✍️ Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team · Updated May 2026

Mommy or Daddy? Prediction Cards

Hand each guest a printed card listing 20 traits — eye color, sense of humor, athletic ability, sleep tendency — with a "Mom" and "Dad" box next to each. Guests circle who they think the baby will take after. A year later, the parents pull out the most accurate card and crown a winner. It's the prediction game that doubles as a slow-cook keepsake.

🤝 Low-pressure
📹 Works on Zoom
🍷 Coed-friendly
💝 Sentimental

⏱ Prep: 15 min
👥 Best for: 6–25 guests
🍷 Coed: Yes
📹 Virtual: Works on Zoom

What you'll need

Printed prediction cards — one per guest, 65-lb cardstock from Office Depot or Staples (around $8 for a 50-pack)
Black gel pens or fine-tip Sharpies from Target — 12-pack is roughly $9
A small wooden ballot box or a galvanized bucket from Hobby Lobby to collect the cards
A manila envelope or labeled folder to hand the cards to the parents at the end
One mailable prize for year-one: a $25 Target gift card, Yankee Candle, or Bath & Body Works set

Before the shower (setup)

Build the card in Canva, Google Docs, or Word a few days before the baby shower. List 20 traits down the page with two small boxes — "Mom" and "Dad" — next to each one. The classic mix is half physical and half personality: eye color, hair color, hair type (curly or straight), height, athleticism, math skills, picky eater, sleep tendency, introvert or extrovert, sense of humor, musical ear, neatness, patience, sense of direction, early bird or night owl, social butterfly, sense of style, taste in food, age of first temper tantrum, first word age. Drop in two silly traits at the bottom — "ability to fold a fitted sheet" or "favorite ice cream flavor" — to break the tone. Add the parents' names and a small heart at the top.
Print one card per guest plus 5 spares on cardstock. Cardstock matters here because the parents are storing these for a full year — printer paper warps and yellows. Office Depot or Staples will print 50 cards for around $15, or you can run them at home if you've got cardstock on hand. Add a signed-by line and a mailing-address line at the bottom of every card so the parents can mail the winner a prize a year later without chasing addresses.
On shower day, set up a small prediction station near the seating area — a tray of blank cards, a cup of pens, and a small heart or eucalyptus sprig for the photo. Stick the ballot box right next to it. Pull the mom-to-be aside and ask if there are any traits she doesn't want guests speculating on (some parents skip "weight" or "height" for body-image reasons). Strip them from the card before printing if she prefers.

Front-door setup for Mommy or Daddy? Prediction Cards — 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

About a third of the way through the baby shower — once everyone's settled with food but before gifts open — hand out the cards. Say it out loud: "Twenty traits, two boxes, circle whether you think the baby takes after Mom or Dad. Sign your card and drop it in the box. The parents save these and read them at the first birthday. Most accurate card wins a prize." Five to seven minutes is the right window — long enough for guests to actually think, short enough that the energy doesn't drift.

While guests fill cards, the host works the room. Two questions always come up: "can I write specifics?" and "what if neither parent has the trait?" Tell guests yes to both. "Green eyes from grandma" is a valid pick instead of circling Mom or Dad. "Neither — total surprise" is also a valid box if you want to add one to the card. Encourage specific notes ("Mom's curly hair") because they're more fun to read aloud a year later. Remind everyone to sign and add their address near the end of the window.

Collect the cards, snap a photo of the stack as a backup, and seal them into a labeled manila envelope marked "first birthday — prediction cards." Hand the envelope to the parents at the end of the shower. About 12 months later, at the baby's first birthday party (or whenever the parents have a quiet half-hour), they pull out the cards, score each one against the kid's actual traits, and crown the closest guesser. Mail the prize within two weeks of the birthday.

A hand lifting a clothespin off another guest's shirt — the steal moment in Mommy or Daddy? Prediction Cards — The moment of the steal — someone slipped, someone caught it, pin changes hands.

Variations to try

Grandparents added. Add "Grandma" and "Grandpa" columns alongside Mom and Dad. The trait-inheritance debate gets fascinating because most guests have opinions about the family resemblance from photos. Best for showers where extended family is in the room.
Specific traits version. Skip the Mom/Dad boxes entirely. Have guests write the specific trait they predict ("brown eyes," "left-handed," "sleeps through the night by month 4"). More creative, scores harder, and reads better at the first birthday.
Visual sketch round. Each guest draws a tiny pencil sketch of what they think the baby will look like at age one — face shape, hair color, eye color. Skip the trait list entirely. Best for a smaller, more creative crowd.
Zoom version. Email a fillable PDF the day before the virtual baby shower. Guests fill it during the call and submit via a Google Form. Take a screenshot of each card on screen for the keepsake. The parents tally at year one same as the in-person version.
Pair with [[mom-or-dad-quiz]]. Run them back-to-back. [[mom-or-dad-quiz]] tests guests on the parents now ("who said this — Mom or Dad?") and this one predicts the baby. Same Mom/Dad mechanic, different scope, feels like a coordinated pair.

Pro tips from hosts who've actually run this

Include 4 or 5 silly traits — "favorite ice cream flavor," "ability to fold a fitted sheet," "loves the dog more than the cat." Pure-physical lists get boring; silly traits get the laughs.
Collect mailing addresses on every card. The parents will be sleep-deprived and won't chase people down a year later. No address, no prize.
Set a calendar reminder on the parents' phone for the week of the first birthday: "open prediction cards." Without the reminder, the envelope quietly stays in a drawer.
Distinct from [[mom-or-dad-quiz]] — that quiz asks "is mom or dad saying this" about the parents now. This one predicts the baby. Run them back-to-back if your shower has time.
Save every card as a keepsake, even the losing ones. The parents read them at the first birthday as a kind of time capsule. Some couples frame the most accurate one.
If grandparents are in the room, encourage them to write their picks with specifics ("my mom's nose," "Dad's sense of direction"). Their cards score the highest because they know the family genes.
For coed showers, lean into the "prediction pool" frame — say "place your picks" instead of "fill out the card" and the dads in the room will engage more.

Common mistakes to avoid

Forgetting the mailing address line. You'll have a perfect winning card a year later and no way to send the prize.
Listing only physical traits. Eye color and hair color alone make the card boring. Mix in personality and silly traits to keep the tone light.
Asking guests to predict traits the mom-to-be is sensitive about. Weight, height, and "chubbiness" land badly in some families. Ask first.
Using regular printer paper. Cards crinkle and fade by month four. Cardstock is the only version that survives a year in an envelope.
Skipping the calendar reminder for the parents. Without one, the envelope stays sealed forever and the game never resolves.

Best prize for this game

Pick a prize that ages well — it won't be claimed for a full year. A $25 Target or Trader Joe's gift card holds value and mails flat. Other strong picks: a Yankee Candle three-wick, a Bath & Body Works gift set, an Anthropologie home item, or a $30 Amazon gift card. Skip wine for a mailing prize (most carriers won't ship it) and skip anything fragile or perishable. Tell the eventual winner the prize is coming on the kid's first birthday — it builds a little anticipation.

→ More baby shower prize ideas, by budget

Our verdict

A slow-burn baby shower game that ends at the first birthday party — quiet at the shower, hilarious a year later when the cards come out and someone called the green eyes from a single photo. Skip only if your group can't sit still for ten minutes.

Mommy or Daddy? Prediction Cards — FAQ

How do I play Mommy or Daddy? Prediction Cards at a baby shower?

Hand each guest a printed card with 20 traits and Mom/Dad boxes. Guests circle who they think the baby will take after for each trait and sign the card. The parents seal the cards in an envelope and open them at the baby's first birthday. The closest guesser wins a mailed prize.

When do we crown the winner?

At the baby's first birthday, when most physical traits (eye color, hair color, hair type) and early personality traits (sleep tendency, picky eater, early bird vs night owl) are clear. The parents pull out the cards, score each one, and mail the prize within two weeks of the birthday.

How many traits should the prediction card have?

Twenty is the standard. Less feels too short — guests finish in 90 seconds and the game doesn't earn its keep. More than 25 and people start checking out and guessing randomly. Mix half physical traits, half personality, and a couple silly ones.

What if the baby doesn't show a clear trait by their first birthday?

Most physical traits show by year one — eye color, hair color, hair type, height. Personality traits like sleep tendency and food preferences also surface. Some traits (sense of humor, athleticism, math skills) won't be clear until age 3 or 4. Score what's clear and skip what's still developing.

Should the parents fill out their own prediction card?

Yes — and seal it with the rest of the stack. At year one, reveal the parents' picks alongside the winners. It adds a "couples revealed" round and is one of the funniest moments of the first birthday party.

Is Mommy or Daddy? good for a coed baby shower?

Yes. Dads and uncles tend to enjoy the silly traits especially — they'll engage hard on "sense of direction" and "loves the dog more than the cat." Pitch it as a friendly prediction pool and the men in the room will lean in.

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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.