Even More Fun Baby Shower Games

Here are some more good baby games I found in that good book by Hope Mason called 'How To Throw a Baby Shower.'

Baby Word Scramble

Scramble 30 baby related words into unrecognizable words – for instance 'diaper' could be 'peraid'. Xerox the words and hand them out to guests. The first guest to unscramble all 30 words wins a baby shower prize.

Disposable Diaper Prank

Unwrap a box of disposable diapers and then have each guest write jokes and comments on the diaper wrappers or on the diapers themselves. Writing things like 'Are you still up?' and 'Isn't it your hubby's turn?' might give mom a chuckle changing diapers late at night. Wrap the diapers up and put them back in the box so she doesn't realize the box is full of messages from her friends.

Diaper Bag Stuffing Challenge

This game is good for after the mom-to-be opens all of her gifts. Present mom with a brand new diaper bag or carry all bag. The guests then take bets on how many baby items she will be able to stuff into the bag. The guest that bets the closest wins.

Thank You Envelope Game

Buy the mom to be thank you envelopes. Inside one hide a gift certificate or a voucher for some kind of prize. Hand out the unsealed envelopes to all of the guests at the party and ask them to write their names and addresses on the envelopes so the mom-to-be is saved the time of looking up all of this stuff when it comes to sending out her thank you notes. One lucky person of course, receives the gift certificate as a prize.
Baby 'The Price Is Right' Game

Acquire some baby items from the store. Call in four 'contestants' and ask them to guess the price of one of the items. The contestant that comes closest to guessing the correct price of the baby item wins a prize. Do this continually until you have two finalists who have to face off for a grand baby shower prize!

Baby Sock Hunt

Hide as many single baby socks as you can throughout the party area. By the end of the party the person who has the most pairs of baby socks wins. Players may also make trades and deals with people who have the match to single socks that they have found.

Fridge Magnet Game

Get a set of alphabetical fridge magnets. Starting with an A have each guest come up with ten baby related words that start with an A. Whoever produces ten words the fastest wins the A fridge magnet. Continue doing the same with the rest of the alphabet. Whoever has the most fridge magnet letters by the end of the game wins a prize!

One Handed Mommies

Divide guests into teams of two. Each pair of women must diaper a baby doll with one hand tied behind their back. The team that does it the fastest (and does it right!) wins.

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The Six A’s of Parenting

I ran across an interesting audiotape the other day called the six A's of parenting. These suggestions are from The Six A's of Relational Parenting by Josh McDowell (available as an audio only.) The Six A's are as follows –

 A – Affirmation. This stands for affirming your child's feelings. It means listening carefully when your child is trying to tell why he is happy or sad.  An important component of this is to not ever downplay your child's feelings. For instance if the child says he is disappointed in someone you are never to say something like 'Oh, get over it.' You are also not to belittle an upset child by saying something like 'Oh, you are a big boy now and big boy's don't cry!' 

A – Acceptance.  This principle is conceived on the premise that in order for your kid to be emotionally health that he or she must know that you will always accept and love him or her no matter what he or she does. The child needs to know that you love him or her because you are the mom. Love and affection should not be based on achievement, good grades and whether or not a person has good or bad behavior. 

A – Appreciation.  To develop a healthy sense of self-esteem your child needs to know when he or she is good. He or she also needs to be appreciated 'just because.'  However approval from mom is a powerful motivation for a child to do the right thing all of the time. 

A – Availability. One genius thing that Josh McDowell brings up is 'Children spell the word Love – T-I-M-E.  If you are not available to your child he or she will not feel loved by you.  Time is also worth more to a kid then all of the gifts in the world. 

A – Affection.  Children that feel like they are loved are more likely to be motivated to please you. A parent that is critical or abusive does not motivate them. If they don't get love from you they will try and get it from somewhere else. 

A – Accountability.  Children need to know when they are responsible if a mistake is made. Even if no punishment is in order they need to know when they have stepped over the line. This creates a context for rules and boundaries and teaches a child the disciplines of responsibility and self-control. Of course the above is just a very short summary of what The Six A's of Relational Parenting is about and the tape goes into much more detail.

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