Gift-opening bingo: every guest gets a different card of likely presents and marks each one as the parents unwrap it. The list is ready to print; edit it to match the registry.
Baby Shower Bingo
| B | I | N | G | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gift card | High chair | Diaper cream | Bottle brush | Burp cloths |
Stuffed animal | Bottles | Sleep sack | Booties | Board books |
Sound machine | Hooded towel | FREE | Swaddle | Pajamas |
Wipes | Diaper bag | Baby lotion | Pacifier | Teething ring |
Baby bathtub | Washcloths | Baby bouncer | Crib sheets | Night light |
Card 1 of 30
Baby Shower Bingo
| B | I | N | G | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rattle | Photo frame | Baby shampoo | Car seat | Diapers |
Bath toys | Nursing pillow | Onesies | Baby memory book | Changing pad |
Knit hat | Crib mobile | FREE | Thermometer | Handmade quilt |
Baby carrier | Sippy cup | Play mat | Bottle warmer | Bibs |
Baby monitor | Socks | Diaper pail | Stroller | Nail clippers |
Card 2 of 30
This is the version of bingo where nobody calls numbers. The "calls" are the gifts. As each present is opened, the host (or the person writing the thank-you list, who is paying attention anyway) says what it is out loud: "Swaddle blankets!" Guests find that square on their card and mark it. The first guest to complete a line shouts bingo, and the game carries on in the background through the rest of the opening, which is the real point: gift opening at a shower can run forty minutes, and bingo gives the guests who don't know the parents well something to do besides watch.
Because the calls follow the pile of gifts rather than a shuffled list, the caller sheet is less important here than at a normal game. It is still worth printing one copy and ticking gifts off as they are opened: it settles "has anyone opened wipes yet?" and doubles as a record for thank-you notes.
Give cards out as guests arrive, with a pen, and explain the rules once before the first gift. Guests who arrive after the opening has started can join late with a fresh card; they are behind, but with a free centre and a bit of luck they can still get a diagonal. Put the stack of spare cards and a cup of pens on the gift table so you aren't hunting for them.
If the shower includes a meal, hand cards out after the food. Balancing a plate, a drink and a bingo card is the main reason showers end up with a floor full of cards.
One line (any row, column or diagonal) is the right first pattern. With 50 possible gifts and a free centre, the first line usually comes between the tenth and twentieth present. Rather than stopping, hand out a small prize and announce the next pattern: four corners, then an X (both diagonals). A full card is only realistic if the pile is enormous; for most showers it is better to end the game when the last gift is opened and give the final prize to the fullest card.
Shower prizes are traditionally small and a little bit nice: a scented candle, a bar of good chocolate, a small plant, a nail polish, a packet of seeds, a mini bottle of hand cream, a jar of local honey. Wrap three or four of these in tissue so the winner of each round picks one without knowing what it is. Some hosts keep one "prize" that is a favour to the parents, such as a promise of a home-cooked meal in the first month, and let the winner sign the card.
Cards are 5 x 5 with a free centre square. Edit the list, add your own squares or change the card size above; the cards update as you type.
No, but the game is better when they roughly do. The prefilled list covers what most registries contain. If the parents asked for cloth diapers, a specific bottle brand or no stuffed animals, change those squares before you print; it takes a minute and guests notice when a square can never come true.
Everyone who has that square marks it once, the first time. A second pack of onesies doesn't earn a second mark. Say so when you explain the rules, because duplicate gifts are common at showers.
That is the older version of the game: blank grids, and guests write their guesses in before the opening starts. It works, but it takes ten minutes of writing, people copy their neighbours, and handwriting is hard to check. Pre-printed cards, each different, let the game start the moment the first gift does. If you like the guessing element, print the cards and have guests circle the five squares they think will come first.
One per guest plus three or four spares for late arrivals and the inevitable spilled drink. The list has 50 squares, so a shower of 30 can have 30 different cards with different sets of words, and the cards look different too.
It happens at small showers. Agree in advance that if nobody has a line when the last gift is opened, the guest with the most marked squares wins, with the lower card number taking a tie. Or switch to four corners halfway through if the pile is looking thin.