✍️ Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team · Updated May 2026

What’s in the Diaper Bag?

Stuff a diaper bag with ten to fifteen baby items. Guests reach in, feel one item at a time, and scribble what they think it is. No peeking, no asking the room, no second guess.

✅ Crowd-pleaser
🧊 Icebreaker
🍷 Coed-friendly

⏱ Prep: 15 min
👥 Best for: 8–30 guests
🍷 Coed: Yes
📹 Virtual: In person

What you'll need

An opaque diaper bag or canvas tote — Skip Hop or Carter's bags from Target run $25–$40 and end up with the mom-to-be after the game
10–15 small baby items with different shapes and textures (rattle, teether, pacifier, burp cloth, sock, bib, baby spoon) — most are $1–$3 each at Walmart or Dollar Tree
Masking tape and a Sharpie to number each item 1 through 15
Printed answer sheets — one per guest, with 15 numbered blank lines (a free Google Doc template works)
Cheap ballpoint pens — a 10-pack from Amazon for under $5
A named prize like a $20 Target gift card or a Yankee Candle classic

Before the shower (setup)

Three or four days before the shower, do one quick run to Target or Walmart and grab ten to fifteen small baby items. Pick things with wildly different shapes and textures — a pacifier feels nothing like a baby spoon, and a sock feels nothing like a rattle. Skip duplicates that feel similar (two teethers, two soft toys) because they'll trip every guest up the same way. Good picks: pacifier, rattle, teether ring, burp cloth, baby sock, bib, baby brush, baby nail clippers, formula scoop, baby spoon, lotion bottle, sippy cup, washcloth, baby thermometer, and a small board book. Most items are a buck or two at Walmart's baby aisle.
Number every item 1 through 15 with masking tape and a Sharpie. The number sticks to the item, not the bag — that way you know which order to pull them out at the end for scoring. Keep a master cheat sheet on your phone: "1 = pacifier, 2 = baby spoon, 3 = rattle…" so you don't have to peek when guests ask. Set everything in the diaper bag in numbered order so item 1 is right at the top when the first guest reaches in.
Print one answer sheet per guest the night before. Make it a single page — fifteen numbered lines with a "What's in the Diaper Bag?" header at the top. Stack the sheets near the bag with the pens. Tell the mom-to-be ahead of time that she can play, judge, or skip — most moms-to-be enjoy this one because the items get gifted to her at the end. Set the bag on a side table where it won't get knocked over while it's making the rounds.

Front-door setup for What’s in the Diaper Bag? — 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

After guests are seated and settled with a drink, hand out the answer sheets and pens. Hold up the bag, give it a quick shake, and say the rule out loud: "You'll reach in, feel one item with your hand for about ten seconds, write down what you think it is, then pass the bag to the next person. No peeking, no double-dipping, no asking your neighbor." The pinky-promise tone keeps it light. Demo with your own arm so the angle of the reach is obvious.

Hand the bag to the first guest. They feel item 1, write a guess on line 1 of their sheet, and pass the bag to the next person — who also feels item 1, writes their guess on line 1, and passes it on. Once the bag has gone all the way around the room for item 1, the host (or a helper) takes it, sets item 1 aside, and the bag goes back around for item 2. Repeat for all fifteen items. It moves faster than it sounds because each round is just ten seconds per guest.

When all fifteen items are out of the bag, set them on a tray and call them out one by one. "Number one — pacifier. Number two — rattle." Guests check their own sheets. Whoever has the most right wins. If two guests tie, the tiebreaker is whoever guessed the trickiest item (look at the sheets — the one that fewest guests got right). Hand the prize over right away, then box up the baby items and stack them with the mom-to-be's gifts.

A hand lifting a clothespin off another guest's shirt — the steal moment in What’s in the Diaper Bag? — The moment of the steal — someone slipped, someone caught it, pin changes hands.

Variations to try

Blindfold version. Each guest gets a sleep mask and the bag is opened on their lap. They reach in with both hands and feel one item at a time. Slower and more dramatic — runs about twice as long, so keep the item count closer to ten.
Sixty-second speed round. Each guest gets sixty seconds to feel every item in the bag and write all fifteen guesses before passing. Brutal but very funny — most guests get five or six right. Good for younger or more competitive crowds.
Trick item. Slip one unexpected non-baby item in the bag — a wine cork, a chapstick, or a pencil eraser. Most guests will write "pacifier" out of habit. The reveal gets the biggest laugh of the round.
Zoom version. Pre-record yourself pulling fifteen items out one at a time, but only show their silhouette through a piece of paper or hold them behind frosted glass. Guests watch on Zoom and guess by shape only. Less tactile, but it works for a video shower.
Pair with the memory tray. Run this and [[baby-item-memory-game]] back to back using the same items. Tactile round first, memory round second — guests will groan and laugh because they already know what's coming.

Pro tips from hosts who've actually run this

Use a real diaper bag, not a generic tote. The Skip Hop or Carter's bag from Target sells the theme and gets gifted to the mom-to-be at the end.
Texture diversity matters more than quantity. Ten items with wildly different feels beats fifteen items where four feel like the same teether.
Skip super tiny items — a single sock, a nail clipper. They slide to the bottom and get lost when guests are rooting around.
Put items in numbered order at the top of the bag. Reaching deep is fine; rifling for fifteen items is annoying.
Time each guest at ten seconds. Without a timer, the first guest will spend forty-five seconds on item one and the round drags.
Pre-write your own answer key so you don't second-guess at scoring time. The Sharpie numbers are great but the master list on your phone is faster.
Have one extra answer sheet for the mom-to-be — she'll usually want to judge close-call guesses ("does 'soft cloth' count for a burp cloth?").

Common mistakes to avoid

Using a clear or mesh tote bag. Even a little visibility ruins the whole game — buy or borrow a real opaque diaper bag.
Picking items that all feel the same. A pacifier, a teether ring, and a binky clip are three different items that all read as "soft round rubber thing" to a hand.
Forgetting to number the items before the shower. You'll be flipping items back and forth at scoring time trying to remember which one was guess number seven.
Setting no time limit per item. Without a ten-second cap, the first three guests milk every item and the back half of the room gets bored.
Forgetting to gift the items to the mom-to-be at the end. Every item should leave with her — it's the whole reason a real diaper bag works as the prop.

Best prize for this game

Keep it small and useful for a quiet game. A $20 Target gift card hits — the mom-to-be can shop with the winner, or the winner can put it toward a Target run on the way home. A Yankee Candle classic (Vanilla Cupcake or Clean Cotton) is a safe coed pick. For a sweeter angle, a small box of Trader Joe's chocolates and a $10 Starbucks card together. Wrap whichever prize you pick in a clear cellophane bag so guests can see what they're playing for from the first reach into the diaper bag.

→ More baby shower prize ideas, by budget

Our verdict

Tactile, quiet, and surprisingly competitive — grandparents who have changed a thousand diapers will dust everyone else at this. A nice palate cleanser between the louder games.

What’s in the Diaper Bag? — FAQ

How many items should I put in the bag?

Ten to fifteen. Less than ten and the game is over in four minutes. More than fifteen and you'll watch attention drop off around item twelve. Twelve is the sweet spot for most shower sizes.

Do the items need to be numbered or in a specific order?

Yes, and yes. Number them with masking tape (1 through 15) so you know which item matches which guess at scoring. Place them in the bag in numbered order so item 1 is right at the top — saves you fifteen minutes of digging while guests wait.

How long does the whole round take?

About fifteen to twenty minutes for fifteen guests and twelve items. Run it as a mid-party round after the icebreaker games, not as the opener — guests need to be settled and chatting before they'll play patiently.

What if a guest peeks into the bag?

Most adults don't, but it happens at busy showers. Buy a bag with a top zipper or a folded flap that hides the opening, or hold the bag yourself and lower it onto the guest's lap with the opening facing them. The blindfold variation also sidesteps the issue.

Can kids play this game?

Yes — kids love the tactile puzzle. Their guesses are usually more creative than the adults' ("a tiny shoe!" for a baby sock). Pair them with an adult teammate if any items are too unfamiliar to identify by touch.

Where do I buy a cheap diaper bag if I don't have one?

Walmart and Target both carry plain diaper bags for $25 to $40. Skip Hop's basic tote and Carter's mini diaper bag are the easiest picks. Borrowing from a friend with kids is even better — the bag doesn't have to be new, just opaque.

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.