Baby shower mad libs (adapted from the term ad lib, which means improvisation) have been creating fun and laughter since they were invented by writers Leonard Stern and Roger Price in 1953 and published the first book in 1958 up to today.
Basically, this is a game where a player comes up with a list of words that is then used to fill in the blanks of a story that usually has very funny results. It has become popular with Americans, who have been playing it since they were children, and is quite often incorporated into parties as a game or done to pass the time.
A Mad Lib story has blanks in its sentences that ask for pre-determined types of words in certain parts of the sentences. Without showing the story, one player asks another for a noun, a verb, or an adjective that may be used in the sentence. Then after the blanks are all filled in, the story is read and the results are usually surreal and full of nonsense. The final story normally elicits a lot of laughs from the group.
An example of a sentence may be:
“One afternoon, a _________(job description) went to _________ (place) and ___________(verb – past) a _________(noun).”
The sentence to be read could look like:
“One afternoon, a sanitation worker went to Toronto and appealed a cherry.”
Baby shower mad libs can be created or can be downloaded off the internet. The blanks are just strategically placed in a story and a list of the types of words required is handed to the guests. When the guests have completed the list of words that they want, the story line is given to them to fill up. Just make sure that the order in which the words are written correspond to the words in the story. After everything is written down, the guests can take turns reading their stories.
The theme of the baby shower can definitely be incorporated into the baby shower mad libs. You could focus on two basic topics for a baby shower:
The Pregnancy – Write a story about how the parents-to-be reacted when they found out about the pregnancy, or how the mommy-to-be told her partner that they would be having a baby.
Labor and Delivery – This story focuses on various aspects of the labor and delivery. For example, what happened when the mommy-to-be's water broke, the trip to the hospital, how she went through labor, what happened to the husband when he saw his child being born, what the baby did after the birth, and other activities. Put in some numbers for the baby's weight or height, or the speed of the car going to the hospital. Completely nonsensical numbers will be volunteered, like 50, 99, or 300, and it will add to the fun of the game.
Another version of baby shower mad libs is to write down whatever
the mommy-to-be is saying while she is opening the gifts. The words
are put on the mad lib blanks and read out loud before the end of
the baby shower. This type of baby shower mad libs is totally nonsensical
and will definitely inspire lots of hysterical laughter.