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Catch the Pacifier — baby shower game

✍️ Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team · Updated May 2026

Catch the Pacifier

Each player grips a wooden spoon in their teeth, handle pointing out. A partner tosses pacifiers underhand from six feet away. Hands stay down — the goal is to land as many pacifiers on the spoon handle as you can in sixty seconds.

  • 🏃 Active
  • 🧒 Kid-friendly
  • 🍷 Coed-friendly
  • ⚡ Quick
⏱ Prep
5 min
👥 Best for
6–16 guests
🍷 Coed
Yes
📹 Virtual
In person

What you'll need

  • Pack of 6 plain pacifiers from Target, Walmart, or the dollar store (about $8 total)
  • One wooden cooking spoon per pair (a 4-pack from Walmart or Target runs $5)
  • Painter's tape or masking tape to mark the throw line (any roll from Home Depot)
  • Phone timer (no extra app needed)
  • Index card or chalkboard to keep score for each duo
  • A small prize for the winning pair

Before the shower (setup)

  1. Pick up a pack of basic single-pack pacifiers — the dollar store, Target, or Walmart all carry them for about $1 to $2 each. You'll only need four or five for the game itself, but grab a couple extras since they bounce under furniture. The catch the pacifier baby shower game runs best with NUK or MAM style pacifiers because the wide shield catches on the spoon handle naturally. Skip the orthodontic ones with the flat backs — they slide right off.
  2. Grab a four-pack of wooden cooking spoons from Walmart or Target. Wooden handles grip in teeth way better than plastic, which gets slippery the second a guest starts laughing. Tape off a throw line on the floor about six feet from where the catchers will stand. Use blue painter's tape so it doesn't pull up your floor finish when you peel it off later.
  3. Twenty minutes before the game starts, pull the mom-to-be aside and let her know she's exempt (or has the option to spectate if she's late in pregnancy — having a spoon in her teeth for thirty seconds while leaning forward isn't her best move). Set the pacifiers in a small bowl by the throw line, hand out spoons as players step up, and let the first pair go through one practice round before the real timer starts.
Front-door setup for Catch the Pacifier — 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

Bring two players up at a time — one catcher and one tosser. The catcher puts the wooden spoon between their teeth, gripping the bowl, with the handle sticking straight out in front of them. No hands on the spoon, no leaning the spoon with their tongue. The tosser stands behind the tape line, six feet away, holding three or four pacifiers. The catch the pacifier baby shower game starts the second you say "go."

The tosser throws pacifiers one at a time, underhand, aiming for the spoon handle. The catcher tries to land each pacifier on the handle so it sticks. They can lean and twist their head — they just can't use their hands. Every successful catch counts. When a pacifier falls, the catcher kicks it aside or the tosser grabs it for another try. Keep moving fast, since the timer is brutal.

After sixty seconds, call "time." Write the catch count on the scorecard and swap roles so the tosser gets a shot at catching. Run every pair through the same way. The highest combined or solo score wins. Two ties? Run a quick thirty-second tiebreaker between just those two players. Hand the prize over right after the last round so the energy doesn't leak.

A hand lifting a clothespin off another guest's shirt — the steal moment in Catch the Pacifier
The moment of the steal — someone slipped, someone caught it, pin changes hands.

Variations to try

  • Pacifier on a string. Tie a pacifier to a 12-inch string. The tosser holds the string and swings the pacifier toward the catcher in a slow underhand arc. Way easier — perfect for kids under eight or a baby shower where most guests want to laugh, not compete.
  • Step-back distance round. Every successful catch, the tosser steps one foot back. Last duo with a catch from the longest distance wins. The energy ramps up naturally as the room sees how far back each pair gets.
  • Trick-toss chaos round. Throws can be any style — high arc, sidearm, bounce off the ceiling. The same sixty-second timer applies. Way harder and twice as funny. Run this as round two after the standard round.
  • Pacifier carnival combo. Run this back-to-back with [[pacifier-toss]] — the toss-into-a-bucket version. Two pacifier-themed games in a row covers a fifteen-minute block of the shower and feels intentional, not random.
  • Coed teams. Split everyone into mixed-gender teams of two. Each duo's combined score across the catch and the toss role is their total. Works well at a coed baby shower where dads and brothers want to compete in pairs instead of solo.

Pro tips from hosts who've actually run this

  • Wooden spoons only. Plastic ones get slick the second someone laughs and the spoon falls out — wooden grips between teeth way better.
  • Use new sealed pacifiers, never one a real baby has used. Even if you wash it, guests will hesitate before putting any "used" baby item in their mouth.
  • Underhand throws only in round one. High arcs miss the spoon every time and the round drags on past the timer.
  • Have one host watching the timer and a separate person counting catches. The catcher won't remember how many they've landed and arguments slow down the round.
  • Mark the throw line with painter's tape, not masking. Painter's pulls up clean from hardwood without stripping the finish.
  • Give every pair one practice catch before the timer starts. Cold starts mean a lot of zero-catch rounds, which kills the energy.
  • Donate the pacifiers to the mom-to-be after the game, but only if they were sealed in their packaging until each game. Otherwise toss them — she won't actually use a shower-game pacifier with her newborn.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Buying orthodontic pacifiers with flat shields. They slide right off the spoon handle and the catcher never lands a single one. NUK or MAM style with a rounded shield is what works.
  • Letting the tosser get creative with throws in round one. Sidearm and bounce throws miss the spoon, the round resets constantly, and the timer expires with a score of zero. Save trick throws for round two.
  • Skipping the practice catch. The first attempt is almost always a miss because the catcher hasn't felt how the spoon balances in their mouth. One practice toss fixes it.
  • Running this game too close to a food break. Spoon in teeth right after appetizers is unpleasant, and laughing through a mouth full of crackers is a choking risk. Run it before snacks, not after.
  • Using the same pacifier as a real baby shower gift later. Even sealed-and-clean ones get awkward — just buy a $2 multi-pack at Target for the game and recycle the rest.

Best prize for this game

Keep the prize small and on-theme. A $15 Target gift card paired with a real baby item like a Comotomo bottle or a Tommee Tippee pacifier holder works for a coed crowd. For an adults-only block, a bottle of wine, a $20 Trader Joe's gift card, or a Bath & Body Works gift set lands well. Avoid prize bundles tied to the actual baby's nursery — the winner won't keep them.

→ More baby shower prize ideas, by budget

Our verdict

Goofy, low-stakes, and weirdly competitive once dads and uncles realize they're terrible at it. Best as a five-minute interlude between bigger games. Pairs naturally with [[pacifier-toss]] for a back-to-back pacifier block.

Catch the Pacifier — FAQ

How do you play the catch the pacifier baby shower game?

Each player grips a wooden spoon by the bowl in their teeth, with the handle sticking straight out. A partner tosses sealed pacifiers underhand from six feet away, and the catcher tries to land each pacifier on the spoon handle without using hands. Most catches in sixty seconds wins. It's a quick, silly baby shower game that runs in five to eight minutes per pair.

What pacifiers work best for the catch the pacifier game?

NUK or MAM style pacifiers with a round, raised shield. The wide collar catches on the spoon handle and stays put. Skip orthodontic pacifiers with flat backs — they slide right off. A six-pack from Target or Walmart costs about $8 and is enough for the game.

Is catch the pacifier a good coed baby shower game?

Yes — dads, brothers, and uncles get into this one fast because the visual is funny and the mechanic is competitive without being embarrassing. Mixed pairs work great for the team variation. Keep the language gender-neutral and it plays clean at a coed shower.

Can kids play catch the pacifier?

Yes, kids over six love this game. Use the string-tied pacifier variation for younger kids so they get more successful catches and don't lose interest. Avoid this game for kids under five — the spoon-in-teeth move isn't safe for that age.

What's the best prize for catch the pacifier?

A small, named prize works best — $15 Target gift card, a Yankee Candle, or a bottle of wine for an adults-only crowd. Avoid mystery prizes and avoid heavy baby gifts (the winner is rarely a parent themselves). Wrap the prize in a clear bag so guests can see what they're playing for.

Can you play catch the pacifier on Zoom?

Not really — the game depends on the physical toss and catch in the same room. For a virtual baby shower, try [[baby-emoji-pictionary]] or [[guess-the-due-date]] instead. Save catch the pacifier for in-person showers.

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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.