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Baby shower invitations these days often request unwrapped gifts or diapers so the parents-to-be can mingle with guests. While it’s wonderful to give everyone more time to chat and enjoy the party, this more interactive party setting requires entertainment for the guests including crafts, games and hands-on activities.
Check out these baby shower trends that will take your baby shower from mediocre to memorable.
Baby shower themes for 2025
Everyone loves a themed party and baby showers are no different! This year, popular themes include elements of minimalism, eco-friendliness and sustainability. While there are dozens of ideas, these caught our eye for 2025:
Host an English tea garden
Complete with flowers, tea and finger sandwiches, you can play up the minimalist aspect of this theme with all-white décor and a simple brunch buffet. Be sure to use real plates, glassware and silverware instead of disposable. To maximize eco-friendliness and sustainability, head to your local farmers market and pick up locally grown produce and flowers for the party. Pinkies up!

Set up a craft station
Some groups prefer crafts over party games. If that is your parent-to-be, consider setting up a craft station where guests can tap into their creative side. Guests can decorate bibs, onesies or even wooden hangers for the new arrival. If you are looking for something unique, ask guests to create a felt book with nursery rhyme characters. Patterns are available on Etsy which guests can trace, cut out and glue together, creating a sweet keepsake the whole family can enjoy for years.

Grow baby’s library
We love the idea of asking guests to bring a book instead of a card to fill up the baby’s library. Instead of buying new, look for used books first for a more eco-friendly choice. This is the perfect opportunity for the partygoers to go through their libraries and find gently used books to pass along! You can also look for used children’s books at a library book sale, and ask the guests to sign those rather than bringing one of their own.

Baby medicine cabinet gift ideas:
- Digital thermometer
- Non-aspirin pain reliever/fever reducer
- Bulb syringe or nasal aspirator
- Antibacterial ointment
- Electrolyte solution for hydration
- Boo-boo bunny
- Baby/children’s sunscreen
- Baby shampoo or baby wash
- Baby moisturizing lotion
- Diaper rash cream
- A pair of baby nail clippers or a small nail file
- Anti-gas drops
Fill the medicine cabinet
Babies need a bunch of different items that first-time parents might not have on hand. When you send out invitations to the shower, ask each guest to bring one specific medicine cabinet item along with their gift (baby nail clippers, baby sunscreen, diaper rash cream, etc.). At the shower, set up a basket at the gift table where guests can drop their medicine cabinet item, resulting in a useful bounty that any new parent will be truly thankful for!

Read a bedtime story with love
A busy parent can always use a break, and bedtime with a baby or toddler can be especially exhausting. What if everyone at the baby shower could read a story to the baby whenever help was needed? Ask all the baby shower guests to make a video of themselves reading a book to the baby. Upload the videos to a private YouTube channel so Mom or Dad can have access to the stories whenever they need some help. Not only will it be a chance for the baby to hear and see the special people in their lives, but it is also a wonderful keepsake to look back on down the road. What a special gift!

Food and drink
Get the guests involved and out of their seats. Bring in a bartender to teach everyone how to make signature mocktails and serve them in fancy glasses. Or bring in an expert to teach guests how to make salami roses for charcuterie boards or even homemade pureed baby foods. Being involved is much more memorable than nibbling off a prearranged cheese platter!

Play some fun games
Get your guests laughing with some fun party games. These ideas are a great way to get everyone involved and help break the ice between guests who may not know each other.

Two Truths and a Lie
Print out sheets for guests to write down three sentences about their baby’s birth (or about their own birth if they do not have kids) which will be read aloud when complete. Let the parent-to-be guess what is true and what is a lie. (For example: My labor was less than an hour. My daughter was born with a full head of hair. My husband got a speeding ticket on the way to the hospital.) After the expecting parent guesses, the lie is revealed. Consider a prize for the craziest truth, or the lie that sneaks past everyone!
Baby Dice
This is a great way to get the parents-to-be to chat with every guest for a few minutes. Purchase some small gifts for prizes and an alphabet die, and set up several tables around the party. Players work in teams to spell out BABY SMITH by rolling the dice and marking off each letter on a sheet. The team to do so fastest is the winner and moves up to the next table. Similar to Bunco, players switch partners and play again for a set amount of time. The player with the most wins and losses wins a prize!
Baby Telestrations
Much like the old game of telephone where you whisper in someone’s ear, Baby Telestrations adds a twist. The first person picks a card with a baby-related term like “diaper change” and draws it on a piece of paper. The next person looks at that drawing and writes their guess as to what the drawing is supposed to be and hands that to the next person. They then create a drawing based on that term and so on until the end when all drawings and guesses are revealed.
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