"While baby showers are certainly a special way to celebrate a new arrival, stock new parents up with gifts from their registry, and gather together friends and family, some baby shower activities are not always a favorite of the guests or guest-of-honor. For example, opening gifts in front of a crowd can feel awkward for an expectant mom who doesn’t like being the center of attention or doesn’t want to fawn over gifts they essentially picked out themselves.
Hosting doesn’t mean you need to do what’s expected at a baby shower. The new generation of parents is open to busting traditional paradigms. From providing a flower bouquet bar to throwing a “Pregger Kegger,” baby showers can be creative and personalized celebrations! So, if you’re hosting a baby shower or are new parents-to-be, consider adding these baby shower activities that aren’t games to your party planning.
Decorate Onesies
Purchase white onesies in various sizes and hang them from clothespins to double as shower decor. For the baby shower activity, have party guests get crafty with fabric pens, iron-on decals, stamping, or even tie-dye! Or ask guests to create a theme like assigning holidays so baby has something for every special occasion. Babies go through a lot of onesies, so this baby shower activity is practical for the parents, too.
Build Bouquets With a Flower Bar
We love it when a baby shower activity can double as a baby shower favor! To set up a flower bar, offer a variety of stems with bud vases or flower caddies so party guests can create a beautiful arrangement to take home. Plus, the flower bar also makes for the prettiest baby shower decor.
Write ‘Well Wishes’ for Baby
Ask each guest to write a wish for baby and capture it in some way—like on a scrapbook page, a piece of stationary, a card, or even a little hanging notecard, as party styling professional Lori Goldman from Pop of Gold did here. Additionally, many retailers like Etsy include “Wishes for Baby” as part of their printable baby shower packs.
Use Photo Booth Pictures as a Guest Book
Setting up a photo booth can be as simple as grabbing an Instax camera or as professional as renting an actual photo booth to create memories from the baby shower that can be turned into a scrapbook for the parents-to-be. Make this baby shower activity more engaging for guests with baby-themed props or a cute backdrop for the photos.
Create Baby’s First Alphabet Book
Creating baby’s first alphabet book is an easy crafts for guests to do at a baby shower. Simply print an alphabet set on card stock and give guests plenty of markers, stickers, and other elements to embellish the pages. The party host can then bind them together for a special keepsake for the new baby.
Decorate Cookies
Have unfrosted sugar cookies at tables along with frosting and decorating supplies like sprinkles and icing tools for guests to DIY their own baby shower dessert. You could even follow a royal icing tutorial like this one.
Create Baby’s First Building Block Set
Grab a set of unfinished wooden building blocks and allow guests to decorate a block with non-toxic markers or other baby-safe crafting supplies.
Decorate Bibs
In addition to onesies, new babies go through a lot of bibs—especially when they’re drool machines during teething. Baby shower guests can get creative with this activity by decorating bibs with iron on patches, fabric markers, or other supplies.
Make a Baby Bucket List
New parents have so many firsts to look forward to with their new baby. This baby shower activity is better than the standard advice—because new parents will get a lot of that already. Instead, seasoned parents, friends, and family can suggest one special thing to do with baby in the first year. If hosting, Etsy has tons of adorable printables for a baby bucket list, but blank notecards can work just as well. If you want to really lean into the theme of this baby shower activity, collect responses in a cute bucket and give to the expectant parents after the shower.
Make Scented Candles
Depending on your level of DIY comfort, making scented candles can be a baby shower activity done at a home venue or, if you’d rather have the professionals guide your guests through the process, at a local candle studio.
Host a Flower Arranging Class
If you’re the baby shower host, grab an assortment of stems in pretty buckets and set up baby shower guests with glass vases, tape, and flower wire. Hire a professional—or find a party guest with a passion for flower arranging—to give a tutorial on making an arrangement. This hands-on baby shower activity also means guests go home with a DIY baby shower favor!
Attend a Cooking Class
Our cofounder Alaina Kaz did a cooking class for her bridal shower and said the event could easily translate to a baby shower. “It was so fun!” she said. Find a local cooking class venue or hire a professional chef to guide partygoers through meal prep—and enjoy the fruits of their labor!
Have a Beer Olympics Competition With a ‘Pregger Kegger’
Perfect for a couples baby shower, lean into the “baby brewing” theme with active beer Olympic-style activities like changing a baby diaper blindfolded (using a baby doll, of course!) or Pacifier Pong where party guests throw pacifiers instead of ping pong balls into cups.
Help with Nesting Prep
Nesting parties are gaining popularity as a way to celebrate and support new parents in more practical ways. Activities can include assembling baby furniture, making freezer meals, or prepping padsicles for postpartum.
Kathy Sisson, Senior Editor
Kathy Sisson has been a key contributor in the editorial parenting space for eight years, not only as a full-time editor at The Everymom but previously as a freelance writer for top parenting sites, including Scary Mommy, Motherly, Parent Co., and more. As an editor at The Everymom, she has produced hundreds of articles on a range of parenting topics, reviewed dozens of family-focused products, interviewed leading experts in the children and parenting world, and created viral parenting social media content. A mom of two, she is committed to sharing the honest, helpful, and often humorous stories of motherhood.