Guest Author - Angela England

Baby shower games help guests laugh, loosen up and enjoy themselves. What types of games will you use at your baby shower party? Consider icebreaker games, group games and more complex games to keep your baby shower guests active and involved.

Types of Baby Shower Games - Baby shower games and events can include several different types depending on what the host, and mother-to-be, wants to do. Use icebreaker games and mixers at the beginning of the party and trivia games, competitive games or long-lasting games throughout the baby celebration event.

When to Play Games - An icebreaker or mixer game is usually done at the beginning of the shower when the guests are arriving at the party. One or two other party games can be sprinkled throughout the rest of the event so guests don't have a chance to get bored. Find one game that can be played over the course of the entire baby shower so everyone stays involved in what's going on.

Icebreaker Baby Shower Games - At any function, you can have guests from different circles in attendance. Icebreakers are a fun way to help encourage people to mix and mingle at the baby shower. Icebreaker games can be ones where no one wins or loses. Introductions are made or people are paired up with someone they might not choose to work with on their own.

Sample icebreakers might be to have everyone line up in order of their birthdays and then introduce the person next in line. Something like this encourages guests to speak to someone they may not know.

Party-Long Baby Shower Games - Consider some fun baby shower games to include throughout the rest of the party. You might play a game through the entire event where guests cannot say the word "Baby." Let everyone start with three diaper pins or clothes pins and if someone hears another say "baby" they can request one of the pins. At the end of the baby shower, whoever has collected the most baby pins receives a token prize.

Group Games - Depending on the size of the baby shower and how many guests are expected, you may want to consider games that don't require individual turns, but can be done all at once. For example, a fill-in-the-blank trivia game might be a fun baby shower game to consider.

To play, list the first lines of a dozen different nursery rhymes on a sheet of paper but leave out two or three words from each line. Make copies for everyone and give them five minutes to fill in the blanks. At the end of five minutes, read aloud the correct answers and whoever has the highest score wins the prize.

Other Fun Baby Shower Games - Keeping guests involved in the gift-giving aspect of the baby shower can be as simple as a competitive BINGO game. Give each of the guests a blank BINGO card at the beginning of the party and have them fill in the baby shower gifts they think the mother might receive - one present in each square. As the mother-to-be opens her presents, the guests can mark off any of their matching BINGO squares and the first person to fill an entire row, column or diagonal gets the prize. See a link to a blank, downloadable BINGO card below.

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