Icebreaker games can help make guests more comfortable and encourage mingling outside their typical circle of friends.

Sometimes an expectant mother may be having only one baby shower, so many guests are attending the party from several different circles. She may have invited work friends, church friends, family, school friends and relatives who don't necessarily know each other. Including an icebreaker type of game in the baby shower event can be very beneficial.

Move People Beyond Their Normal Circles - Icebreaker baby shower games can get everyone laughing and help get them moving out of their comfort zones. This allows people to interact with other groups, and lets them mingle more freely once the games are over.

Choose Games Wisely - Choose games that will force the guests to mix and mingle in a fun, non-competitive way. If one of the baby shower game you choose is a single-person game with one person as the winner it probably isn't the best game to use at the beginning as an icebreaker game.

Icebreaker Game Ideas - Here are a few ideas for encouraging baby shower guests to loosen up and get in the party mood. Check out the baby shower theme ideas for specific icebreakers related to the themes or adapt these general ideas as desired.

• Birthday Lineup Icebreakers - Give the guests 2 minutes to line themselves up according to their birthday (not by year, just by month and day). January 1st at the front and then heading down the line. Each person can introduce the guest in line behind them; this makes sure people are talking to and meeting with someone they might not otherwise talk to. You could even have them share a trivia tidbit with everyone - their favorite thing about being a mother, or how they met the mother-to-be....be creative!
  
  
• "What I Love Best About Mary is...." - Instead of having guests introduce each other, you can have them introduce themselves and share about their relationship with the guest of honor. Guests can complete a sentence like "What I love best about Mary is...." or "I think Mary with make a great mother because...."
  
  
• Nursery Rhyme Completion Game - Write one of two lines from famous nursery rhymes onto a slips of paper and mix them up. As each guest arrives to the baby shower, give them one slip of paper. Once everyone has arrived announce that they need to find the person who has the other line from their nursery rhyme. So one person might have "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. Have you any wool?" and that guest will need to find the party goer who is holding "Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir. Three bags full." The first guests to finish their rhyme can get a small prize. Or let them work in pairs at the next game later to keep things mixed up.
  

Whatever mixers and icebreakers you decide to use in the beginning of the baby shower party, remember the goal is to encourage people to meet someone they may not have met before. When people feel more comfortable around each other, they will be able to focus on the mother during the baby shower, instead of thinking about how uncomfortable they are.

This article is part of the Baby Shower Basics ebook which includes everything you need to put together a successful baby shower.