✍️ Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team · Updated May 2026

Advice Cards for the New Parents

Set up a small "advice station" near the entry. Each guest writes one piece of parenting advice on a card — funny, serious, or somewhere in between — and drops it in a box. The mom-to-be takes the box home as their first parenting manual, and re-reads them at 3 a.m. for the next year.

💝 Sentimental
🤝 Low-pressure

⏱ Prep: 5 min
👥 Best for: Any size
🍷 Coed: Yes
📹 Virtual: Works on Zoom

What you'll need

Pretty cardstock or pre-printed advice cards (Michaels, Target stationery aisle, or an Etsy printable for ~$5)
5–6 nice pens — not Bic ballpoints; people write better when the pen feels good
A small wood box, woven basket, or guest book to collect the cards
Sage-green ribbon to tie the box shut at the end of the party
A small handwritten sign explaining the rule ("Write one piece of advice for the new parents — funny, serious, anything")
Tape or a small frame to display the sign at the station

Before the shower (setup)

A week before the shower, pick up pretty cardstock or pre-printed advice cards from Michaels, Target's stationery aisle, or an Etsy printable ($5 for a downloadable design you print at home). Plain 4×6 index cards work in a pinch but the nicer the card, the more thought guests put into their advice — small effort, big payoff. Grab 2 cards per expected guest plus 10 spares; some guests write two and others mess up their first card.
Buy 5–6 actual good pens. Bic ballpoints make people scribble; a pack of Pilot G2 gel pens or Sharpie roller pens from Target ($10 for a 6-pack) makes guests want to take time. Pick up a small wood box, a woven basket, or a fabric-cover guest book from HomeGoods or Anthropologie (~$15) — that's what the cards drop into and what the mom-to-be takes home as the final keepsake. Add a sage-green ribbon to tie the box shut at the end.
About 20 minutes before guests arrive, set up the advice station on a small table near the entry or by the gift area — somewhere everyone passes through. Stack the blank cards in a pretty fan, lay the pens next to them, place the collection box in the middle. Tape up a small handwritten sign: "Write one piece of advice for the new parents — funny, serious, anything. Drop it in the box." Put it at eye level. Don't skip this — half your guests will walk right past if there's no sign.

Front-door setup for Advice Cards for the New Parents — basket of clothespins and a chalkboard rule sign by the entryway — Set up at the front door so the game starts the second guests walk in.

How to play

As each guest arrives, point them at the advice station. Tell them once: "Write a piece of advice for the new parents — any time during the party works." No pressure on length. Some guests will write one sentence, others a full paragraph, others will write three different cards. All fine. The advice station stays open the whole party — guests should be free to come back to it after they've had a glass of wine and an idea hits.

Around the middle of the party (after cake, before gifts is the sweet spot), give one gentle reminder out loud: "Hey everyone, don't forget the advice cards by the door — if you haven't written one yet, now's a good time." Some guests forget completely until they're nudged; others were waiting until they felt settled. The reminder usually gets 3–4 more cards into the box.

Before the shower ends — usually right after gifts — collect the cards into the box and tie it shut with the sage-green ribbon. Hand the closed box directly to the mom-to-be at the end of the party as part of the goodbye moment. Take a photo of the box first as a digital backup in case any cards get lost. The parents will read the first few that evening, save the rest for the first weeks home with the baby, and re-read them across the first year. Some couples even re-read them on the baby's first birthday.

A hand lifting a clothespin off another guest's shirt — the steal moment in Advice Cards for the New Parents — The moment of the steal — someone slipped, someone caught it, pin changes hands.

Variations to try

Themed prompts. Print prompts at the top of each card instead of leaving them blank. Examples: "The best parenting advice I ever got was…", "When the baby cries at 3 a.m., remember…", "The one thing nobody tells you is…" Cuts down writer's block for guests who aren't parents themselves and don't know where to start.
Video messages. Set up a phone on a tripod in a quiet corner. Each guest sits down for 30 seconds and records their advice on camera. Compile all the clips into a 2-minute video — the parents watch it on the baby's first birthday. Logistically harder but the final video is unforgettable.
Big-poster version. Tape one giant white poster board (Target craft aisle, $5) to a wall. Guests sign their names and write advice directly on the poster with markers. Skip the card box entirely. The finished poster gets framed and hung in the nursery. More public than private cards.
Letter to baby version. Pair with [[letter-to-future-baby]] and set up two stations side by side. Quick advice cards at one, longer hand-written letters at the other. Guests pick which to fill out based on how much they want to say. Best for showers with mixed close friends and acquaintances.
Zoom version. Email each virtual guest a printable advice-card template the morning of the call. Guests print, write, and photograph their card, then email or text the photo to the host. Host compiles all photos into a digital scrapbook PDF and either prints it or sends it to the parents. No physical box, but every card still gets to the family.

Pro tips from hosts who've actually run this

Set the station up BEFORE guests arrive. Mid-party setup means half the room never sees it and skips the game entirely.
Use real pens — Pilot G2 gels or rollerball pens. People write better and more thoughtfully when the pen feels nice.
Have more pens than you think you need. Guests share pens badly; one pen blocks the whole station while three guests stand around waiting.
Remind the room once after cake. Guests who got busy chatting will come back and fill one out.
Skip a "prize" for this game — that turns sincere advice into a contest and ruins the tone. This is the one game on the list that doesn't need a winner.
Take a photo of the full box of cards before handing it to the mom-to-be. Cards sometimes get lost in the move from shower venue to home, and the photo is a real backup.
Add a few of your own cards too. If you're the host, you probably have advice — write one or two so the parents see your handwriting in the stack later.

Common mistakes to avoid

Setting up the station mid-party. By the time you place the cards, half the guests have already arrived and walked past. Set up before anyone shows.
Using ugly pens. Cheap Bic ballpoints make people scribble, which makes cards look thrown together. Spend $10 on nice pens.
Skipping the sign. Without one, guests assume the cards are decoration and walk past. The sign is doing the heavy lifting.
Adding a prize. The competition energy kills the tone — guests start writing punchlines instead of real advice. No winner needed.
Forgetting to photograph the box. Cards get lost or shuffled; without a digital backup the keepsake is incomplete.

Best prize for this game

Skip the prize entirely. This is the one game on the list that's pure keepsake — adding a competition turns sincere advice into a punchline contest, which ruins what makes this game work. The mom-to-be takes the whole box home; THAT's the prize, for everyone.

→ More baby shower prize ideas, by budget

Our verdict

Costs almost nothing, takes no real prep, and the parents actually re-read the cards during their first year. Quietly the best keepsake game on the entire list — every single guest leaves something the parents will treasure.

Advice Cards for the New Parents — FAQ

What should the cards say at the top to prompt guests?

Simple works best: "Advice for the new parents:" with a blank space below. If your guests tend to freeze at blank cards, add a prompt like "The best parenting advice I ever got was…" or "When the baby cries at 3 a.m., remember…" Both are starting points, not requirements.

How many cards should I have at the station?

Two cards per guest is the right ratio. Some guests write more than one; others mess up their first try and need a fresh card. Buy 50 cards for a 20-person shower — leftover cards are cheap.

When do the parents actually read these cards?

Most read a few that night and then save the box for the first weeks home with the baby. The cards re-read totally differently at 3 a.m. with a crying newborn than they did at the shower — some couples re-read on the baby's first birthday too.

Is this fair for guests who aren't parents?

Yes — non-parent guests often write the most thoughtful cards. They write what they wish their own parents had told them, or what they've observed from friends with kids. The prompts variation helps if guests feel stuck.

How should the parents store the cards long-term?

In the original wood box or guest book the cards came in. Some parents read one card on each anniversary of the baby's birthday. Keep the box out of direct sunlight and high humidity to protect the cards over time.

Can this work on a Zoom shower?

Yes — see the Zoom variation. Email guests a printable card template the morning of the call, they print and photograph their filled card, then email or text the photo to the host. Compile into a digital scrapbook PDF for the parents.

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About the author

Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team — Party planners, parents & writers. We’re a small team of party planners and parents who’ve hosted — and been guests at — dozens of baby showers. Every game here is sorted by what actually lands in a real room, not by what just looks cute on a Pinterest board.