Games You Can Play with Pocketbooks at Baby Showers

If you're looking for a different kind of game to play at the baby shower you're planning, there are several types of games you can play with props that are easily available to you. Since a baby shower is usually an all-women's gathering, you can be sure that everyone will have their pocketbooks with them.

One easy type of game is to answer the question, “Do you have what I want?” Women are notoriously well-known for carrying all sorts of things in their purses, it would be great to prove or disprove that notion. To start off, tell the guests to take out their pocketbooks. Call out a list of things and give the person that has it a marker, like a jelly bean or other small piece of candy. At the end of the game, ask the players to count who has the most, and that person gets a special prize. Everyone gets to keep their jelly beans, of course.

Some things you could look for could be:

• a band aid
• lip balm
• scissors
• duct tape
• a dollar bill
• an MP3 player

For the grand prize, ask each one to show off the most unusual things they keep in their bags. You may just be surprised. Everyone votes for who has the most unusual article to choose the winner.

Another fun game with pocketbooks is to have an accomplice act like she can't find something in her bag and empty the contents of the bag out on the table. Have some common stuff (like tissues and a hanky, for example) and more unusual things (maybe a hammer or a small plushie) inside the bag. Let her go through everything and then put it back in the bag and then hurriedly leave the room. Then announce the game: “How much can you remember?”

Ask everyone what they saw her take out and have them make a list. Ask your accomplice to come back in the room and check the lists according to what was in her bag. How much someone remembers (or not!) could astonish all of you.

Did you know that you could play a scavenger hunt game in a woman's pocketbook? When everyone has arrived at the baby shower, group them together in teams and give them a list of items they have to put together using their purses only. The list should be a mix of items you'd normally find in a purse and unusual ones. For example, the list could consist of a grocery receipt, a utility bill, a picture of a pet, an unusual key chain, a large set of keys, a debit card, and so on. The list should not be longer than fifteen items to keep the game short. To make it more challenging, you can assign points to the items. A utility bill could be 3 points and a pacifier could be 10. Remember, the more creative your lists, the more fun you're going to have watching everyone empty their pocketbooks.

And finally, the simplest pocketbook game of all! Women's purses are always known to be heavy, so let's make a play on that. As the guests come in, have them weigh their purses at the door and keep a tally. When everyone has arrived, announce that you will be giving a prize to the best weightlifter in the room, and present it to the lady with the heaviest purse.

It's fun to make do with what you have around you, and women's pocketbooks are no exception. You just might find out something you didn't know about your friends at this upcoming baby shower.