✍️ Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team · Updated May 2026

Most Likely To… (Parent Edition)

Print a list of 18 parenting moments. Guests circle Mom or Dad for each one — most likely to forget the diaper bag, most likely to cry at the first day of preschool, most likely to spoil the kid rotten. Read the tally aloud and watch the parents react in real time.

✅ Crowd-pleaser
🤝 Low-pressure
🍷 Coed-friendly
🧊 Icebreaker

⏱ Prep: 15 min
👥 Best for: 8–25 guests
🍷 Coed: Yes
📹 Virtual: Works on Zoom

What you'll need

Printed Most Likely To slip sheets, one per guest (Staples cardstock, around $6 for 50)
A 12-pack of ballpoint pens from Target
A clipboard with the host's master sheet
A small basket to collect the filled sheets
One named prize for the funniest commentary or the most accurate guesser
Optional: a folder to save the sheets as a keepsake for the parents

Before the shower (setup)

Build your prompt list about a week before the baby shower. You want 18 prompts that mix the obvious (most likely to fall asleep during story time) with the inside-joke ones (most likely to overpack for the hospital, most likely to be the strict parent, most likely to lose their mind over a missing pacifier at 3 a.m.). The inside jokes are the engine of the game — crowd-source them in the friend-group group chat or text the mom-to-be's sister for a few. Aim for affectionate ribbing, never mean.
Open Canva or a free Google Doc template and lay out the sheet: title at the top, then 18 prompts down the page with two checkbox columns labeled "Mom" and "Dad" next to each. Print one per guest on cardstock at Staples or your home printer — about $6 for 50 sheets. Cardstock survives the shower; plain paper folds and tears by the gift-opening phase. Print a separate master sheet for yourself with space to tally the votes.
Twenty minutes before guests arrive, stack the sheets and pens on a side table near the seating area. Decide ahead of time whether the parents are filling out their own sheet — they should. Tell the mom-to-be and dad-to-be that they're playing too, with the same prompts about themselves. Their predictions vs. the room's predictions vs. reality is what makes the reveal punchy. Brief them ahead of time so the prompt list isn't a surprise mid-game.

Front-door setup for Most Likely To… (Parent Edition) — 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 the room is seated, hand out the Most Likely To sheets and pens. Explain the rule out loud: "Eighteen parenting moments. For each one, circle whether Mom or Dad will be the one to do it. Be honest. Funniest commentary wins a prize. Five minutes on the clock." That's the whole baby shower game. Give the room about five to seven minutes to fill in their predictions. Some guests will fly through; others will labor over every prompt like they're picking a jury foreman.

When most pens are down, collect the sheets in a basket. Sit somewhere central where the parents can see your face and you can see theirs. Then read each prompt as a slow-build tally — "Most of you said Mom will forget the diaper bag. That's twelve to three. Dad-to-be, the room thinks you're the responsible one for once." Pause for the laughs. The parents' reactions are the entire payoff — eye rolls, gasps, "that's so unfair," the mom-to-be pointing at the dad-to-be with a knowing look. Take your time.

After all 18 prompts are tallied, ask the parents to share their own predictions for the funniest three — "who did YOU think would be the early-bird parent?" Compare to the room's tally. Hand the prize to the guest who had the funniest one-liner during the read or who matched the parents' answers most exactly (let the parents decide). Slip all the sheets into a folder and give them to the parents at the end of the shower — they'll dig it out at the kid's tenth birthday and laugh again.

A hand lifting a clothespin off another guest's shirt — the steal moment in Most Likely To… (Parent Edition) — The moment of the steal — someone slipped, someone caught it, pin changes hands.

Variations to try

Predict the kid version. Swap "Mom/Dad" for "Boy/Girl" or "Daring/Cautious" or "Like Mom/Like Dad." Same prompts but predicting the future baby's personality. Pair with [[mom-or-dad-quiz]] for a back-to-back prediction games block.
Anonymous tally. Print no name lines on the sheets. Tally and reveal stats only. Removes pressure for older relatives or coworkers who don't want their guess attributed. Best for mixed-vibe guest lists where some folks know the parents well and some don't.
Live show-of-hands. Skip the sheets entirely. Just read each prompt and have guests raise a hand for Mom or Dad. Faster, more social, way more chaotic. Works best for small showers (under 12 people) where the host can actually count hands.
Three-column edition. Add a third column: "Mom," "Dad," "BOTH." The BOTH column catches the prompts where the answer is obviously both parents (most likely to cry at the first day of kindergarten). More accurate predictions, slightly less funny.
Zoom version. Email the sheet as a Google Form before the call. Guests submit during the shower's chat hour. Host reads the tally on the Zoom call. The visual reactions translate fine even over a screen — the dad-to-be making a face when the room calls him soft is universally funny.

Pro tips from hosts who've actually run this

Crowd-source the prompts from the friend group beforehand. The inside jokes are 50% funnier than anything you write alone.
Read the tally as a slow reveal, not a list. Save the biggest gut-punch prompt for last — "who's most likely to spoil the kid rotten" is a strong closer.
Save the filled-in sheets in a folder and hand them to the parents at the end. They'll laugh at it again at the kid's first birthday.
Skip mean prompts entirely. Light ribbing only — "most likely to forget the diaper bag" lands; "most likely to fail at parenting" lands like a bag of cement.
Run this baby shower game after cake or appetizers, not before. The room loosens up after some food and the laughs land harder.
Have the parents fill out their own sheet privately and reveal their answers at the end — the comparison between their guesses and the room's is the game's twist ending.
Pair with [[mom-or-dad-quiz]] or [[would-they-rather-parent]] for a fifteen-minute parent-prediction games block.

Common mistakes to avoid

Writing prompts that pick on one parent only. The game has to feel balanced — about half the prompts should land on Mom, half on Dad, otherwise the lopsided parent feels singled out by the end of the read.
Including a mean-spirited prompt that even one guest in the room would find too sharp. The vibe is affectionate roasting, not actual roasting. When in doubt, cut it.
Reading the tally as a flat list. The slow-reveal pacing is what makes the laughs land. "Twelve to three" with a pause beats blurting both numbers at once.
Forgetting to brief the parents that they're playing too. They feel cornered if the prompts arrive cold; they lean into it if they've seen the list ahead of time.
Running this before cake or alcohol when the room is still cold. The energy needs to be loose for the laughs to land — schedule it after appetizers or after gift opening.

Best prize for this game

Match the playful vibe with something the funniest guest will actually want. Strong picks: a $20 Target gift card paired with a Trader Joe's chocolate bar, a Bath & Body Works candle in "Lemon Lavender," a small Yankee Candle, or a bottle of wine for an over-21 crowd. For the runner-up (most accurate guesser), a $10 Starbucks card works as a fun side reward. Skip mystery prizes — guests try harder when they can see the candle on the side table.

→ More baby shower prize ideas, by budget

Our verdict

Lightweight ribbing the parents are in on — works every time at friend-group baby showers. The parent reactions during the tally read are the photo every shower group ends up sharing in the group chat afterward.

Most Likely To… (Parent Edition) — FAQ

Will the dad-to-be be embarrassed by Most Likely To at the baby shower?

If your group is roast-friendly, no — the dad-to-be is in on the joke. Run the prompts past a close friend of the parents first to gut-check tone. Skip anything pointed at a specific family member or anything that lands as mean rather than affectionate. The dad-to-be should be laughing at the read, not bracing for it.

How long does Most Likely To take to play at a baby shower?

About fifteen to twenty minutes total — five to seven minutes for guests to write, ten to fifteen minutes for the host to read the tally aloud and let the room react. Slow-reveal pacing on the read is what makes the laughs land; rushing it kills the fun.

What's the right number of prompts for Most Likely To?

Eighteen prompts is the sweet spot. Less than fifteen and the round wraps in eight minutes; more than twenty and the tally read drags. Mix half about Mom and half about Dad so neither parent feels singled out by the end.

Is Most Likely To appropriate for older relatives at a baby shower?

Yes, as long as the prompts stay light. Skip anything pointed at a specific family side, anything pointed at the parents' relationship, and anything genuinely mean. Stick to parenting moments (forgets the diaper bag, falls asleep first, spoils the kid) and the round lands across every generation in the room.

Should the parents fill out their own Most Likely To sheet?

Yes — and reveal their own answers at the end. The room's tally vs. the parents' tally is the twist ending of the baby shower game. The mom-to-be saying "I would never forget the diaper bag" right after twelve guests said she would is the funniest moment of the round.

Can Most Likely To run on Zoom for a virtual baby shower?

Yes — send the sheet as a Google Form ahead of the call. Guests fill it out during the chat hour, the host reads the tally live on Zoom. The parent reactions translate fine over a camera — the dad-to-be making a face when the room calls him soft is universally funny on any screen.

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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.