17 Baby Shower Games You Can Set Up With Stuff Already in Your House

The post 17 Baby Shower Games You Can Set Up With Stuff Already in Your House appeared first on Penny Pinchin' Mom.

The shower is tomorrow, and you still haven’t figured out games. Target’s pre-made game packs cost $20-30, and honestly, you’ve spent enough already. I once threw together games ten minutes before guests arrived when my sister was expecting, armed with nothing but printer paper and desperation.

This list delivers 17 games you can set up in five minutes with stuff already in your house. Baby Word Scramble needs just paper and pens, Toilet Paper Diaper turns bathroom supplies into ridiculous fun, and The Price Is Right Baby Edition works with whatever baby items you grab from your cabinets. No store runs, no panic, no problem.

1. Baby Word Scramble

Grab a piece of paper and scramble 10-15 baby-related words (diaper becomes “raipde,” bottle becomes “ttlboe”). Make copies or text a photo to guests. Set a timer for three minutes, and whoever unscrambles the most takes the prize. The whole thing is ready in maybe two minutes, and you probably have printer paper sitting around already. I’ve used the back of junk mail when I ran out of printer paper at the last minute, and nobody cared. If you want to make it harder for a competitive crowd, throw in some tricky ones like “pediatrician” or “swaddle.”

2. Toilet Paper Diaper

Pass around a roll of toilet paper and have each guest tear off however many squares they think it takes to wrap around a baby’s bottom. Then everyone tries to diaper a doll or stuffed animal using only the squares they tore off. The person who gets closest wins. You need one roll of toilet paper and any stuffed animal from around the house. Takes about 30 seconds to explain, and guests are laughing within minutes. This works even better if you have a baby doll lying around.

3. The Price Is Right Baby Edition

Write down prices of 8-10 common baby items on index cards or notebook paper (diapers run about $25-30 for a box, wipes are around $15-20, baby lotion costs maybe $5-8). Guests guess the prices, and whoever gets closest to the actual totals wins. You can pull real prices from your last Target run or just estimate based on what you remember paying. Done in three minutes if you’re writing slowly. If the mom-to-be is sitting right there, have her reveal the answers since she’s probably been researching prices anyway.

4. Baby Item Memory Tray

Throw 15-20 baby items on a cookie sheet or cutting board (pacifier, diaper, wipes, baby sock, rattle, bottle, teething ring, baby spoon, onesie, burp cloth). Let guests study it for one minute, then cover it with a kitchen towel. Everyone writes down what they remember seeing. Most items remembered win. You can raid the mom-to-be’s gifts that have already arrived or gather items from friends who recently had babies. The key is using a towel big enough to cover everything in one swoop.

5. Don’t Say Baby

Hand each guest three rubber bands, hair ties, or even paperclips to wear as bracelets when they arrive. Every time someone says the word “baby” during the shower, whoever catches them gets to take one of their bands. The person with the most bands at the end wins. Zero setup beyond grabbing rubber bands from your junk drawer, and it keeps people entertained the entire party without you doing anything. You can play this one while doing everything else, which makes it perfect for hosts who are already juggling a million things.

6. Guess the Baby Food

Peel the labels off 5-6 jars of baby food and number the lids with a Sharpie. Guests taste and guess the flavors. Sweet potato, peas, and applesauce are easy, but pureed prunes and mixed dinners stump everyone. The jars come in at about $1-2 each at any grocery store. Give guests a numbered list and let them pass the jars around. The winner gets to take home the jars if they want, or the mom-to-be keeps them. Skip the meat flavors unless you want everyone making faces.

7. Cotton Ball Diaper Relay

When you need guaranteed chaos, this one delivers. Dump cotton balls into a mixing bowl on one side of the room. Put an empty bowl on the other side. Guests get 30 seconds to transfer as many cotton balls as possible using only a spoon while blindfolded with a dish towel or scarf. Whoever moves the most “poopy diapers” takes the prize. You need cotton balls (grab the bag from under your bathroom sink), two bowls from your kitchen, a big spoon, and something to use as a blindfold. Ready in one minute, and guests go wild watching people fling cotton balls everywhere.

8. Baby Shower Bingo

Make a 5×5 grid on paper with “FREE” in the middle square. Fill in the other squares with likely gifts (diapers, wipes, clothes, blankets, bottles, books, toys, bath stuff). Make different versions, so not everyone has the same card. Guests mark off items as the mom-to-be opens presents. First to get five in a row wins. I’ve made these on notebook paper with a ruler to draw straight lines, and they looked perfectly fine. The whole batch takes maybe five minutes if you’re making 10-12 cards. You can also just draw one master card and have everyone copy it onto their own paper.

9. Name That Tune Baby Songs

Pull up 10-15 seconds of famous baby songs or lullabies from your phone (Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, Rock-a-Bye Baby). Guests write down what they think each song is. YouTube has every kids’ song ever made, so you don’t even need a playlist ready. Find a “baby songs compilation” video and skip around to different parts. The person who names the most songs wins. This one’s great because you can set it up while guests are eating cake.

10. Pacifier Hunt

Hide 10-15 pacifiers around the party space before guests arrive (or use bottle caps, baby socks, or even index cards with “pacifier” written on them if you don’t have real ones). Tell guests to keep their eyes open during the shower and collect any pacifiers they spot. Whoever finds the most wins. The game runs itself while you’re doing other activities. Plastic Easter eggs work great if you can’t find enough pacifiers. Just make sure you count how many you hide so you know when someone’s found them all.

11. Diaper Raffle Drawing

Put a laundry basket by the door with a sign that says, “Bring a pack of diapers, get a raffle ticket.” Tear notebook paper into strips for tickets. Guests write their name on their ticket when they drop off diapers and put it in a bowl or a shoebox. Draw a winner at the end of the shower. The mom-to-be gets a stockpile of diapers, and you didn’t spend a dime on a separate game. The setup takes 90 seconds: basket, sign, bowl, done.

12. Baby Predictions and Advice Cards

Cut printer paper or index cards in half. Guests write predictions about the baby (birth date, weight, length, eye color, first word) or advice for the new parents. The mom-to-be keeps these in the baby book and checks back later to see who was right. You need paper and pens, which you definitely already have. This doubles as entertainment during the shower and a keepsake afterwards. Years later, she can look back at the predictions and laugh at how hilariously wrong everyone was.

13. What’s in Your Purse Baby Edition

Call out baby-related items that might be in a purse (pacifier, diaper, wipes, hand sanitizer, baby photo, baby sock, snack for kids, tissues). Guests get a point for each item they can pull out of their purse. The person with the most items wins. This works best if you have some moms in the group who probably have random baby gear in their bags. Zero setup since you’re using what people brought with them. You can also add regular mom items like gum, lip balm, or receipts to make it easier for guests without babies at home.

14. Measure the Belly with String

Pass around a ball of yarn, string, or even dental floss. Each guest cuts a piece they think will fit exactly around the mom-to-be’s belly. Whoever gets closest wins. You need a string and scissors, both from your kitchen junk drawer. The measuring takes about three minutes total once everyone’s cut their piece. People get wildly wrong on this one because they’re too polite to estimate how big someone is, which makes it even funnier. Keep the winning string as a memory of how big she was at the shower.

15. Baby ABC Race

Set a timer for three minutes. Guests write down one baby item for each letter of the alphabet (A is for aspirator, B is for blanket, C is for crib). Whoever fills in the most letters wins. You need paper and pens. The letters Q, X, and Z stump everyone, so the winner usually has 20-23 letters filled in, not all 26. This game runs itself once you explain it, and competitive guests get into it.

16. Dirty Diaper Chocolate Game

Unwrap 5-6 different fun-size candy bars and smush one into each diaper (or paper towel folded like a diaper). Number the diapers with a marker. Guests look at the melted chocolate and guess which candy bar made each “mess.” Mini Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfinger, and Kit Kat all look different when they’re melted. You’ll spend under $5 for a variety bag at any store. Microwave each one for about 10 seconds to get it mushy. This grosses people out in the best way possible.

17. Celebrity Baby Name Match

Write down 10-12 celebrities on one side of the paper and their kids’ unusual baby names on the other side, scrambled up (like Gwyneth Paltrow/Apple, Kim Kardashian/North, Beyoncé/Blue Ivy). Guests draw lines matching the parent to the baby’s name. You can pull these from a quick Google search right before the shower if you didn’t plan ahead. Takes maybe three minutes to write out the lists or print them if you’re feeling fancy. The names are usually so weird that even people who follow celebrity gossip get stumped, which levels the playing field for everyone.

Games Sorted, Panic Over

Pre-shower panic is real when you’ve already spent your budget on food and decorations. Spending another $30 on generic games nobody remembers feels ridiculous.

Grab some paper and start with Baby Word Scramble if you need something instantly ready, set up Don’t Say Baby if you want a game that runs itself all afternoon, or pull out chocolate bars for the Dirty Diaper game when you need guaranteed laughs. You’ve got printer paper, string, and random baby items in a drawer somewhere. That’s all you need for a shower that people will enjoy. The mom-to-be won’t remember whether games came from a $30 kit or your junk drawer. She’ll remember her people showed up and had fun together.

The post 17 Baby Shower Games You Can Set Up With Stuff Already in Your House appeared first on Penny Pinchin' Mom.