Fun Games for your Couples Baby Shower

Baby showers are traditionally for women only. If you see a man (or two) at the shower, they are usually headed out to watch the game in the bar. That leaves the women to have lunch, ooh and ahh over baby items and listen to every mother at the table tell the story of her own pregnancies and labor horrors. Been there, done that.

Just like when you were in high school, a party is more fun if you invite the boys. If you don’t want to risk losing them to the TV in the other room, give them a beer and bring out their competitive side. Here’s a few games to do that:

1. Where’s my mom and dad? This is a great icebreaker game for a group that doesn’t know each other well. Write the name of celebrity parents on a sticker and put it on the backs of all the female guests. For the male guests, their stickers will have the child’s name. The object is to go around the room, asking yes or no questions to figure out who you are and find your parent or child.
2. Conjoined diaper changers. Parenting is a two-person job so this game shows how well you work together. Gather a baby doll, baby clothes and a disposable diaper and put them on a table. Two people stand together facing the table with their arms behind each other’s back, leaving only their outer hand free. Working as a team, diaper and dress the baby (treating it as if it is a real baby). Let the mom-to-be judge who is the best dressed baby.
3. Who can finish their bottle first? Purchase cheap baby bottles with larger-sided holes in the nipples. Fill the bottle with beer or apple juice and race to see who can finish their bottle first. It’s a lot harder than it looks!
4. Bobbing for Pacifiers. A baby shower twist on the classic bobbing for apples game. Fill a large tub with water and add 10 pacifiers. Let every bobber get three turns to see if he can get pick up a pacifier the right way in his mouth. 
5. Feed the baby. Have a couple sit across from each other in chairs. Put a bib on the baby and give the parent a jar of baby food and a baby spoon. Racing against the other teams, the object is to feed your baby the whole jar as quickly as possible, but there is a catch. Both the parent and the baby will be blindfolded.
6. How does she do it? Create an empathy belly by filling a large backpack with potatoes to equal between 20 and 30 pounds. Put several of the potatoes in the front zipper of the back pack and leave it open. Adjust the straps so the backpack hangs lower and strap on the backpack on their chest to simulate a pregnant belly. Now, ask the guest to get up from a seated position on the floor, walk 10 feet, sit down to tie their shoes and then walk over to pick up three small items from the floor (like a Lego or coin) – all without dropping their potatoes.

Pam Molnar is a freelance writer and mother of three. She believes the fastest way to take a party from average to awesome is to pull out the games.