It seems that getting knocked up is the cool thing to do lately. (Seriously, I could have linked to a million more people. I can't believe how many babies are currently brewing. Then I thought I'd start linking to people who aren't actually pregnant, because how funny would that be? But then I got lazy. So. Onwards.)
I'm throwing a baby shower for my dear friend, K, on Saturday and have no idea what hosting a baby shower entails. I thought I'd bake a bunch of cupcakes and provide a location for people to come and lavish K with gifts. I didn't realize that I'd have to provide entertainment as well. (For me, cupcakes = entertainment. What can I say, I'm easy to please.)
I've been frantically searching the Internet for non-lame baby shower games (no really, I googled "non-lame baby shower games") but guess what I found? LAME BABY SHOWER GAMES. I am uninterested in anything that has to do with guessing which chocolate bar has been melted into a diaper. I am equally uninterested in pinning anything on anything (whether it be a baby in a belly or diaper pins on your sweater (also, I do not understand the point of the diaper pins on your sweater game. Surely there must be more to it than just pinning diaper pins on your sweater, right?).) As far as guessing K's weight or the circumference of her belly goes, I just want to say that I value my friendship with K and would like it to continue past this weekend.
The only games that have appealed to me so far are the Celebrity Baby Names game (where you match the crazy baby name with the celebrity parent) and Baby Price is Right (where you have to guess the price of certain baby items.) Both seem to be a bit intense though, as far as preparation goes, and I'm hoping to not devote a lot of time to this shower. I know, I'm a rotten friend. I just don't have a lot of free time this week and I was hoping to spend the free time that I do have, watching the Canucks games (there's 3 this week. 3! On top of all the other tv I watch! It's madness. Oh and speaking of the other tv I watch + madness: really Tyra? The goddess of fierce? Really?)
Then there's the prizers. Prizes! People are coming to my house (well, my mom's house but only because it's way bigger than mine) to eat my food and I have to give them presents. What the eff is that about? Obviously I think the prizes should be cock soup but I don't know how appropriate that would be at a baby shower. K would love it but I don't know if her grandma will.
Anyway.
If you've ever had a baby shower, or planned a baby shower, or attended a baby shower, and played some non-lame games, please let me know. Also, I'm sorry if I've offended anyone by labelling their favourite baby shower game as lame. But if you think the melted chocolate bar in the diaper game is non-lame, I'm sorry to tell you that you're wrong. It is so lame, it should be banned.
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Baby shower games ARE lame, and if anyone attempted to play the 'guess the pregnant lady's weight/belly circumference' game at my shower, I would have to cut a bitch. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteLast summer at my friend's baby shower, we played a 'guess the baby food' game, where there were ten little jars of baby food with the labels taken off, and we had to pass them around and guess what they were. You could smell, taste, etc...it was pretty fun. Also, I learned that baby food is pretty gross.
At my sister's shower we asked everyone to bring a picture of themselves as a baby and then we had to guess who was who. But I think that's all we did. I can't really remember.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. Cupcakes = entertainment! But, I get not everyone is like that. I went to a baby shower where the first activity involved everyone getting a white onsie and clothing markers. We got to design onsies for the new baby. The second activity involved potting bulbs in small pots that we each got to take home. It was actually a great baby shower for a group of girls, most of whom didn't have children of their own.
ReplyDeleteha! when i hosted a bridal shower once (NOT a bachelorette party... i'd know how to make THAT fun. but a bridal shower..?) i literally walked around a bar one afternoon approaching women with a pad and pencil, asking them if they'd ever played non-lame games at a shower before, and if so, could they please describe them to me? (it was not very successful. i learned that there are virtually no non-lame games.)
ReplyDeletei like jiveturkey's baby-food-tasting one, though. it's like a blind wine tasting, except.. um.. for babies.
i went to one last year where they made a trivia game about the parents, and you had to fill in each question (like "what is the mother's 1 tattoo of?" "where were they when the dad proposed to the mom?" "what is ths baby's due date?") - that one was pretty fun, because it was about your friendship w/the parents.
Guess the baby food game is a good one, but just take the labels off - Don't open them. People can guess by looks, and then you can give the baby food to the mom to stash away for when the baby gets big enough for baby food.
ReplyDeleteI hosted a baby shower a few months ago, and we played 2 games, one of which was described as lame above. LOL. It was a great hit, though. We played "guess how big the mom's tummy is." It was pretty hilarious seeing how big some people's strings were.
ReplyDeleteThe other one we played was where we had a bunch of baby items, and they were put in a paper bag, and numbered. People had to feel the bags, and try to guess what was in them. I went to the dollar store and found everything there, so it was pretty cheap. That was a good one with my crowd as well - some people had absolutely no clue, and I thought I picked easy things (pacifier, socks, thermometer, comb, etc.).
Good luck!
God, baby showers are the WORST! And hosting baby showers is even worse. How did this custom come about? The games? The prizes? Ew.
ReplyDeleteYou should try a shower without games and prizes and tell us how it goes. I think it might actually be enjoyable. Except for those who like the melted chocolate game - they're gonna hate you.
I like the trivia option. I did that at a wedding shower, and it didn't make me want to gouge my eyes out. I took that as a positive sign. The guessing which baby is which could be OK, too, depending on how well everyone knew each other.
ReplyDeleteI have always said that if I ever have to host a baby shower, I'm giving these as prizes. http://merchant4.com/shop/?&category=4&product_id=6 Mostly, I say it so that no one will ever ask me to host a baby shower.
I have no ideas for you unfortunaely since my baby shower is next month and I am dreading (DREADING!!) playing any games whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteI hope you come up with a non-lame game for me to suggest. Please?!
Several things:
ReplyDeleteYou are a kind person and a good friend.
Cupcakes (and liquor) sound like a perfect baby shower to me. I will definitely make sure that if I have a shower, there will be alcohol. It seems only fair.
I effing hate those games. Every time I go to a shower where you have to play them I want to stab someone.
Sorry to be of no actual help.
I HATE baby shower games. As such, when I had Graham, there were NO GAMES.
ReplyDeleteIt was awesome.
I like both of Nilsa's games.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.createmyevent.com/2006/09/a_fun_baby_show.html
I went to a baby shower last weekend - we did play the game where you get a clothes pin and then you can't say "baby," so you get to take people's clothes pins if they say it. It was actually pretty fun - I was up to 8 pins before I had to leave. (I got one by asking my friend's 17 year old "what can't we say again?" within the first two minutes, she totally fell for it! muahahaha.)
http://www.createmyevent.com/2006/06/shower_power.html
We also had a "guess how many hershey kisses fit in the baby bottle" game. That was fun because it was non-involvement.
Good luck!
I have no advice for baby showers since I've never thrown one. But I did find a site with wacky celeb baby names on it if you wanted to check it out. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article2130988.ece. Some of these names are priceless!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about ANTM - Tyra has seriously lost her mind!
I hear you on the lame baby shower games! And what is it with making beautiful pregnant women feel like a TANK with the "guess how big her belly is" game?
ReplyDeleteIf it is a first baby, you can put together a Baby 101 basket (wipes, bottle brush, diaper pins, pacifer clip, baby shampoo, etc) and then everyone guesses the prices. Winner gets a prize (a small plant is nice) and the mom-to-be gets to keep the basket as her gift.
At my BF's shower we also each put in our favorite boy and girl names. The parents-to-be then read them all out loud (which was fun) and picked their favorite. Winner got a small prize.
if you need help with the celebrity baby name game i can totally help ya on that one :)
ReplyDeleteThis may be lame, but I'm a super competitive so I love the game where you can't say the word "baby" or "pregnant"
ReplyDeleteIt's hard! And I always win :-)
I won the baby food game hands down at my SIL's shower, but then I was the only one with a toddler and had been tasting the stuff regularly.
ReplyDeleteGo for no games. Everyone under the age of 60 will be thrilled.
I like the celebrity baby name guessing game. I think I'd kill at it, because I have no life and thus read way, wayyyyy too much about famous people and their spawn.
ReplyDeleteAre Chippendales out of the question? How much are they, anyway? I'm sure you could find some reasonably attractive dude willing to take off his clothes for cupcakes. Try asking the deli guy. Deli guys tend to be good for it.
I am also hosting a baby shower this weekend... I also googled "not lame baby shower games"... and I also got a bunch of lame ones.
ReplyDeleteThese are the two least lame that I could find: Baby Bingo. Okay, you make blank bingo squares, you have everyone write in the squares what presents they think she'll get, and then while she's opening they mark squares. I like this because they have to pay attention to her while she's opening presents... and because she is new to our area and most of the people coming are work people, I was afraid people would just be socializing and not really into "her", you know?
Second game is something my brother came up with-- he's a US Fish & Wildlife officer. I call the game "Who's Your Momma" and there are two columns of animals, one being what the baby animal is called. Draw a line matching the adult animal to tbe baby animal. You could go easy, like "dog" and "puppy", but since my brother is an expert... we have "pelican" (nestling), "monkey" (infant), "rat" (kitten), "alligator" (hatchling)... etc.
Good luck to you!
I like the celebrity baby name game thing and have played the guess the baby food game. The bonus of the baby food game is the HILARIOUS pictures you get from it. Some of that stuff tastes AWFUL and people definitely show it on their faces.
ReplyDeleteI have no good suggestions, but I had to comment that I can't stop giggling because Racquel wants the deli guy to show his meat.
ReplyDeleteTeehee.
ooooh, a friend was at a baby shower where they played "guess the weight" but it was the *baby's* weight they were supposed to guess. so you could do that. the great part is that she was the only one who thought she was supposed to be guessing the mother's weight.
ReplyDeleteFYI, this post now appears to be the leading resource for non-lame baby shower games on the web - i also came here by googling for this.
ReplyDeleteThe best i've found so far is Pushchair Formula 1, where you get people to race a pushchair with a doll in it round a track in the garden, with chicanes and so on, giving them penalties for hitting things, and disqualifying if the 'baby' falls out.