Painfully Awkward Baby Shower Games

Reconsider those awkward games

Why are awkward baby shower games so widespread? People become enchanted by the awkwardness because they want the laugh. Only there’s a difference between a good healthy laugh and a painfully awkward laugh. A painfully awkward laugh is usually at someone’s expense. We’re breaking down some popular but questionable baby shower games to show “where the laugh comes from.”

Shower planners, think twice before initiating a game on this list. And if you find yourself getting your own “funny ideas” for games, run them past the guest of honor first.

1. Measure mama’s waist

This one wins our grand prize for horrible awkwardness. In this game, guests compete to estimate the size of the pregnant woman’s belly by measuring out a length of ribbon they think will wrap around her exactly. In some versions of the game, all the women in the room measure themselves with ribbon. Why?!

We heard from one woman who wondered whether her mother-in-law had selected the game just to torture her. This laugh is definitely at the future mama’s expense. Despite a horribleness so evident it hardly needs to be pointed out, this remains one of the most commonly played baby shower games. It’s our earnest hope that Hello Baby can reverse that trend.

2. Sniff the diaper

In this game, you melt a variety of candy bars inside diapers and compel your guests to sniff the diapers and guess the candy bars that went into each one. Or some people use different baby foods instead of candy bars. In some cases, a taste test is also required. People enjoy taking pictures of other people sniffing diapers. So is the laugh at the expense of the people who play the game?

It actually might be worse than that. Parenthood is really hard, and changing diapers is one of the least pleasant parts of parenthood. No matter how much the parents are looking forward to the arrival of their little bundle of joy, they are NOT looking forward to changing diapers. A game which specifically rubs in the indignities of newborn parenting is really a laugh at the expense of the parents and the challenges they face ahead. Also there’s the gross factor, so we suggest skipping this.

3. Pin the sperm on the uterus

Whether someone feels comfortable with sexual topics depends on their cultural background and personal history. Chances are you’ll have at least a few people at your baby shower who are made uncomfortable by the topic of conception. So this laugh comes at the expense of your more modest guests. Fun as it might be to see them blush and try to flee, wouldn’t it be more hospitable to make sure all your guests feel comfortable and at ease?

“Pin the sperm on the uterus,” is based on “pin the tail on the donkey” and is played the same way. But the sperm-based games don’t stop there: playing cornhole with sperm-shaped bean bags is popular as well. Do your guests a favor, and just leave the sperm out of it.

4. Baby bottle chugging

In this game, you fill baby bottles with some booze-laced cocktail and have a race to chug it down. First of all, it’s questionable to have a game which excludes the pregnant guest of honor (where’s the fun in drinking plain juice out of a baby bottle?). Secondly, the humor in this game comes from the juxtaposition of the adult activity of getting drunk and the baby activity of bottlefeeding. The subtext of the humor is that parenthood is an activity that doesn’t really mesh well with drinking and having fun.

Here at BabyList, we’re not fans of the message that “your life is over” once you have a baby. In our opinion, it’s just the opposite: the great fun of your life is just beginning. Parents can party, they can be light-hearted, they can travel and do exciting things. This is not a farewell to your college self, this is a celebration of your new and awesome parent self.

5. Bottle feed the husband

In this game, husbands sit on their wives’ laps and are fed milk from a bottle so their wives can “practice” bottle-feeding. Although it may be funny to watch a grown man drink from a baby bottle, the message is disturbing on a few levels. Equating romantic relationships with parent-child relationships: check. Reinforcing antiquated gender roles by implying only women need to learn bottle-feeding: check. Underlining the false and oppressive notion that men are “babies” in the domestic sphere that must rely on women to do everything for them: check. In conclusion: yuck, yuck, and ew.

Luckily, there are good games too.

Not all baby shower games are horrible. If you’re wondering about baby shower games that are actually tasteful and fun, check out our post on baby shower printables. There are funny games that aren’t mean, there are craft activities which actually give you useful items, and there are countless games for collecting love and support from your shower guests. Do everyone a favor: play one of those instead.