Posts Tagged ‘Planning A Baby’

Fun and Economical Baby Shower Games

Are you planning a baby shower?  Are you trying to figure out what to do?  If so, here are a few fun baby shower game ideas for you.

The key to great baby shower games is to be short and fun.  The games will serve as ice breakers if the guests do not know each other, and the themes should always be babies.  For a typical baby shower in which no full meals are served, expect to be able to play two or three games.

Icebreaker Games

These games will get your guests interacting.  

Who Am I, the Baby Version – In this game, players are each given a piece of paper with the name of a famous person on it.  They do not look at the name, but tape it to their forehead.  They then must figure out who they are by the reactions of the other guests.  In the baby version, consider using only famous celebrity mothers, or perhaps cartoon characters.  Be creative!

Who Is That Baby? – Before the party, have guests send you photos of themselves as a baby.  Have each guest try to match the baby picture with the correct adult.  The person with the most matches wins.

Don’t Say It – When guests arrive, give them each a pacifier on a ribbon which they can wear over their neck.  Instruct them that they are not allowed to say “baby” during the party.  If another guest catches them at it, the can take their pacifier.  At the end of the party, the guest with the most pacifiers wins.

Word Games

Baby Boggle – Come up with a fun sentence about the baby and the mother-to-be.  See how many baby related words guests can make in three minutes from the letters.  Everyone reads their list, crossing off duplicates, and the person with the most remaining wins.  Use a phrase such as “So there’s going to be a new [parents' last name] in the world!”

Advice Poem – Have someone write down a short piece of advice to the new mother.  Then have the next person write down a line to create a poem about advice they have for the new mom.  Continue with each guest adding a line, but each time, fold the paper so that the only line visible is the last one that was written.  At the end, have someone read the finished poem.  It is sure to contain lots of good advice in quite a funny way.  This can also be done with guests writing a poem about the mother-to-be.  This is especially good at a “Pamper Mommy” themed party.

Time Capsule – Have each guest write a short note to the baby.  Seal the notes in a plastic bag and place them in a box for the mother-to-be, telling her she can open them with her child on his or her fifteenth birthday.

Games with Gifts

Assuming everyone is bringing a gift, you can easily create a game around them.

Baby Box – Ask every guest to bring a small item such as a rattle or a pacifier.  As they arrive, place the items in a box which has a small hole cut in the side.  After all the guests have arrived, give each person 20 seconds to touch as many items as they can (no peeking!), then have them write down what they felt.  The person with the most correct wins.

Active Games

These games will get the guests up off the couch.

Diaper Tower – Have guests stack as many diapers as they can without the tower falling over.  Of course, the mother-to-be gets to keep the diapers!

Tree Planting – Have guests help plant a tree in honor of the baby.  This is especially nice if the mother-to-be recently moved into a new home.  (Of course, get her input on the type of tree she would like.)

Dirty Diapers – Buy ten different chocolate candy bars (Snickers, Hershey’s, etc.).  Melt the bars and put each into a separate diaper.  Hang diapers along a clothesline before the guest arrive.  Give each guest a piece of paper and have them smell all the diapers (take lots of pictures!).  The winner is the guest who correctly identifies each candy bar.

Other Games

Are You Hungry? – Before dessert is served, bring in a tray of various baby foods, with the labels removed.  Number each bottle and have the guests look at each (no tasting or smelling!) and write down what they think it contains.  The winner is the person who identifies the most correct foods.

Pacifier Pass – Have everyone put a pen or pencil (or chopstick) in their mouth.  Place a pacifier on the end of one of the pencils.  Guests must pass the pacifier around the circle without using their hands.  If a guest drops the pacifier, they are out.  The winner is the last person still in the circle.

Bottle Race – Time guests drinking juice from a bottle – the fastest time wins!  This is best done as a race, with white grape juice or something else that won’t stain.  And once again, the mother-to-be keeps the bottles.

Gifts for the Winners

Gifts for the winners of the baby shower games can vary, but something inexpensive like shower gel or coffee will do nicely.  Or guests can rack up points for each game they play (100 to the winner, 90 to second place, etc.) and at the end of the night the grand prize winner can take home something a little nicer, such as a restaurant gift certificate or bottle of wine.

While you can buy baby shower games from most party stores, the games that are the most fun are those you create with the mother-to-be specifically in mind.  A new mother will also appreciate it if any of the games result in baby items she can keep, and the guests will love a door prize.  One way to get something every mother needs: tell guests that there is going to be a raffle, and the cost of entry is a pack of diapers.  They can enter as many times as they would like.  Then either buy or make a gift basket.  For instance, the prize could be a bottle of wine, pasta, sauce, parmesan cheese, and some yummy cookies in a basket.  It could also be a gift certificate to a restaurant or spa.  This will keep the new mother in diapers for quite awhile!

How To Plan A Baby Shower

Planning a baby shower is not the easiest task on the face of the earth. There are so many details to consider when organizing such an event that it is easy to become lost in the confusion. It is always a good idea to create lists and it is always a good idea to delegate responsibility when planning a baby shower.

One of the mistakes the organizer commonly makes is trying to do too much on her own. Why run from store to store when you know that Cousin Sally works right next to a great discount store? She can run one or two errands for you. Include Cousin Sally when you are planning a baby shower. You will be surprised by how delighted she will be to help. If she isn’t, then there is really no loss. You just have to work around it.

Creating a sound list is the best starting point when planning a baby shower. Never, ever rely on your memory when there is pen and paper handy at your fingertips. Your memory may be excellent but the list is always better. Planning a baby shower includes too much to try to keep your lists in your head. Write it down. It is very important.

You may be faced with an unusual dilemma that seems to be creeping up on many new couples. More and more adult children are products of divorce. Many of these divorced families are still in turmoil even though many years have passed. When you are planning a baby shower make sure that you are perfectly clear on who to invite.

You also may want to let divorced parents know that the other party is invited. I ran into a very ugly situation at my baby shower. Two dear friends teamed together in planning a baby shower for me. One friend invited my mother while the other friend invited my mother’s arch enemy; my stepmother.

I get along with both very well but when they faced each other in the same room, there was an ugly scene that will not be forgotten by anyone anytime soon. Unfortunately, you have to consider such rifts in families when planning a baby shower in this day and age.

Sometimes surprises should be left in the gift wrapped boxes rather than in the guest list. It is a good idea to go over the guest list with the mother-to-be while planning a baby shower for her. This works out well. The guest list will be one less thing you have to remember.

Baby Shower Gift Ideas:

You have probably been to a ton of baby showers and you may think that you have seen it all but there are plenty of original baby shower ideas out there that you can use. Many of these ideas are quite new and you may find some inspiration for your own creative ideas for the special event as well.

In order to make sure that your baby shower ideas are really unique you want to consider the personality of the mommy-to-be. She may be the best resource for creative innovations for the event that you have. The guest of honor may also provide you with a few subtle clues to help you when choosing a theme for the event.

One of my favorite new items available in stores and online is the signature bear. This furless teddy is one of the best baby shower ideas on the market. The guests pass the teddy bear around the room and sign it with a special note for the new little one. The autographs and notes are collected and given as a present to the mom-to-be.

What is so wonderful about this is that it provides the guests a chance to give a special message to the new baby. The signature bear serves as a great activity to occupy the attendants and it is a magnificent keepsake for the little one. This is the most sentimental of the new baby shower ideas that I have come across in my search.

Other baby shower ideas rely heavily on tradition. This is very appealing to me as well because I like the notion of connecting family with tradition. Some new moms decide to leave the details of the baby’s gender private. Many new moms want to be surprised on the big day.

There is a game that you can play that incorporates an old belief that you can tell the gender of the little one by using a thread and a needle. You can buy the game online which I think would be the best way to go. I think that a regular thread and needle just won’t be enough. You will also need instructions to tell how the whole thing works.

Games are great for creating a fun atmosphere on this kind of occasion and many baby shower ideas revolve around play. I love the baby draw game that is played just like charades but with drawings created by the guests. This is a really fun way to get everyone participating and entertained.

The Drawbacks Of Free Baby Shower Games

Planning a baby shower should entail the careful incorporation of ideas as well as the budget for the whole event. You would not want to come up with something that will reflect the this-will-do attitude of most people.

Consequently, baby shower games, as part of the celebration, should be meticulously prepared. However, not all baby showers have games on their plans. But the fact that it is a great ice-breaker, many baby shower coordinators are incorporating the idea of having baby shower games in the party.

With the advent of the Internet, there are many baby shower game ideas made available online. The best thing about it is that most of the baby shower games available on the Internet are free. Hence, for people who are really tight on the budget, they can get hold of the benefits that free baby shower games can give them.

But then again, free baby shower games are not for everybody. There are people who contend that free baby shower games are not the ideal games to be used in the baby shower.

Here are some of the disadvantages about the free baby shower games.

1. Free baby shower games do not look nice.

Most people contend that the printouts of the free printable baby shower games available online are better than the free baby shower games available in the market. This is because most of the free baby shower games are just plain handouts, with no artistic creations embedded in it.

2. Most parents would appreciate it more if you will not use free baby shower games.

The value or the money is not the issue here but on how baby shower games are used or executed. Because free baby shower games usually lacks quality materials, it would be better not to include them in the party than to make it appear that the event and the preparation was just taken for granted.

3. If there were a budget, it would be better not to use free baby shower games.

If you have a budget for the baby shower as well as the games, it would be better to use the games that were designed professionally.

Besides, baby shower games are not at all expensive when compared to free baby shower games.

4. Believe on the saying, you will get what you have paid for.

This would mean that if you have obtained a baby shower game for free, then, expect something that is not meticulously and artistically created because there are no capitals or investments used to make the creation attractive.

If you obtained a baby shower game that is worth your money, chances are, you will have quality baby shower games to enjoy in the party.

The bottom line is that baby shower games should not be taken for granted. It does not necessarily mean that free baby shower games are really bad or is not worth using. But the fact that the event is such a momentous occasion for the parents-to-be, then, it would be better to come up with baby shower games that would reflect the joy and happiness of the people on the arrival of the baby.

After all, baby shower games are not that expensive so there is no sense in getting free baby shower games.