Fun Baby Shower Games

Get the tunes going -- and let guests test their music savvy -- with this rockin' game.

You'll Need
* One mix CD
* CD player
* Pens and paper

How to Do It
* Go through your music collection, or surf iTunes, and make a fun list of songs that have "Baby" or "Babe" in the title. Mix it up with classics (like "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes), pop favorites (like Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time"), and more recent hits (Beyonce's "Baby Boy").
* Pick out 15 songs (or use our playlist at the end of the slideshow) and burn them onto a CD.

Party Time
* Distribute paper and pens to the guests.
* Play part of each song (the first five seconds or so) and have guests write down each song title and artist.
* The guest with the most correct complete answers (title and artist) wins.

Prize
Each guest will receive a copy of the "Baby"-mix CD. The winner scores an iTunes gift card.

Let the guests play at being preggers -- but with a twist. They'll test their skill and flexibility -- while wearing a faux-pregnant belly -- during a, um, complicated game of Twister.

"This can be especially fun to play at a co-ed baby shower, so the guys can get in touch with their feminine side -- and amuse all the women by falling flat on their faces," says Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You're Expecting.

You'll Need
* One Twister game
* Wrist weights
* Pillows
* Fanny packs

Party Time
* The pregnant mom-to-be will sit this one out and act as the judge.
* Give each guest a pillow, a fanny pack, and a set of wrist weights. Have each guest put the weights in their fanny pack and strap the pack and pillow around her waist.
* Play Twister with the extra weight!
* Last one standing is the winner.

Prize
Give the winner a mug, scarf, or cool serving tray with bright, mod polka dots -- or a yoga DVD, to help him or her practice those stay-flexible moves.

Sure, it's a baby shower -- but is it possible to make it through the entire party without uttering the word "baby"? This game tests guests' self-control and listening skills as they try to avoid saying "baby" and call out those who slip up.

"People can get really animated catching each other and aggressively trying to win," says Jennifer Adams, author of Baby Showers.

You'll Need
* One diaper pin for each guest

Party Time
* When guests arrive, give each one a diaper pin to put on her shirt.
* Explain the rules when you give out the pins -- throughout the shower, no one can say the word "baby."
* When someone slips and says "baby" -- and someone will! -- the person who catches her gets her pin.
* Whoever has the most pins at the end of the shower wins.

Prize
Give the winner a pin she'll actually want to wear, like a cute vintage brooch.

Everyone loves looking at baby photos, so let guests show off how cute they were as babes -- and see if people can guess who's who.

According to Adams, this is a perfect icebreaker at the beginning of a shower, so try it if you've got a group that doesn't know each other well.

You'll Need
* A baby photo of each guest (ask them to bring one in the invitation)
* Masking tape, or a clothesline with clips
* Pens and paper

How to Do It
* Collect the baby photos when the guests arrive.
* Hang up the photos and label each one with a number.

Party Time
* Distribute paper and pens to the guests.
* Give the guests 10 minutes to match the baby photos to the guests.
* The person with the most correct matches is the winner.

Prize
Give the winner a great-looking silver picture frame -- perfect for showing off that cute old baby pic or a photo of one of her own kids.

Though not everyone will 'fess up to it, most people have snuck a peek or two (or way more) at the latest pics of Suri Cruise, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, or Jayden James Federline. Now, guests can put their celeb-kid knowledge to the test with this game, recommended by Danielle Friedland, publisher and president of Celebrity Baby Blog, to which -- we freely admit! -- we're slavishly addicted.

You'll Need
* Pictures of celebrity babies and their parents
* Masking tape
* Pens and paper

How to Do It
* Collect a big assortment of pictures of celebrity babies and their parents by cutting them out of tabloid magazines, or printing them from the Internet.
* Assign a number to each celebrity baby.
* On one side of a wall, hang up the famous-baby pics.
* Next to that, display the celeb-parent pictures.

Party Time
* Distribute paper and pens to the guests.
* Give the guests 10 minutes to match the celebrity baby photos to their parents.
* The person with the most correct matches is the winner.

Prize
Give the winner an assortment of cheesy (but highly enjoyable) tabloid mags.

What mother hasn't wondered what the baby she and her husband produce will look like? Though it's impossible to predict what characteristics the kid will really have, this hilarious shower activity can shed a tad of (admittedly highly unscientific) insight.

"It's like looking at kindergarten self-portraits that run the gamut from crazy to, 'Wow! Look at that!'" says Ali Wing, CEO and founder of baby store Giggle.

You'll Need
* A photo of each guest and her partner (or dream partner)
* Scissors
* Glue
* Pink and blue oak tag

How to Do It
* Before the party, ask each guest to bring a 4-x-6-inch headshot of herself, and another 4-x-6-inch headshot of her partner or dream partner (Brad Pitt, Patrick Dempsey, of whoever strikes her fancy).
* Create pink and blue baby-shaped cutouts with large heads and small bodies.

Party Time
* Give each guest a baby-shaped cutout and scissors.
* Have guests cut up their headshots so that eyes, noses, mouths, and other features are separate pieces.
* Mix 'em up and then glue the features onto the baby-shaped cutouts.
* Take a look at all the "babies" -- and have a good laugh!

This probably won't qualify as an event in the summer Olympic games, but it makes for a great time at an outdoor baby shower, says Sharron Wood, author of Baby Shower Games.

You'll Need
* One baby doll
* One stroller
* Lawn chairs, logs, traffic cones, or other large objects that can be used as obstacles
* Two large sticks to serve as start and finish lines
* Stopwatch

How to Do It
* Map out an area of land. Use one stick to mark off the starting line, and another stick to mark off the finish line.
* Within that area, set up a few obstacles with the lawn chairs, logs, or other materials.

Party Time
* The pregnant mom-to-be will sit this one out and serve as the judge.
* Each guest will start behind the starting line. The guest will hold the baby doll and stand next to the stroller.
* When the mom-to-be says "Go!" the guest will strap the baby into the stroller and push baby and stroller around the obstacles until they reach the finish line.
* A one-second penalty is added each time the stroller or guest hits an obstacle.
* The guest is disqualified if the baby falls out of the stroller (oops!).
* The guest with the speediest time wins.

Prize
Give the winner a pedometer or reusable water bottle to celebrate her physical prowess.

A new mama always has questions -- but let's hope she'll find better answers than the ones that turn up in this hilarious party activity, suggested by Friedland.

You'll Need
* Note cards
* Pens

Party Time
* Distribute note cards and pens to the guests.
* Tell each guest to write down a question a new mama would have, such as "How can I transition baby from my bed to his crib?" or "How do I take my baby's temperature?"
* Then, have everyone turn the card over and pass it to the guest on her left.
* Have each person write down the answer to her original question on the back of her new card.
* Take turns reading the question-and-answer combos out loud. ("How can I transition baby from my bed to his crib?" "Insert the thermometer about an inch into baby's bottom and watch the mercury climb.")
* The guest whose Q&A combination elicits the most laughter from the crowd wins.

Prize
Give the winner a pretty set of note cards.

The creative juices will start flowing when guests have to write a short story on the spot -- but with a twist. This one's less of an icebreaker -- it's a great game to try if you'll have a group of people who are already friendly.

The results are hysterical -- and the worse the story, the better, says Wood.

You'll Need
* Lists of words related to and unrelated to babies
* Pens and paper

How to Do It
* Create a list of 10 words related to babies, such as "nursery," "bottles," "diapers."
* Create a list of 10 words that have nothing to do with babies, such as "chainsaw," "automotive store," "arrested," and "beer."
* Make copies of both lists for all the guests.

Party Time
* Distribute both word lists to each guest.
* Distribute paper and pens to the guests.
* Give guests five minutes to write a story that includes all 20 words.
* Take turns reading the hilarious stories out loud. The person who comes up with the funniest tale wins.

Prize
Give the winner another funny, endearing baby tale -- a DVD of the film Juno or that '80s John Hughes classic, She's Having a Baby.

Friedland recommends giving baby-to-be a present she'll one day cherish -- and have fun looking through, when she's older. A time capsule, created by mom's closest friends, will show her what life was like in the year she was born.

You'll Need
* A large Tupperware box or similar container (the host can decorate it in the shower's theme or colors)
* CDs, games, toys, newspaper clippings from each guest

How to Do It
* Before the shower, tell each guest to bring an object that's representative of the current times: a popular CD, a newspaper clipping of a celeb's latest exploits, a bestselling book or children's book of the moment, a special coin issued by the government for that year.

Party Time
* At the shower, have each guest present the item she brought and explain why she chose it.
* After each explanation, guests will place their items in the container.
* When all the items are in, have the host seal the container and present it to the mom-to-be as a gift.

Put guests at odds with each other -- but in a good way, and by dangling a cash prize (if you're comfortable with that). See who can come closest to -- or guess -- the baby's arrival date.

You'll Need
* Note cards
* Pens

Party Time
* Distribute note cards and pens to the guests, and remind them of the pregnant lady's official due date.
* Have each guest write down her name and the date she expects baby to be born, then hand it over to the hostess with a cool 10 bucks.

Prize
Post-baby, have the shower hostess send out a quickie e-mail to guests who attended, announcing the winner. Let her use the collected cash to purchase an AmEx or Visa gift card and pop it in the mail to the winner.

Baby and the mom-to-be will be scoring tons of awesome stuff, but much of it practical and predictable. Why not have guests add to that with something unexpected -- baby's first hand-made blankie -- during the present-opening time?

You'll Need
* Cotton squares of fabric in coordinating solid colors
* Fabric pens

Party Time
* Distribute one square and several fabric pens to each guest.
* While the mom-to-be is opening gifts, have each guest decorate her square.
* After the shower, have the hostess (or the best seamstress in attendance) stitch the squares together to make a personal, impromptu quilt for baby.

See who has the gift of punctuality in this gift-opening game of chance -- and let guests, not just the guest of honor, take home a few goodies, too.

You'll Need
* A timer

Party Time
* As the mom-to-be is opening gifts, set the timer for a short length of time (five to seven minutes).
* Whoever's gift she's opening when the timer goes off wins a prize.
* Start the timer again and keep the routine going until all the presents are opened.

Prize
Give the winners inexpensive gift cards to iTunes, Barnes & Noble, or Crate & Barrel.

Use this playlist to play Name That (Baby) Tune

"Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears
"Baby Boy" - Beyonce
"Baby, Baby" - Amy Grant
"Be My Baby" - The Ronettes
"Baby Love" - The Supremes
"American Baby" - Dave Matthews Band
"Always Be My Baby" - Mariah Carey
"I'm Your Baby Tonight" - Whitney Houston
"My Baby You" - Marc Anthony
"Can't Get Enough of Your Lave, Babe" - Barry White
"Baby I Love Your Way" - Peter Frampton
"I Got You Babe" - Sonny and Cher
"It Ain't Me, Babe" - Bob Dylan
"Don't Worry Baby" - The Beach Boys
"Babe" - STYX

All songs are available on iTunes.

Copyright © 2008 Meredith Corporation.