Skip to content
Left-Right Baby Shower Game — baby shower game

✍️ Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team · Updated May 2026

Left-Right Baby Shower Game

Read a goofy baby-themed story out loud. Every time the word "left" comes up, the wrapped prize passes left. Every time "right" hits, it passes right. Whoever's holding it when the story ends takes the prize home.

  • ✅ Crowd-pleaser
  • 🤝 Low-pressure
  • 🧊 Icebreaker
⏱ Prep
15 min
👥 Best for
10–40 guests
🍷 Coed
Yes
📹 Virtual
In person

What you'll need

  • One nicely wrapped center prize — a Yankee Candle, a $25 Target gift card, or a small wine bottle from Trader Joe's wrapped in clear cellophane
  • A printed "Left-Right" baby-themed story (find one free at perfectparty.com or Pinterest, or write your own using the parents' names)
  • A reading-friendly font printed on a single sheet of cardstock from Michaels — easier to hold than crumpled printer paper
  • Chairs in a tight circle, or a couch-and-floor arrangement that lets the prize travel both directions
  • A glass of water for the reader — three minutes of fast reading dries out the throat
  • A backup printed story for a second round if the room wants more

Before the shower (setup)

  1. Three or four days before the shower, track down your Left-Right baby shower story. Free printable versions live all over Pinterest and at perfectparty.com — search "left right baby shower story" and you'll find at least a dozen. The good ones pack thirty to fifty mentions of the words "left" and "right" into about three minutes of reading. The cheesier the story (a fictional couple meeting in a hospital ward, the dad-to-be on the left side of a grocery aisle), the harder guests laugh. If you've got writing time, swap in the actual parents' names and an inside joke or two — the personalized version is what gets read aloud at the kid's first birthday.
  2. Print the story on cardstock from Michaels ($8 for a 50-pack) rather than flimsy printer paper. Cardstock holds steady while you read fast; printer paper crumples and you lose your place. Use a font size big enough to read at arm's length — fourteen-point Georgia or Times New Roman is the sweet spot. Bold the words "left" and "right" so they pop while you scan ahead. Print one backup copy in case the first one gets a coffee stain mid-game. Have a glass of water ready for the reader — three minutes of fast reading without water sounds easy until you're doing it.
  3. On shower day, wrap the prize ahead of time in a way that's eye-catching — a Yankee Candle or a $25 Target gift card both work well wrapped in clear cellophane with a sage ribbon. The whole point of the Left-Right baby shower game is the visible prize traveling around the circle, so anything you can see through the wrapping reads better than a brown paper package. Set up the seating in a tight circle. Chairs are easiest; a couch-plus-floor combo works too as long as every guest can reach two neighbors for the pass.
Front-door setup for Left-Right Baby Shower Game — 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

Once guests are seated in the circle, hand the wrapped prize to anyone — a guest with quick reflexes is a good pick to start. Walk through the rule once: "I'm going to read a story. Every time you hear the word 'left,' pass the prize to your left. Every time you hear 'right,' pass it right. Whoever's holding it when the story ends keeps it." Take a sip of water. Start reading slow. The first three or four "lefts" come gentle and the room laughs at the awkward first passes.

Then pick up the pace. The story should have left-right pairs back-to-back — "she turned left, then right, then left again" — and the prize zigzags between the same two or three guests for ten seconds while the room laughs. Speed up further. Lean into the chaos. The story might also have "all that was left" and "right after that" — those count too, so every word triggers the pass. The whole reading should take two to three minutes. Don't skip lines; read every word, even the boring connective tissue, because hitting one missed "left" at full speed is the joke.

When you reach the last word of the story, freeze. Whoever's holding the prize at that exact moment wins. Hand the prize over right then with a quick photo — every shower's got a group chat that'll get the photo within twenty minutes. The whole Left-Right baby shower game runs about five minutes total. If the room wants a second round, you've got the backup story printed and ready — different prize, different starting player, same chaos.

A hand lifting a clothespin off another guest's shirt — the steal moment in Left-Right Baby Shower Game
The moment of the steal — someone slipped, someone caught it, pin changes hands.

Variations to try

  • Two-prize race. Two wrapped prizes start at opposite ends of the circle. Each prize follows the same left/right rules independently. Whoever's holding either prize at the story's end wins. Doubles the chance of a guest winning and adds extra speed to the round.
  • Drink version (over 21). Replace the prize with a small non-alcoholic drink (or for an over-21 crowd, a small wine pour). Whoever holds it on the word "drink" — or any food word — takes a sip. Quirky party twist, best for a friend-group shower without grandparents in the front row.
  • Custom story with the parents' names. Write your own Left-Right story using the parents' names, the city they met in, and an inside joke or two. The personalized version is what gets re-read at the kid's first birthday party. Takes thirty extra minutes to write but pays off forever.
  • Two-story rounds. Run the game twice with two different stories. Different starting players, different prizes. Eight minutes total. Great for a shower stretch where you want a quick, lively games block without too much prep.
  • Pair with [[duck-duck-prize]]. Both passing-with-prize games but with different mechanics. Run back-to-back for a fifteen-minute prize-passing block — Left-Right first as the warm-up, Duck-Duck-Prize as the chasing version.

Pro tips from hosts who've actually run this

  • Read slow at first, then speed up. The accelerating pace is what makes guests laugh — start reading like you're giving directions and finish reading like you're calling a horse race.
  • Print the story on cardstock with a fourteen-point font. Reading off a phone screen is slower than reading off paper and the glare can throw the reader off.
  • Bold the words "left" and "right" in the printed version so they pop while you scan ahead by a sentence.
  • A tight circle is best. Passing across gaps slows the prize down and the round dies. Chairs touching is the right spacing.
  • Pick a named, visible prize. A wrapped Yankee Candle or a $25 Target gift card in clear cellophane motivates — a vague "prize" gets no energy.
  • Save the printed story in the parents' shower scrapbook with the winner's name written on the back. Cute keepsake for almost zero effort.
  • Run two rounds with different stories for a longer round. Different winners, same chaos.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Reading the story too slow the whole way through. The accelerating pace is the joke — start gentle, finish fast.
  • Using a vague prize. "A small surprise" travels the same path but generates zero competitive energy. Name the prize.
  • Picking a story under two minutes long. Short stories end before the pass-chaos really builds. Aim for three minutes of reading.
  • Skipping the bolded "left" and "right" in the print version. Without bolding, the reader misses a couple of triggers and the round feels uneven.
  • Loose circle seating. Big gaps between chairs slow the prize down and arguments start about whether a pass actually happened in time.

Best prize for this game

The Left-Right baby shower game depends on a visible, name-able prize. A Yankee Candle classic (Vanilla Cupcake, Clean Cotton, or Pink Sands) wrapped in clear cellophane runs about $20 and looks beautiful traveling around the circle. A $25 Target or Trader Joe's gift card in a small wrapped box is the easiest hit. A small bottle of wine from Trader Joe's for an over-21 shower. A Bath & Body Works lotion-and-soap-and-spray trio ($30) is a slightly upgraded pick. Wrap whichever prize you pick in clear cellophane with a sage ribbon so guests see what they're competing for from the first pass.

→ More baby shower prize ideas, by budget

Our verdict

Cheap, fast, and every single guest plays — the prize bounces wildly across three people for the whole round and the winner is genuinely random. The Left-Right baby shower game is a classic for a reason.

Left-Right Baby Shower Game — FAQ

Where do I find a Left-Right baby shower story to read?

Pinterest and baby-shower-blog sites have dozens of free printable Left-Right baby shower stories — search "left right baby shower story" and you'll find at least a dozen options. perfectparty.com has a clean one. Or write your own using the parents' names for a personalized version that gets read at the kid's first birthday party.

How long should the Left-Right baby shower story be?

About two to three minutes of reading time, with thirty to fifty mentions of "left" or "right" packed in. Shorter stories end before the pass-chaos really builds; longer stories drag and guests check out. Three minutes is the sweet spot for a typical fifteen-guest circle.

What kind of prize works best for the Left-Right baby shower game?

A specific, visible, name-able prize. A wrapped Yankee Candle, a $25 Target gift card, a small bottle of wine, or a Bath & Body Works gift set all hit. Wrap in clear cellophane so guests see what they're competing for. Vague "mystery prize" doesn't motivate.

How long does the Left-Right baby shower game take?

About three to five minutes per round including the wrap-up. Most hosts run it once as a quick palate cleanser between two longer games, or twice with different stories for a longer block. It's a sprint, not a centerpiece.

Can kids play the Left-Right baby shower game?

Yes — kids enjoy the chaos. Pair very young kids (under six) with an adult who can help track "left" and "right." Older kids can play solo and they're usually faster at the passing than the adults.

Is the Left-Right baby shower game good for a big group?

Yes, up to about forty guests. Past that, the circle gets so big that the prize doesn't really travel — run two simultaneous prizes traveling in opposite directions instead. Smaller groups (under ten) work too but the round ends faster.

Similar baby shower games

Browse by category

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.