Leave a keepsake at each seat
Advice cards give guests several ways to contribute. They can share encouragement, a tradition or a wish for the family. A guest does not need to be a parent to write something kind.
Tell people they can choose one prompt and leave the others blank. Keep the cards private unless the parents want to read them aloud. Collecting them in an envelope gives the parents a choice about when to read them.
Make predictions just for fun
Prediction cards invite guests to guess the birthday, arrival time and a name, then add a wish for the first year. They are keepsakes, not pregnancy or birth advice.
A prize or scoring system is optional. The parents may prefer to keep the cards as a record of the day rather than arrange a later contest. Skip any prompt they would rather not include in the activity.
Offer puzzles without a race
A word search works while guests arrive, and a scramble can be a pair activity. You can put pencils and sheets on a table with a simple invitation to join in. No timer is required.
If you do offer a timed round, give people the choice to play as a team or keep working afterward. The host's answer key makes checking straightforward without asking each guest to read answers to the room.
If you are not opening gifts
Skip gift bingo: it depends on guests seeing presents being opened. A word search, word scramble, advice card or prediction card works without gift opening. Choose a puzzle for guests who enjoy solving something and a keepsake for guests who prefer to write.
Place a small invitation beside the cards, such as: ‘Leave a wish for the family whenever you have a moment.’ You can collect the cards later without stopping the conversation or announcing a winner.
Give guests a choice
Choose two different activity types rather than several near-identical puzzles: for example, a word search and an advice card. Guests can solve something, write something, or leave the card untouched.
Quiet activities are still part of the party. Leave enough clear table space for food and conversation, and do not interpret a blank card as a guest failing to participate.
Written for the ShowerPrintables printable set. About this project. For print settings, test one sheet on your printer before making the full quantity.