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Baby Shower Charades: 40 Prompts, Rules and Team Ideas

Published and maintained by the Forever Lily editorial team

Baby shower charades is a quick team game in which guests act out baby-related words or situations without speaking. Split the room into two teams, give each performer 45 to 60 seconds, and award one point for every prompt guessed correctly.

The list below gives you 40 prompts to copy onto cards, so you can run the game without inventing clues on the day.

Baby shower charades at a glance

  • Players: 6 to 30+
  • Setup: 10 minutes
  • Playing time: 15 to 25 minutes
  • You will need: prompt cards, a bowl, timer, pen and score sheet

How to play

  1. Write or print the prompts, cut them into cards and place them face down.
  2. Divide guests into two roughly equal teams.
  3. One player draws a card and acts out the prompt without speaking, mouthing words or pointing to objects in the room.
  4. Their team has 60 seconds to guess. A correct answer earns one point.
  5. Alternate teams and performers until you have played 12 to 20 cards. The highest score wins.

40 baby shower charades prompts

Everyday baby care

  1. Changing a nappy
  2. Rocking a baby
  3. Burping a baby
  4. Pushing a pram
  5. Bathing a baby
  6. Preparing a bottle
  7. Swaddling a baby
  8. Putting a baby to sleep

Baby milestones

  1. A first smile
  2. Crawling
  3. Taking first steps
  4. Teething
  5. Waving goodbye
  6. Clapping hands
  7. Rolling over
  8. Saying a first word

Parent moments

  1. Packing a changing bag
  2. Building a cot
  3. Folding tiny clothes
  4. Warming a bottle
  5. Reading a bedtime story
  6. Searching for a lost dummy
  7. Taking a baby photo
  8. Fitting a child car seat

Nursery objects

  1. High chair
  2. Baby monitor
  3. Bib
  4. Teddy bear
  5. Night-light
  6. Baby mobile
  7. Muslin cloth
  8. Baby bath

Silly situations

  1. A baby refusing to nap
  2. A nappy leak
  3. A stuck pram wheel
  4. Singing a lullaby
  5. Stepping on a noisy toy
  6. Sneaking out of the nursery
  7. A baby pulling your hair
  8. A parent discovering their tea has gone cold

Choose the right difficulty

Use everyday care prompts for the first round, then add milestones and silly situations once guests understand the format. For children, allow sound effects that are not words. For a harder adults-only round, limit clues to gestures and give teams 45 seconds.

Inclusive ways to play

Acting does not have to mean standing. Guests can perform while seated, pair with a partner or be the timer, card reader or scorekeeper. Read prompts privately to anyone who finds small print difficult, avoid forcing reluctant guests to perform, and remove prompts involving pregnancy or birth if they may be sensitive for your group.

Two useful variations

Whole-room charades

Skip teams. Everyone guesses and the first correct answer becomes the next performer. This is relaxed and needs no score sheet.

Rapid-fire relay

Each team gets two minutes to guess as many cards as possible. Players may pass once per turn. Run two rounds and total the scores.

Frequently asked questions

How many prompt cards do I need?

Allow two cards per guest, or use 20 cards for a 15-minute game. Keep spare prompts in case the room guesses quickly.

Can a large group play?

Yes. Use teams of six to ten and run simultaneous tables, or choose one performer per team while the whole room watches.

For seated quizzes and games that arrive ready to hand out, see Forever Lily's six-game baby shower bundle. You can also read our guide to inclusive baby shower games.

Back to Baby Shower Games