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Decorate a Bib — baby shower game

✍️ Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team · Updated May 2026

Decorate a Bib

A craft table with plain white bibs and fabric markers. Each guest decorates one with a doodle, quote, or inside joke. The new parents go home with a basket of wearable keepsakes the baby will actually use.

  • 💝 Sentimental
  • 🤝 Low-pressure
  • 🍷 Coed-friendly
⏱ Prep
30 min+
👥 Best for
6–20 guests
🍷 Coed
Yes
📹 Virtual
In person

What you'll need

  • 12-pack of plain white cotton baby bibs from Amazon (search "Gerber plain white bibs" — $15 for a dozen)
  • Tulip or Sharpie fabric markers in 8 colors from Michaels or Joann ($18 set)
  • A pack of plastic alphabet and shape stencils for non-artists ($8 at Hobby Lobby)
  • Cardboard inserts (cut from a cereal box) sized 3x5 inches — one per bib
  • Disposable plastic tablecloth from the dollar store to protect the table
  • A standard household iron and a sheet of parchment paper for setting designs after the shower

Before the shower (setup)

  1. About a week before the baby shower, order a 12-pack of plain white cotton bibs from Amazon — the Gerber brand or Burt's Bees Baby brand are both around $15 and arrive in two days. As soon as the bibs land on your doorstep, run them through one cycle in the washing machine and tumble dry low. That first wash strips the manufacturer's sizing and lets the fabric markers absorb cleanly. Decorate a bib baby shower game stations look pretty but fail constantly when this step gets skipped.
  2. Two days before the shower, cut twelve cardboard inserts from a cereal box or any thin cardboard you have around. About 3 by 5 inches is right — they sit inside the bib and stop the fabric marker ink from bleeding through to the back. Pick up a set of Tulip or Sharpie fabric markers at Michaels or Joann; the eight-color sets work great. Grab one plastic stencil pack with letters and simple baby shapes (hearts, stars, bears) for guests who don't think of themselves as artists.
  3. The morning of the shower, set up the craft station on a small kitchen table or sideboard covered with a $2 dollar-store plastic tablecloth. Lay out the bibs in a stack, the markers fanned in a small basket, the cardboard inserts beside them, and the stencils in a flat pile. Prop a small index card or chalkboard sign with one line: "Pick a bib. Slide the cardboard inside. Decorate. We'll iron-set them after the shower." Keep the mom-to-be's chair facing the craft table so she can watch favorites come together.
Front-door setup for Decorate a Bib — 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

Open the craft station as soon as guests arrive or right after the icebreaker game. The decorate a bib baby shower game runs as an open-house — there's no timer, no winner, no host announcement. Guests drift over with a drink in hand, pick a bib, slide a cardboard insert inside, and grab a marker. Some bibs take three minutes; some take fifteen. Tell guests to write their name or initials on the inside corner so the mom-to-be knows who made which one.

Walk by the table every fifteen minutes to top off marker supplies and bring fresh stencils if the popular ones get hogged. Encourage non-artists — "trace your hand," "write a one-line wish," "draw a heart" all count as participation. The bibs aren't a contest. They're a slow-build group gift. Take a photo of each finished bib as it goes back into the basket — the mom-to-be will want them for a baby book later.

Close the station when guests start slowing down — usually thirty minutes in. Collect every bib in the basket, marker-up side facing out so they don't smudge. After the shower, iron-set each bib (medium heat, three minutes, through a sheet of parchment paper) so the designs survive the laundry. Wrap the finished pile in a ribbon and hand them to the mom-to-be on the way out, or drop them off at her house the next week as a follow-up gift.

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

Variations to try

  • Coordinated palette round. Limit the marker set to three colors — say, sage, terracotta, and navy. Every bib comes out feeling like part of the same set. Looks intentional in nursery photos and works great if the mom-to-be has shared her color scheme.
  • Bib + onesie combo station. Run [[decorate-a-onesie]] right next to the bib table. Bigger guest count, more variety in the final gift basket. Bibs cover everyday use, onesies cover the photo-op moments.
  • Iron-on transfers only. Skip the markers and put out a sheet of cute iron-on patches from Michaels. Guests choose and place patches; you iron them on after. Cleaner finished bibs, less creative, but easier for guests who don't want to draw.
  • Three-fabric craft block. Pair this with [[burp-cloth-decorating]] and [[decorate-a-onesie]] for a full corner of the room. Guests rotate between three fabric items. Works for showers of twenty-plus where one craft alone wouldn't keep everyone busy.
  • Send-home bib kit. For a Zoom shower, mail each guest a plain bib, two fabric markers, and a return envelope. They decorate at home and mail it back. Slower but works for long-distance baby showers.

Pro tips from hosts who've actually run this

  • Pre-wash the bibs once before the shower. Sizing on new fabric blocks the marker ink and the designs come out streaky if you skip this.
  • Tulip Soft Fabric Paint Markers or Sharpie Stained Fabric Markers only. Regular Sharpies wash out in the first laundry cycle no matter what guests claim online.
  • Slide a piece of cereal-box cardboard inside every bib before guests start. Otherwise marker bleeds straight through and ruins the back of the bib (and your tablecloth).
  • Iron-set within a week of the shower. Set designs survive 30+ wash cycles. Skip the iron and the doodles fade after the second wash.
  • Have one stencil pack with letters available. Guests who say "I can't draw" trace a single word and call it done — that participation matters more than artistic skill.
  • Photograph each finished bib before you stack it in the basket. The mom-to-be will want the photos for a baby book, and stacking flattens the wet ink.
  • Pair with [[advice-cards-for-parents]] for a slow-paced quiet block in the middle of the shower — both run as open stations and let guests breathe between louder games.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Skipping the pre-wash. Fresh-from-Amazon bibs have factory sizing that blocks fabric marker ink and the designs come out patchy or fade in week one.
  • Using regular Sharpies or Crayola markers. They look fine the day of, but the first wash fades the entire design to nothing. Fabric markers only — Tulip or Sharpie Stained.
  • Forgetting the cardboard insert. Ink bleeds through every time without it and ruins the back of the bib plus whatever's underneath on the table.
  • Putting the iron-set step on the mom-to-be's to-do list. She won't do it. Set the bibs yourself after the shower and gift them already-set so they're ready to use.
  • Buying too few bibs. One per guest is the minimum, but couples or family groups will want two each. Order a 15-pack if your guest list is 12 — extras go straight in the gift basket as plain backups.

Best prize for this game

No competition prize is needed for a bib station, but the mom-to-be deserves a small thank-you bundle at the end. Tie the finished bibs with a $10 Target gift card and a small Yankee Candle so she has a take-home treat too. For the host running the craft, a $20 Michaels or Hobby Lobby gift card is a nice gesture to refill the marker supply.

→ More baby shower prize ideas, by budget

Our verdict

Quiet, photogenic craft station that doubles as a real gift. Same family as [[decorate-a-onesie]] — bibs are cheaper, easier, and more practical for everyday use. Run them side-by-side at a bigger shower or pick one based on your supply budget.

Decorate a Bib — FAQ

How is decorate a bib different from decorate a onesie?

Bibs are smaller, cheaper, and get used every single day for the first year — the mom-to-be will actually wear through them. Onesies are bigger, more photogenic, and feel more like a keepsake. Bibs are better for casual showers or larger guest lists; onesies are better for tea-party-tier showers with fewer guests. You can also run [[decorate-a-onesie]] alongside this game for a fuller craft station.

How long does the decorate a bib baby shower game take?

About 20 to 30 minutes as an open craft station while other activities run. Each guest spends three to fifteen minutes per bib. Iron-setting all the bibs after the shower takes another five to ten minutes total. There's no fixed end — close the station when guests stop coming by.

How many plain bibs do I need for the game?

One per guest minimum, plus a few extras for guests who want to make a second one. A 12-pack from Amazon for $15 covers most showers. For a 20-guest shower, order a 15-pack and put the leftover plain bibs in the gift basket as backup.

What fabric markers work best for bib decorating?

Tulip Soft Fabric Paint Markers or Sharpie Stained Fabric Markers are the two reliable picks. Both available at Michaels, Joann, Hobby Lobby, or Amazon for under $20 a set. Regular Sharpies and Crayola markers wash out — never use them on baby fabric games.

Will the decorated bibs actually get used by the baby?

Yes — bibs are one of the most-used baby items in the first year, especially once solid foods start around six months. Pre-wash them, iron-set the designs, and they'll survive thirty-plus wash cycles. Many parents save one favorite as a framed nursery piece too.

Can you play decorate a bib on Zoom?

Yes — mail each guest a plain bib, two fabric markers, and a return envelope a week before the virtual baby shower. Have guests decorate live on camera during the shower and mail the bibs back after. Slower than in-person but it works well for long-distance showers where family flies in by webcam.

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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.