins they believe are in the piggy bank. The closest person to the actual amount of coins wins a small prize. You can present the piggy bank to the mother-to-be after the game is finished.
2) What's in the Bag? For this game, you'll need ten brown paper lunch bags, ten small baby items (for example: diaper, comb, travel size powder, bib, four ounce bottle, nasal aspirator, etc.). Write the numbers one through ten on the bags and place a baby item inside each one, stapling or taping the bags shut. Give your guests pens and pads of paper and then pass around the bag labeled number one. Tell them they must feel what's in the bag and then write down what they believe the item to be. Continue passing around the bags until each guest has had the chance to examine them and guess what they think is in the bags. The one with the most items guessed correcly wins a prize.
3) Baby Food Game. To further test your guests' deductive abilities, purchase ten different types of baby food and remove the labels, replacing the labels with a number one through ten. Make sure you record what each numbered baby food jar contains. Buy at least a few jars of food that are similar in color, like peas and spinach. Give each guest paper, pen, paper plate, and a spoon. Pass around the number one jar and tell the guest to put a spoonful on their plates. They must try to guess what type of baby food is in each jar, using their sight, smell, and taste. Don't make them taste it if they don't want to, as I've known many people to resist doing so. The person who guesses the most correctly wins.
4) Memory Game. To play this game, you'll need to assemble a number of small baby items, however many you wish to purchase. Some suggestions are: travel baby powder, travel baby bath, travel baby shampoo, travel baby lotion, diaper, small package of baby wipes, thermometer, nasal aspirator, baby spoon and fork, diaper shirt, nail clippers, hooded towel and washcloth, bib, lap pad, diaper pin, etc. Place all these items in a baby bathtub (or on a tray, if you prefer). Keep the bathtub or tray covered until it's time to play, then asks your guests to gather around it. Give them one minute to look at the items and attempt to memorize them. After one minute, cover it back up and have your guests write down all the items they can remember. The one with the most correct wins a small prize. If you like, you can then give the mother-to-be the bathtub full of goodies.
Prizes. I've been to some showers in which the prize that is won from the games is something baby-related which is then given to the mother-to-be. I like the idea of doing that, but I also think the game winners should receive a prize gift also. So I usually do both; the game winner receives a gift for herself and one to give to the expectant mother. These are always something small, like a bottle and nipple brush, nail clipper set, plastic bottle, baby powder - things that the mother will need but aren't usually given as shower presents.
Whether you decide to give two prize gifts, or just one for the expectant mother or one for the game winner, these games will provide much merriment and entertainment for your shower guests.

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