Little Pumpkin Baby Shower Games

By Jan Bay

Little pumpkin baby shower games will roll the fall theme into the party in a big way. This is not the same old shower game with an orange border around it. These games center on having fun with real pumpkins! There are guessing games, baby predictions and a free set of printable games, but they’re different from the “same ol’, same ol’.” They give guests something fun to do while still leaving plenty of time to eat, visit and watch the gifts being opened.

Supplies for the games.

Little Pumpkin Baby Shower Games That Actually Fit the Theme

If you're putting together a Little Pumpkin baby shower, I'd lean hard into the pumpkin part when you choose the games. A real pumpkin on the table gives you an instant guessing game. A clear jar full of pumpkin candies gives you another. Add a few paper-and-pencil games that have been changed enough to fit the party and you've got plenty.

You do not need to play all seven games on this page. In fact, I wouldn't. Pick two or three competitive games, add one activity such as baby predictions that guests can fill out whenever they like, and call it good.

I'd also mix the types. Don't make everybody sit with a pencil for four games in a row. Start with something guests can do as they arrive, use one seated game after everyone settles in, then bring out the real pumpkin for something a little more playful.

If you want to see more choices beyond the pumpkin theme, the baby shower games page has more traditional ideas you can borrow from.

1. Guess the Pumpkin's Weight

This is the first game I'd choose because it uses an actual pumpkin. Nothing about it feels like a generic baby shower game dressed up for fall.

Pick one good-sized pumpkin before the shower and weigh it at home. Write down the exact weight somewhere the guests can't see it. Set the pumpkin near the entrance with slips of paper, pens and a container for the guesses.

Each guest writes her name and how much she thinks the pumpkin weighs. At game time, read the guesses and award the prize to the person who comes closest without needing any complicated scoring.

You can let guests pick up the pumpkin before guessing if you want more commotion. If the pumpkin is especially heavy, leave it on the table and make everybody judge it by sight. I'd do that rather than risk somebody dropping a twenty-pound pumpkin on her foot.

Don't use a tiny decorative pumpkin for this one. A medium or large pumpkin gives guests enough range to make the guesses interesting.

2. How Many Pumpkin Candies Are in the Jar?

This is another game guests can play as soon as they walk in. Fill a clear jar with pumpkin-shaped candies, candy corn pumpkins or orange wrapped candies and count every piece while you fill it.

Write the total down before the shower. That sounds obvious until you're standing there looking at a jar containing 173 little pumpkins and realizing you never counted them.

Put a small sign beside the jar and give each guest one guess. Closest number wins. You can give the jar itself to the winner if the candy is part of the prize, or keep it on the dessert table and give a separate prize.

If you're serving the candy, keep the original packages or ingredient information available. Packaged food labels identify major allergens, so guests who need that information can check what is actually in the candy rather than guessing. The FDA's food allergy labeling information explains what to look for on packaged food labels.

3. Little Pumpkin Baby Bingo

Baby bingo is familiar, but I'd make the actual game fit the shower rather than simply putting pumpkins around the edge of an ordinary bingo sheet.

One easy version is gift bingo. Give each guest a card with blank squares before the gifts are opened. Instead of numbers, guests write things they think the mother-to-be will receive: diapers, bibs, sleepers, wipes, books, blankets and so on. As those gifts are opened, guests mark their squares.

You can put a pumpkin in the center square as the free space. First guest to complete the pattern you chose wins.

If you'd rather play bingo before gifts, prepare cards using baby and fall words such as pumpkin, stroller, bottle, blanket, pacifier, booties, diaper, October, harvest and nursery. Shuffle matching call cards in a bowl and draw them one at a time.

I prefer gift bingo if you already plan to open presents during the shower. It gives guests something to follow without adding another separate block of game time.

4. Little Pumpkin Baby Predictions

This one is half game and half keepsake, so I wouldn't rush it. Put prediction cards and pens on a table where guests can fill them out whenever there's a lull.

Include spaces for the baby's birth date, birth time, weight, length, hair color and eye color. If the baby's name has not been announced, you can add a name guess too.

You can also include a line for a short wish for the baby. That changes the card from something you throw away after scoring into something worth tucking into a memory box.

There doesn't have to be a winner at the shower because most of the answers aren't known yet. Save the cards and see who came closest after the baby arrives. If you want an immediate winner, choose one question that already has an answer, such as guessing the mother's current belly measurement only if she is comfortable with that game.

If she isn't, skip it. There are six other games here.

5. Who Said It? Mom or Dad?

This game takes a little advance work, but it can be much funnier than a page of generic questions.

Before the shower, ask both parents the same short set of questions separately. Don't let them compare answers first.

You might ask who will be more likely to get up first at 2 a.m., who picked the nursery colors, who will take more baby pictures, who will pack too much for the first outing, who was more nervous at the beginning of the pregnancy or who started talking about baby names first.

At the shower, read one answer at a time and have guests mark whether they think Mom or Dad said it. You can also give guests a printed answer sheet and score everything at the end.

The good questions are the ones that are actually about this couple. Ten specific questions beat twenty-five canned ones.

6. Pumpkin Baby Size Match

This is the game that can make the Little Pumpkin theme feel especially clever, but I would set it up carefully.

Create one column with pregnancy weeks and another with the fruit, vegetable, squash or pumpkin-size comparisons you want guests to match. Then have guests draw lines or write the corresponding letters beside the weeks.

Use one pregnancy-size source consistently when you make the answer key. Different pregnancy guides use different produce comparisons, so don't pull week 12 from one chart and week 24 from another and expect everything to line up neatly.

If the mother-to-be has been following a particular pregnancy app, weekly email or provider handout, using those familiar comparisons makes the game more personal. Treat the produce names as a party comparison, not as an exact measurement of a developing baby.

You can make the pumpkin connection stronger by concentrating on fall produce such as small gourds, squash and pumpkins where your chosen source supports those comparisons. You don't need to force a pumpkin into every week.

7. Little Pumpkin Price Is Right

For this one, choose about eight to ten ordinary baby items and record the prices shortly before the shower. Diapers, wipes, diaper cream, baby shampoo, bottles, pacifiers, bibs and a basic sleeper are enough.

List the items on the game sheet without the prices. Guests write what they think each item costs, then you reveal your actual prices.

Decide the scoring rule before you begin. The simplest version is one point for the closest guess on each item. Highest total wins.

I would not use unusually expensive gear or specialty products. Nobody knows what a random luxury stroller costs, and guessing $879 instead of $949 isn't especially entertaining. Familiar little purchases make for a better game because everybody thinks she knows the answer until you reveal it.

Prices also change. Record the store and prices you used close to the shower date rather than saving a game sheet with fixed dollar amounts and expecting it to stay accurate.

How Many Little Pumpkin Baby Shower Games Do You Need?

Three organized games is usually plenty for the kind of shower I'm picturing here, especially if you also put out predictions or a candy-jar guess that guests can do on their own.

I'd use one arrival game, one sit-down game and one pumpkin game.

For example, guests can guess the number of pumpkin candies as they arrive. Play Mom or Dad after everyone has eaten. Then bring out the big pumpkin and see who can guess its weight.

Meanwhile, leave the prediction cards on a separate table for anyone who wants to fill one out. That gives you four activities without stopping the party four separate times.

If your shower is already packed with food, gifts and visiting, cut one. Nobody is keeping score of how many games the hostess provided.

Easy Prizes and a Simple Game Setup

You don't need a separate elaborate prize for every possible winner. A few fall candles, coffee shop gift cards, small boxes of chocolates or pretty kitchen towels are enough. If you're already giving favors, don't make the game prizes compete with them.

Set all the paper games together with plenty of pens. Keep the pumpkin weight game where guests can see the pumpkin from every side, and put the candy guessing jar somewhere it won't be mistaken for the snack bowl.

I'd number the completed guess slips or have everyone write a name clearly. "Whose handwriting is this?" is not the grand finale you want.

If you're building the rest of the party around the same look, go back to the Little Pumpkin baby shower ideas for the decorations and theme details. For a broader seasonal party, there are more ideas on the fall baby shower page.

And if your pumpkins are leaning more spooky than sweet, the Halloween baby shower games are a better fit.

Little Pumpkin Baby Shower Games FAQ

What is the best game for a Little Pumpkin baby shower?

I'd choose Guess the Pumpkin's Weight if you want one game that really belongs to this theme. It uses a real pumpkin, takes almost no explaining and works for a small or large shower.

How many baby shower games should we play?

Two or three organized games are enough for many showers. You can add a self-serve activity such as baby predictions or a candy-jar guess without stopping the party for another round of instructions.

Can these games work for a coed baby shower?

Yes. Pumpkin weight, candy counting, Price Is Right, bingo and Mom or Dad don't depend on having a women-only guest list.

Do all the games need to be printable?

No. I wouldn't make them all printable. The real pumpkin and candy jar are part of what makes this party different from an ordinary baby shower game night with fall graphics added.

What supplies should I have ready?

For the seven games shown here, you'll need a real pumpkin and scale, a clear jar and counted candies, game sheets or cards, plenty of pens or pencils, a bowl or container for entries and a few prizes. Prepare the answers for Mom or Dad, Baby Size Match and Price Is Right before guests arrive.