Baby showers are a fun way to celebrate the new parents and shower them with gifts that will make their transition to parenthood easier. But the gift-giving goes both ways. You’ll need some great baby shower game prizes to give to the winners of your baby shower games. You may be looking for ideas for baby shower favors, too. Either way, we’ve got you covered.
With more than 20 easy and inexpensive baby shower game prize ideas that guests will actually WANT to win, you’ll definitely find a great gift to give your guests on this list.
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How Many Games Should Be Played at a Baby Shower?
Deciding how many baby shower games to play can be tricky.
On the one hand, you want to keep your guests entertained and make sure the event is enjoyable for everyone. On the other hand, you don’t want the shower to drag on for too long or feel like a chore.
When making your decision, it’s important to consider the size of the guest list and the amount of time you have available.
If you’re expecting a large number of guests, you may want to limit the number of games so that everyone has a chance to socialize (and eat). Alternatively, if you have a smaller guest list or more time available, you could choose to play more games.
(Make sure you ask mom-to-be what she’d like the itinerary for the baby shower to look like too!)
Ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer – it’s simply a matter of finding the balance that works for you and your guests.
You could keep it super simple and choose to do just a simple baby shower trivia questions game. (You know, while you’re guests eat finger food, or whatever.)
However, on average, 2-3 games plus your door prizes and a diaper raffle should be more than enough to keep your guests excited and engaged.
How Much Should You Spend on Prizes for a Baby Shower Game Winner?
There’s no specific amount that you should or must spend on prizes for the winners of the games at your baby shower.
The goal is to make your guests feel valued and appreciated (and motivated to win!) while still sticking to your baby shower budget. Try to strike a balance between something useful and desirable that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. We have plenty of affordable baby shower prizes below to choose from!
You could have a couple of pricier (think $20-$50) items for the door prize and diaper raffle and smaller, less expensive prizes for the winners of the baby shower games as a guideline.
Do You Give Favors At a Baby Shower?
It has become common practice to give favors at a baby shower. After all, your guests are bringing gifts for the baby (and sometimes the mom), so offering a small token of appreciation is a lovely idea.
To say thank you for coming, a small gift works just fine. Candy, magnets, seed packets, flowers, cookies, and other small trinkets are all excellent choices. Favors should be relatively inexpensive, at no more than $3-5 per person, depending on the size of your guest list.
But, favors are different than the prizes that guests can win for doing well at the games!
The baby shower game prizes should be different (and generally a little larger than) the favors.
It can be fun to try and keep the baby shower game prizes in keeping with the shower theme – for example, if you send out winnie the pooh shower invitations, and have a cute bumble-bee cake, you could give tiny pots of artesian honey as prizes!
Best Baby Shower Game Prizes (and Door Prizes, too!)
Gift Cards or Gift Vouchers
You can’t go wrong with a gift card, gift certificate, or voucher.
While we love shopping locally and prefer gift cards to local restaurants and establishments, you may want to consider something like an Amazon gift card or Starbucks gift card if many of the guests are from out of town. You don’t want to give away a prize that someone can’t even use.
Gift cards are a great idea for a coed baby shower, where you want to have some useful gifts for the guys as well as the girls.
They also help us avoid un-usable gifts by way of allergies or scent aversions, or a guest getting something they really don’t need!
Succulent Plants (or air plants)
Succulents were all the rage a few years ago, and they’re still going strong. Nice little succulent pots make for great gifts or party favors.
Air plants are also SUPER cool, and some people have never even seen them!
Scented Candles
I think there’s a caveat here – don’t get the uber cheap ones from the dollar store. I think dollar store stuff is FANTASTIC, but I have never met a scented candle I loved from there. If you’re planning ahead, watch for sales on candles at Bath and Body Works, or Yankee Candle – or anywhere that you know makes GOOD QUALITY candles that you can actually smell when they burn.
Cute Photo Frames
Picture frames always make wonderful gifts, and you can find some absolutely gorgeous ones these days at Dollar Tree or Walmart.
And if they’re not exactly to your liking, spruce them up a little with paint and embellishments. Promise the recipient a picture of the baby as soon as he or she is born!
Coffee Gift Basket / Mug
Add some coffee beans, an inexpensive hand grinder, and a tumbler or cute coffee mug to your baby shower prizes. Everyone loves a good caffeine fix.
You don’t have to use a basket, you could also just tuck some flavored coffee beans into a nice oversized mug!
Wine and Chocolate Gift Basket
Add some chocolates, a wine glass, and a bottle of wine (or mini bottles of champagne) to a wine basket for a fun prize for your baby shower guests. We love that this one has a pretty rose theme.
Or heck, just buy a full sized bottle of wine and stick a bow on it.
Most guests would be thrilled with that!
Ice Cream Gift Basket
An ice cream gift basket is a super fun idea for a summer baby shower game prize, especially for diaper raffle prizes. Fill the basket with different types of ice cream cones, lots of colorful sprinkles, and yummy toppings like caramel sauce and chocolate shell.
Movie Night Gift Basket
Nothing is more relaxing than a movie night in. This movie night box idea is great for all ages, men and women. Fill the basket with microwave popcorn, popcorn flavors, movie candy, and sodas. You can even throw in a fuzzy blanket if you’d like!
Spa Gift Basket
Did you know that you can put a spa gift basket together from the Dollar Tree for under $10? Fuzzy socks, bath bombs, shower gel or body wash, body scrub, loofahs, lotions, and more are all available for around $1 each. You could also tie a ribbon around some fuzzy socks and foot lotion for perfect baby shower prizes as well.
Manicure Sets
Grab a pretty bottle of nail polish, some hand lotion, and a nail file (emery board), and wrap them together with pretty ribbon or twine for a cute and simple gift that girls of any age will enjoy.
Lip Balm or Lip Gloss
No girl can live without lip balm or lip gloss. Buy a few tubes to tie together in a small bundle, or pair a lip gloss and lip scrub together. Want to make them yourself? Here are a couple of DIY lip recipes to try:
DIY Kool-Aid Lip Balm
It smells and tastes delicious and is so easy to make! Grab the recipe for Kool-Aid lip balm and make a few pots of it to give out at your baby shower. Even the kids in attendance will love the fun colors and flavors.
DIY Cinnamon Lip Scrub
Make your own cinnamon lip scrub with five simple ingredients: sugar, ground cinnamon, cinnamon essential oil, coconut oil, and vitamin E oil. This lip-plumping scrub will have lips smooth and soft after just a couple of uses.
Sugar Scrub
Buy an inexpensive scrub or make several jars of your own. It’s super easy to do! This vanilla sugar scrub is perfect for all seasons. Made with brown sugar, vanilla extract, olive oil, and vitamin E oil, it comes together in minutes and is the perfect DIY gift for baby showers, bridal showers, and holidays.
DIY Bath Salts
Make some sweet-smelling DIY bath salts like these orange scented ones. With Epsom salts, baking soda, and essential oils, you can make several jars of bath salts in no time at all.
Handmade Soaps
Making handmade soap is now easier than ever thanks to melt-and-pour soap bases. This peaches and cream soap smells divine, and it only takes 10 minutes to make. They make wonderful DIY gifts or baby shower favors.
Mason Jar Prize Idea
Fill a mason jar with inexpensive items from the Dollar Tree, Target, or Walmart. Include a loofah, body wash, and lotion. Add a tag that reads, “From Our Shower to Yours” and you’re all set with cheap baby shower prizes that fit any baby shower theme.
Kitchen Utensils
At baby showers and bridal showers, kitchen utensils are always a great prize. Why? Because you can always use a good spatula, ice cream scoop, or set of wooden spoons. Other small goodies for the kitchen you may want to consider are kitchen towels, knife sets, veggie peelers, oven mitts, and pot holders.
Brownies in a Jar
This brownies in a jar idea works well as baby shower favors or awesome prizes. Who wouldn’t love (almost) all the ingredients to make a big pan of brownies when they’re craving something sweet? It’s also an inexpensive option if you plan on giving away a lot of prizes.
Mini Hand Sanitizers
Okay, hear me out on this one. We all carry a bottle of hand sanitizer (or three) on us these days, so why not get some that smell great? Those mini hand sanitizers at Bath and Body works smell incredible, and when you catch them on sale, they’re about $1.25 each. Add several to a cute cellophane bag and tie with a ribbon for a fun and practical gift.
Fresh Flowers make a great prize for a baby shower game
If you’re already spending money on fresh flavors to serve as centerpieces for the baby shower, you can make those flowers pull double duty as baby shower game gifts! Everyone loves beautiful flowers, and it’s one less thing you’ll have to pack into the car and take home.
Printable Baby Shower Game Prize Tracker
Want to keep track of the prizes you’re buying and awarding at your baby shower? Download our free printable baby shower prize tracker! It’s a quick and simple way to record your purchases and winners and will make a fun addition to your baby shower scrapbook.
Baby showers are a lot of fun, especially when you offer unique baby shower game prizes to make the event more exciting. Make sure you pin this list to come back to it when planning your next baby shower!
More Baby Shower Ideas
- Top 10 Best Baby Shower Gifts
- Unique Baby Shower Gifts
- Baby Shower Gifts for Mom
- Last Minute Baby Shower Gifts
Carly what a cute list of baby shower prizes! Thanks so much for featuring me.