10 Unconventional Baby Shower Games and Activities

Be Your Own Iron Chef

Throw your own Iron Chef dinner party with a mystery ingredient (preferably the mom-to-be's favorite food), or purchase Stir Crazy, a cooking party game where guests cook according to cuisine, including options of Italian and Mexican ingredients. The baby shower organizers buy the ingredients and the players split into two teams, using a spinner to distribute who gets what. A timer is set, and the two teams compete to prepare the best app, entree and dessert without recipes. Guests get to be active, creative participants, the mom-to-be can judge and everyone gets to eat!

The Price is Right, Baby Edition

Make a list of common baby supply items and have baby shower guests guess the cost of each, including things like a four-ounce jar of organic baby carrot puree or a brand-new MacLaren Quest stroller. Though experienced moms will probably come out on top, you can include some humorous items, like “A Gel Mani-Pedi for a Stressed-Out Mama” or “Cost of a Sanity-Saving Babysitter for Three Hours.”

City-Themed Brunch Quiz

Is mama particular to the hills of San Francisco or the boulevards of Paris? Throw her a location-based brunch feting her beloved city. For a former New Yorker, top cupcakes with taxi cab cutouts and then prep a trivia quiz centered around her favorite landmarks. Your city quiz can be fun or silly, with questions like “Which Central Park landmark did Sarah break her heel at on her first date with James?” Have the future mom reveal the answers at the end, telling a little story with each answer. Save the quiz sheets and decorate them in a scrapbook. Not only will friends learn more about her experiences, but she’ll also get a treasured keepsake to show her baby someday.

Amazing Babies

Make up a list of baby facts and give multiple choice answers for questions like: “Babies born in what month are the heaviest?” “How many taste buds does a baby have at birth?” or “Madison was the second most popular baby girl name in what year?” Guests will marvel at the things they didn’t know about little ones, and at how much baby trends have changed over the years.

The Gourmand Game

Mamas are known for their strong senses of smell, so this game should be a cinch for the star of the shower and a delight for a room full of food lovers. Put crushed spices, chocolate, tea and other foods into shakers or jars. Blindfold all the shower attendees and have them write down their guesses as to what it could be; then, score the answers and wow everyone as they realize how hard it is to identify some common cooking spices. The winner gets a gourmet box of chocolate truffles or a beautiful selection of spices to cook with.

She’s Crafty

Get crafty with your pals by hiring an instructor from a local craft company like Brooklyn Craft Collective or Los Angeles-based Makers Mess, and learn a simple skill. Guests can make anything from simple leather purses to charm necklaces for themselves or each other. For the mom-of-honor, guests can knot macramé wall hangings, felt small stuffed animals or embroider small circular hoops for baby’s nursery. The possibilities are endless – even for those who are not craftily-inclined.

Baby Shower Jenga

Buy a Jenga set and use a permanent marker to write a question on each block. When a guest slides the piece out, have her answer questions like “What was a lie you told your parents as a child that they still don’t know about?” or “Tell us about your elementary school crush.” When the Jenga stack falls, the game is over.

This Lady is a Boss

Honor the growth of your incredible mom-to-be by collaborating with her family members and childhood friends to procure photos and fun facts about her achievements throughout the years. Whether it’s her very first spelling bee win, her science fair blue ribbon, her promotion to CEO or her excellent budget management, honor this mama’s career in photos. Have each guest guess the year of the photo or her age at the time.

Grow Like a Tree

It’s incredible how fast a child grows, but after this activity, mama will have a place to measure that growth. Guests will construct a height-measurement tree for the nursery wall by using craft supplies like a poster-board, fabric scraps, magazines or felt. Each branch will represent another inch of growth, and birds or butterflies can announce new height achievements in speech bubbles. Purchase low-cost mini glue guns online or from a craft store and stick to mom’s preferred color scheme.

Pop Culture Pros

Form two teams and pass out a quiz asking guests to name TV’s most famous children and pets across eras. (If you can’t think of shows to include, here are some great lists from the eighties and the nineties.) The team with the most correct names wins and guests get to reminisce over their favorite (and least favorite) characters.

Personalized Mad Libs

Mad Libs are easy to make a generic version of, and a personalized story special to your particular future mom will tickle her funny bone. Write a story that will make the mom-to-be remember her silliest college moments, a favorite concert or vacation shared with friends. Print up copies on decorative stationery and have each guest contribute one or two words per story so everyone is included.