Baby shower bingo

Baby shower bingo gives every guest a game to play, from the gift opening to the cake. Start with jungle baby shower bingo, shown above: a picture game to call, with baby animals and baby things. Or build your own printable deck from the 80 ideas on this page.

Gift bingo or called bingo: which to play

Play gift bingo during the gift opening, and called bingo when there's no gift pile or when kids play.

Classic gift bingo. Guests write the gifts they expect on a blank card, and mark each one as the mom-to-be unwraps it.

Pre-filled gift bingo. Here, cards come printed with likely gifts, like a onesie, diapers or a stroller, and each card is different. The host ticks each gift on the call sheet as it's opened, so they can check any bingo against it.

Take the gift squares from the registry: a gift that isn't on any card doesn't move the game forward. Use a list longer than 24, so each card holds a different mix of gifts.

Called picture bingo or word bingo. The host reads squares from the call sheet in any order, or cuts the sheet into squares and draws them from a bowl. It suits a shower without a gift opening, or a group with children.

Lotería tablas. For a family that plays lotería, swap bingo cards for tablas and call the squares by their Spanish names, like "el biberón" or "la cuna". Make the tablas with the lotería card generator.

Ties: plan a rule before the first call

No two cards in a deck share a full winning line.

Different cards still allow ties, since two guests can each complete a different line on the same call. The table comes from our simulation: 10,000 decks per setup, 100 games each, with a 40-item list. It shows the share of games with two or more winners on the same call.

So plan a tie rule before the first call. Keep a spare prize, split the prize, or call one more square. These figures cover called games only: gifts don't come out at random, so gift bingo can differ.

When kids come to the shower

Give children their own round with picture cards. Baby animals work well: a lamb, a bunny, a panda cub. On an illustrated set, the call sheet shows each picture above its label, so a child can call the round by pointing to the picture. A small prize just for the kids keeps their round separate.

Make your own baby shower bingo cards

Start your baby shower list by describing the shower in one sentence, and "Write my list" drafts 30 items. Add the registry gifts by hand, and "Suggest 6 more items" adds more, up to 60. Aim for about 40, the list size behind our numbers.

Describe the shower in Spanish, and the items come out in Spanish. Then pick one of 5 picture styles, like Watercolor or Cartoon, though licensed characters stay words only.

Words-only cards are always free, and you can compare free and illustrated cards before you print.