Earlier this month while a dear friend and her husband were visiting the States from Denmark, her parents hosted a Jack & Jill baby shower (they’re expecting a boy this fall). While I’m not usually one to jump up and down with pure joy over baby shower games, when my friend’s mom asked me to put something together, I said “Of course!”

Having attended many baby showers, which included games about guessing melted candy bars in diapers or baby food in unmarked jars, or involved an assortment of other gross-out and/or embarrassing moments, I knew it was best to stay away from such things especially with a mixed group. I also knew it would be best to stick with what I know: bingo (I use to manage a bingo fundraiser) and raising boys (I have two of my own). So I combined the two into a word-based bingo game, using a story about my own discoveries with various words on each board for the guests to stamp out.

As an important side note, I’m not a child-raising expert by any means and humor is my daily survival technique.

I wanted to make sure I got to the end of the story, so I made it blackout bingo and allowed people to play in two-person teams to make it a little easier. I also made sure the last word of the story was on the boards. Since I didn’t have the patience needed to re-work each board on the computer, random words from the story were handwritten on each board and included several “Free” spaces. Depending on how you want the game to go, you can make one or two boards clear winners but be sure to have the boards randomly handed out. (Know in advance people may not catch every word said.)

Here’s the PDF: Blackout Bingo Sheet – Sample.

Here’s a snippet of the story as an example: Learn how to tag-team tasks and read for tap-outs when it’s evident the other needs it. Along with that, know when to start pouring a glass of wine or beer before the other asks. Bolded words were written on various boards.

This was super easy to put together and in the end, appreciated by the couple. It’s always great to see a milestone’s sentimental side. Sometimes it’s easy to create games which may put others in a hot seat so to speak, which I totally admit they have their time and place. However I’ve found at baby showers I’ve really appreciated the ones where the parents-to-be are encouraged and uplifted about this next chapter. At a few past parties, I’ve witnessed some parents-to-be totally freak-out, or breakdown, during some of the games that were a little too close to the real thing. No need to add more stress to an expecting parent or couple.

PS: This is also great for a bridal shower if you want something to help guests get to know the bride (or groom) a little better and/or want to pass a long some advice. Just remember if it’s a milestone event, try to keep it on the sentimental side, giving your soirée a personal touch.

Update: here’s the story.

Until next time…

Cheers!

{images: top, bottom, and the middle is Sparrow’s own}