Activity: Photo Booth

I love the idea of photo booths! I think that they're fun and they get good, funny pictures of the attendees. I wish I had one at my wedding! Not sure exactly how it would have to work since I'm certainly not a photographer and we would need someone to "man" taking pictures at the booth. Whatever the theme is you can incorporate it into the props for pictures.

Favor: S'mores & Soap

So I have a slight obsession with s'mores. I don't know if my sister agrees, but I think that they are the BEST thing. So this might be a fun favor idea! It's certainly original!


Another idea is cute, scented soaps. My aunt makes soap... I wonder if I could buy some from her. Plus they are organic!

Game/Activity: Present Passing & Prayer

A comment at the bottom of antoher post (link below) had some good ideas.

1. Hand someone a gift at the beginning of the time when the mom opens presents. You can use different words, but anytime anyone says “aww”, pass the present to the right. Anytime someone says “cute,” pass the present to the left. Whoever ends up with the gift at the end of the present time gets the prize.
2.  Prayer time for baby. Pass out cards for people who are willing to pray out loud with various things to pray about for the baby- safe delivery, health, sleep, for the mom, etc. This takes up about 20 minutes and is a great way to lift up the mom and give her a little encouragement before the baby arrives.
Personal Note: I don't think it would have to take 20 mins, but I think that it would be really neat to do this for the mom-to-be and baby in some way. Whether it be at the end of the night when close family and friends are there or maybe at another time... but I think that this would be amazing to do with her.

http://www.babble.com/pregnancy/10-non-awkward-baby-shower-games-and-activities/

Games: More Ideas

A baby shower games post by babyshower101.com. I like numbers 12, 13, & 15. The others are fun too but some of them are too "baby shower-ish". Good ideas though.

1) Guess Mom's Tummy Size: (Materials- String or yarn and scissors) Have each woman pull the yarn to the size they believe would fit perfectly around the Mother-To-Be's center of her pregnant tummy. After everyone cuts their string, compare the results to the Mommy-To-Be's actual tummy. Give a prize to the woman who is the most close! This is a baby shower favorite.

2) Never say "Baby": (Materials- baby safety pins or another type of baby object you can place on a string for each woman at the party as well as string or yarn, enough for each woman to wear as a necklace). Have each woman place the necklace with the baby safety pins around her neck when she gets to the party. The rules for this baby shower game are given out at the beginning of the baby shower that whenever someone says the word "baby" during the shower, any woman who calls it out gets a pin from the other woman who stated the word. At the end of the baby shower, the woman with the most pins wins a prize.

3) How Many Baby Items Can You Name: (Materials- pad of paper and pen for each woman). Have each woman write down as many baby products as they can name (bottle, blanket, pacifier, etc) within 5 minutes. Sure it is easy at the beginning, but towards the last few minutes, the women will start racking their brains for more :) Give a prize to the woman who gets the most baby products named!

Personal Note: I don't think that it should be 5 minutes! that's a long time!

4) Who Can Make The Mother-To-Be's Baby: (Materials - Baby magazines, Scissors, Glue, Paper). Have the women group up into teams of 3 and give each 3 baby magazines. Have them cut out pieces of different baby qualities and put together a picture of what they think the Mother-To-Be's baby will look like. Have the Mother-To-Be pick which baby would possibly look like hers the best! Give prizes to the winning team! One of the top baby shower games!

5) Pin The Sperm on the Egg™ - (Materials: Click Here to Order) - Check out this hilarious game, the original, Pin the Sperm on the EggTM Game. A reminder of the old game of pin the tail on the donkey, this fun, animated version will thrill your friends and family at your next baby shower!

6) Guess How Many Safety Pins: (Materials- Safety Pins and Jar). Pass around a jar full of baby safety pins. The one who guesses the closest wins a baby shower prize. A baby shower game favorite!

One of our visitors, Lynn, stated that she filled a clear plastic container (about 50 qt size with disposable diapers) all the same size (size 1) and had people guess how many diapers were in the container. Of course, container and contents go to mom since, as we all know, you can never have enough diapers. This baby shower game is very functional for the mommy-to-be!

You can find great baby shower decorations to help with the baby shower games as well as to decorate your party!

7) How Well Do You Know Mommy-To-Be: (Materials- Pre-Printed Form and pen for each woman). Have each women guess what features she wants most on the baby from either her or her husband (Daddy-To-Be). An example of this idea is found below:

Attribute	Mommy	Daddy
Eyes	X
Ears		X
Nose	X
Legs		X
Hair	X
Smile		X
Intelligence		X
Humor	X
Other	X

Select 25 attributes and ask everyone to fill in the form from what each woman feels the "mommy-to-be's" point of view" will be. After everyone checks off the list, have the mommy-to-be state her preference. The one with the most correct match to the Mommy-To-Be wins a prize. This is a great baby shower game!

8) Place The Baby On The Mommy: (Materials- Cutouts of a baby with tape and blindfold). Another one of our favorite baby shower games is the baby shower version of Pin The Tail on the Donkey. Blindfold each participant and then give them a paper baby to then approach the mom and place the baby as close to the tummy as possible. The one who gets closest to placing the paper baby on the pregnant tummy wins.

9) Baby Shower Trivia Game - (Materials: Paper, Pens) - Have someone from the baby shower look up some great baby shower trivia prior to the party. Questions like: "How many babies are born a year", "What is the most common color used in a baby's room?", "What is the average weight of a baby?". Look up some great facts and have a ball playing this great baby shower game with your friends and family!

10) Baby Bingo: (Materials- Pens, Pre-Printed Bingo cards that use the numbers of how many people attend the baby shower) Prior to opening the baby shower gifts, number each gift on the box starting with one. If you know that 15 people will be attending your shower, pre-print bingo cards with numbers 1 through 15 and randomly place them on 15 cards. When the mommy-to-be's decides to open the presents, she grabs the present she wants to open and reads the number out loud. As soon as someone receives bingo, they win the baby shower game and the baby shower prize.

Check out our partner The Bingo Maker that has cute custom baby bingo games for your baby shower.

11) Baby Trivia: (Materials: Click for More Information) - Even the biggest baby know-it-alls will be stumped by questions such as "How many diapers does a baby use in one year?" and will get a kick out of this collection of outlandish and surprising facts! Brought to you by the Funsational Shoppe™.

*12) Guess the baby item: (Materials- any baby products and blindfold). A bag of baby items are placed in front of the mother-to-be for her to take one item out at a time blindfolded and tell her baby shower guests what item she has in her hands. This is really fun baby shower game when you choose some crazy baby toys or products.
*13) Finish the Baby Rhyme: (Materials- baby rhyme game or a book containing the rhymes). Have the host read out loud a part of the rhyme to be finished by the other women. Let's see how many Baby Shower Guests can finish the following Rhymes we have all grown up with:
1) Mary had a little lamb, it's _____________ was white as snow.

2) Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any _____________?

3) Mary, Mary, quite _____________, how does your garden grow?

4) Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub, and how do you think ____________ _____________ ____________?

5) Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, _________________ ________________!

6) Little Jack Horner, sat in a corner, eating his ______________ pie;

7) Little Miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet, eating her ________________ and _______________.

8) Peter Piper picked a peck of ____________ _____________.

9) One, two, buckle my shoe, three four, _____________ at the door.

10) Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater, had a wife but couldn't ____________ her.

11) Old Mother Hubbard, went to the _______________.

12) There was an old woman, who lived in a _______________.

13) Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no ___________.

14) Hey diddle, diddle, the ____________ and the fiddle.

15) Rock-a-bye baby, on the __________________.

Here are the answers below to the questions. It is great to give the winner a baby shower small gift for participating. Read the answers that people have put out loud since you will have some funny ones.

1) fleece	2) wool	3) contrary	4) they got there	5) Baker's man
6) Christmas	7) curds, whey	8) pickled peppers	9) knock	10) keep
11) cupboard	12) shoe	13) lean	14) cat	15) treetop

To print out this game, turn on your printer, click here, when the checklist comes up, click the "File --> Print Option" in your browser).

So simple; no fuss, no extra props 75 Printable Baby Shower Games with Answers.

14) Guess the baby pictures: Ask for everyone's pictures prior to the baby shower. Have all the pictures in a collage and make lines for people to fill in who they think the babies are out of the girls at the baby shower. If most women don't know each other, just have the pictures of the mother, mother-in-law, sisters, and mommy-to-be. See how many people guess right. You can make copies of the baby picture collage to see how many can guess right!
*15) Baby Scrambler: Another fun baby shower game is to choose around 25 baby related items and scramble the spelling. For instance, pacifier can be changed to reiifpca. Have the women unscramble the words. The one who gets the most right in 5 min receives a baby shower prize.

 

http://www.babyshower101.com/baby_shower_games.html

Decorations: Vase Centerpieces

I love this centerpiece idea. I think it's beautiful.

Other: Thank You Card

Cute thank you card. We could have them pre-printed and then let my sister sign the back or the bottom.

Decorations: Tulle

Tulle instead of string...brilliant

Decorations: Balloons to the Front Door

Game: Guess the Name

This would be a fun idea if the mom-to-be didn't have a name picked out! You could also do guess the baby weight.

Game: Guess the Onesie

Each guest brings a onesie (that describes herself) and the mom-to-be has to guess who it is from. Cute game that's not lame! This would be a little hard when everyone brings a Xfit onesie :)

Games: Many Ideas

Blogger, Sarcasm 101, wrote a great post about the party she threw for her sister. Here were her game ideas, as copied from her blog. I also want to point out that they did unwrapped gifts so that there was no "big reveal" of bottles and bibs and blankies for the new one.


The Plan:

• Co-Ed - Men and women were invited (and were told the party would be non-sucky).
• All day - Our shower was from 11 am - 6 pm. People could come and go like an all day BBQ. Come by, have a beer and some food. Drop off a gift. Hang out with Mommy and Daddy-to-be. Take off whenever you're ready to leave.
• Unwrapped gifts - Guests were encouraged to bring their gifts unwrapped and told there would be no "mass unwrapping." We set the gifts out on a display table for all to coo over, but without having to sit through two hours of unwrapping.
• Opt-In Games - We had plenty of baby-themed games, but all were selected because they could be set out somewhere and guests could choose to play if they wanted to play and completely ignore if they weren't interested.

The Games

As stated above, all games were opt-in, meaning that they were set up so that people who wanted to play could play, but be easily ignored by non-players. Turns out, this was a fairly competitive group, so once we announced a winner for one game, people were ready to start on the next one.

• How Many Candies
  Large baby bottle shaped bank filled with candies. Guess how many are in it.
  
  
  
• Baby Word Scramble
  I chose 20 baby-related words and "scrambled" the letters. Here's a hint: if you pick your own words, alphabetize the letters in the words, even BELOTT is hard to figure out.

• Baby Face
  I took head shots of mom and dad a week before the party and made sure they both were looking straight at the camera. I used Photoshop to crop the pictures so that they fit on an 8 x 10 and that their heads were the same size. I added "cut" lines to cut slices for each of their foreheads, eyes, noses, mouths, and chins. I printed the pictures on card stock, cut the slices, and laid them out on a table for guests to "construct" a possible baby face. Warning: the resulting faces can be creepy!

• Cute as a Button
  I used a paper punch to punch out a bunch of card stock buttons. (I wanted bottles, but couldn't find a paper punch on short notice.) I "hid" them around the apartment in very obvious places such as on tables, in picture frames, in plants, etc. Guests were told to collect the buttons and the guest with the most buttons won.
• Sooooo Big
  Guests cut a length of ribbon as long as they think the mom-to-be is around. Note: I used yarn because I had pink and yellow on hand. Ribbon would have been much cuter.
• Beer BottlesI bought six baby bottles and filled them with six different beers. Guests had to guess what the different beers were.
  Tip: Let guests know what the six beers are. We didn't and our winner only got two right. Also, provide Dixie cups to drink out of or all your guests will have to drink out of the same baby bottles. Eewww.
• Play-Doh BabyI bought "party-sized" Play-Doh. It comes in a big bag with a bunch of small containers of Play-Doh. Guests were told to build a baby using one container. Mommy and Daddy chose their favorite baby for the winner.

• Who's Watching the Baby?
  When guests arrived, they were given a small baby doll. They were told that they could either hold on to it, put it down, or pass it on to someone else. Any babies put down could be scooped up by other guests. Guest with the most babies wins.

• Baby Chug
  I bought several of the cheapest baby bottles I could find. We filled them each with 3 oz of beer. Guests attempted to be the first ones to empty their baby bottles. Not allowed to remove the nipple in any way. Tip: Baby bottles empty slowly, even when you're trying. Could easily have gone with 2 ounces. For non-drinkers, you can use apple juice instead of beer.

All in all, it was really a fun, fun day. We did play lots of fun baby-related games, but mostly what people did was hang out, drink some beer, eat some food, and talk with friends. The baby games, those were just fun on the side.

Decoration: Spraypaint Baby's Breath

I think that this would be such a CHEAP way to decorate and yet it looks so pretty!

Game: Ask Dad-to-Be Questions

"When searching online for baby shower games, I came across a game called "Daddy Knows Best". Prior to the shower, you ask the expectant dad a series of questions and then at the shower, the expectant mom tries to guess how he answered them. I decided to take this game up a notch and videotape the expectant dad answering the questions that I came up with, which are:

• What has been {expectant mom's} biggest food craving during the pregnancy?

• What’s the one word that would best describe {expectant mom's} mood while pregnant?

• Do you think your baby will be born with no hair, a full head of hair, or in between?

• How many diapers do you think your baby will go through in the first year?

• What are you going to be most worried about if the baby is a girl?

• What about if it’s a boy?

• What parenting skills are you bringing to the table?

• What percentage of the time do you think you will get up with the baby at night versus the percentage of time that {expectant mom} will get up?

• Are you or {expectant mom} more likely to be the parent who says “no”?

• Which grandparent will spoil your baby the most?


• Besides you and {expectant mom}, which family member will be your baby’s favorite?

• What year do you think you will buy your first minivan?

• How many happy hours do you expect to go to the first year after the baby is born?

• How many times a month do you think you will hang out with your friends who don’t have kids?

• From 1-10 how prepared do you feel for the baby’s arrival (with 10 being most prepared)?

• What are you most looking forward to about being a dad?

At the baby shower, I played the video of the expectant dad answering my questions, pausing it after each question was asked so the mommy-to-be could guess what her husband had answered. It was VERY entertaining! The video will also make a great momento for the couple to get some laughs out of years down the road."

All according to this blogger: http://www.drivenbydecor.com/2012/08/four-fabulous-baby-shower-games.html

Activity: Write on Diapers

This one is a FAVORITE!
I feel that this is a "must" in some capacity or another... all the way down to the cute box. I think it would be fun for everyone to write a message for the parents to read at some later date to make them smile and laugh while they are dealing with a screaming child whether it's in the middle of the night or not :)

Favor: Small Herb or Plant

This was a wedding favor and is just adorable. For a November shower, it may be more difficult. But hey, this is just an idea board for the baby shower, so I'm throwing this thought on here!

Game: Baby Price is Right

Guests have to guess how much each item costs and then the mom-to-be gets to keep all the stuff. I would need to create a game card for people to fill in the amount for each item. The person who gets closest on the most items wins!

Game: He Says, She Says

Guests have to guess who said what... from facebook or we could do "in person" since my sis isn't on facebook as much as her husband is. The winner of the game could win a small prize.

Activity: Paint Letters

Painting letters to hang on the baby room wall. Of course, there are many difficulties with this one. You need a covered location to do this activity since it could get messy. Also, my sister would have to WANT letters on the wall, otherwise it is kindof pointless. I think that these letters look so nice though!

Favor: Nail Polish

I think that this is such a simple, cute idea. The nailpolish could be a pretty blue color and the tag could say "Thank You" or something simple and fun. The difficult part would be finding a pretty blue nailpolish. It would be a tricky color, but I am thinking that a light blue/green color could be pretty.

Food: Yogurt Bar

I really like the idea of a yogurt bar with granola and greek yogurt and different fruit, and nuts, etc. I'm noticing that most of my posts for healthy appetizers have involved fruit, but I'm sure we can find more protein filled finger foods!

Theme: The Birds and the Bees

Love the colors (again!). This particular party was for a gender reveal, but I do love the flowers they made with tissue paper (?). I also like how they wrapped the sandwiches in paper that matches the theme. The food wouldn't be too good for my sis, but it does all look SO pretty.

Food: Watermelon Baby Carriage

My mom has done this a couple times, but I still think that this is the CUTEST presentation for a baby shower.

Food: Peanut Butter Filled Banana Slices

I think that these are the greatest little healthy (yet fun!) appetizers or desserts. We could even do dark chocolate with nuts and organic PB.

Favors: Vintage Frames

Favor ideas... Put either cute quotes on scrapbook paper in cute, cheap frames OR handmade, vintage looking wall art with quotes on wood boards, or fill with cork for a jewelry organizer.

Game: Diaper Raffle

Diaper Raffle!  State on the invitation, "if you'd like to enter to win a prize, bring a pack of diapers, any size" When the guests arrive they either can get a ticket of put their name in a hat, the mom-to-be then picks a name or number out of a hat and the winner gets a gift card or any kind of nice prize. I got thousands upon thousands of diapers.

Invitation: For the Father-to-Be

guys baby shower- perfect to do while the girls are having their shower, and all they have to bring is diapers

Favor: M&Ms

Game: Candy Bar Baby Shower Matching

It is a pretty basic matching game. What makes it so fun is 1) the matches are adorable and 2) the person who makes the match gets to keep that candy bar, so there are tons of winners! I was a little worried that the game would take too long, but once you get going it actually goes pretty fast.

Ring Pop --- Binky
Big Hunk --- Daddy
Sweetart --- Mommy
Spree --- Shopping for Baby Essentials
Rocky Road --- Labor or Sleepless Nights
Twix --- Twins
Snickers --- Coos and Giggles
Mounds --- Dirty Laundry
Oh Henry --- Baby Boy
Baby Ruth --- Baby Girl
Baby Bottle Pop --- Baby Bottle
Contractions --- Whoppers
Goobers --- Drooling
Whatchamacallit --- Baby Names
Chunky --- 3rd Trimester
Runts --- Preemie
100 Grand --- Dr. & Hospital Bills
Lifesavers --- Grandparents
Take 5 --- Five Minutes to Yourself
Good and Plenty --- Precious Moments
Symphony --- Lullabys
Mr. Goodbar --- Pediatrician






http://www.prettyprovidence.com/2012/10/candy-bar-matching-baby-shower-game.html

Theme/Decorations: B is for Baby

I love these colors and the shower WILL be in the fall so we could probably incorporate the theme.
They incorporated a "B" theme... for bottle or bee or book or bag or BOY!

http://blog.hwtm.com/2009/06/real-parties-b-is-for-baby-shower/

Theme: Camping

I think this is such an original idea. My sis loves all these out-doorsy things, and really... any opportunity to have S'mores is definitely an appropriate opportunity.



http://www.ontobaby.com/2011/02/rustic-chic-camping-theme-baby-shower/

Game: Baby Advice Mad Gabs

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94311403/baby-shower-advice-card-mad-libs-yellow?utm_campaign=Share&utm_medium=PageTools

Games

Different baby shower games

• Write down as many Sesame Street characters as you can in 3 minutes; live people and/or puppets. The most characters wins.
• Interview the husband and ask him questions about his wife's pregnancy (her cravings, her favorite and least favorite part about being pregnant, what she's looking forward to the most, etc.) and see how many answers you can match.
• Put out 20+ baby items on a tray, give people 1 minute to memorize as many as they can, then give them 3 minutes to list as many items as they can remember. The most items remembered wins.
• Take the labels off of 5-10 baby food jars and number the lids with permanent marker. People have to guess, without opening the jar, what the baby food is. The mom gets to keep the food when she's done. Be sure to write down a key of what the food is before you take the labels off!
• Melt various candy bars in diapers and have people guess what type of candy it is. Most of them look like nasty poop, so this one is pretty funny.
• Write the baby-to-be's name, or the mom + dad's names at the top of the paper. Give everyone 3 minutes to create as many words as possible using only the letters from the names. If anyone else has the same word they have to cross it off. Whoever has the most words left wins.
• Name as many baby items as you can think of in 3 minutes. If anyone has the same item you have to cross it off your paper. Whoever has the most items left wins.
• Guess how many toilet paper squares it takes to make it around the mom-to-be's belly.
• Each person cuts a string to be the length they think will measure the exact size of mom-to-be's belly. The person with the string that fits around her belly the closest wins.
• Write the baby-to-be's name or the mom or dad's name vertically down the left side of the paper. People must come up with a "baby thing" for each letter of the person's name. For example, ANN might be: Apple sauce, Nap time, Nuk binkies. You try to match what the mom will write on her paper. The most matches wins.

http://www.funcheaporfree.com/2011/07/tons-of-ideas-for-fun-cheap-or-free.html

Invitation: Bring a Book Instead of a Card

Cute idea for an invitation. I love no cards, just books to bring with a a message inside.



http://www.gatsbyevents.com/category/baby-showers/

Game: Write on Blocks

Pretty self-explanatory on this one. Have people write on the blocks so that when the boy plays with them later, he is surrounded with well wishes from family and friends. This is one of my favorite ideas for a baby boy's shower.

http://www.ourlittleapartment.com/

Theme: Star Wars

This may seem like an odd theme for a baby shower, but if you knew my sister (and more so, her husband) the star wars theme would actually be perfect for them.

This site had a really cute party...

There are more ideas on her blog.