| If you’re planning a baby shower,
you’ve taken on a big task. From choosing a theme, to figuring
out the guest list and mailing invitations, from deciding on a menu
to planning decorations, games, and favors – it can get overwhelming.
Make your job simpler by learning about baby shower bingo, one of
the easiest and most popular games you can play. It’s also
the kind of game that everyone – young or old – can
get excited about and play.
There are many online sites that have pre-made bingo cards that
you can print out – but this game is so easy to set up that
you could make them yourself - and make them even more charming
and personalized. You might want a few pairs of extra hands if you
are having a lot of guests. You can use thick construction paper,
plain white cards, or even recycled cardboard as your bingo boards.
Choose a color that matches your theme or trim the card in a fun
pattern – you can use stickers and sparkles or just a colored
marker and steady hand.
Then, mark the board, tracing out a 5x5 grid. You might also want
to leave space at the top for a title. Unlike regular bingo, you
won’t be calling out a letter and a number. Instead, you’ll
make a list of baby-related words (such as: bottle, onesie, diaper,
crib, teddy bear, etc.) or cut out multiples of baby-related images.
You’ll write these words or paste these images at random on
all of the boards. Remember that the center square is normally “free”
– if you’ve chosen to use words, you can paste a tiny
baby picture here (instead of the usual star), or just write “baby
bingo.”
Make sure you make a master list of all the words or images, and
write each of the words down on a slip of paper so you can pick
them at random when it’s time to play. You should have a lot
more than 25 words in your word bank – but keep in mind, the
more you have, the longer the game will take. For extra fun and
variety, you can play several rounds: regular one-row bingo, cross-your-heart
bingo (making an X shape from corner to corner), diaper-bag bingo
(a chunk of 2x3 squares anywhere on the board), blackout bingo (the
whole board), etc. Just make sure you have enough prizes so that
each round’s winner gets something – and specify that
in case of ties, the first one to call out “bingo” wins.
Don’t forget to choose something as your “tokens”
for your guests to mark their squares – they could be cut-up
bits of construction paper, dry beans, etc. If you put a lot of
effort into making these boards, don’t let your guests mark
on them with pens or pencils – chances are, either you or
a friend will want to use them again.
Making your baby shower bingo is likely to be almost as entertaining
as playing it – almost!
|
