You want to celebrate your best friend’s baby, but she’s three states away. Virtual showers get a bad rap for feeling awkward and disconnected, but they don’t have to. Planning my sister’s shower from across the country years ago, I learned that distance doesn’t have to mean disconnected.
Baby Bingo Goes Digital keeps everyone engaged without printer jams, the Nursery Room Tour Scavenger Hunt turns screen-sharing into genuine fun, and Emoji Nursery Rhyme Decoder gets competitive fast. Whether you’re hosting a fully virtual or managing a hybrid shower with half the guests on Zoom, these 17 games work just as well through a screen as they do in person.
1. Baby Bingo Goes Digital
Free printable bingo cards sent ahead of time beat expensive store-bought ones any day. Email them to guests a few days before the shower with a note to print at home (or screenshot on their phone). As the mom-to-be opens gifts on camera, everyone marks their card when they spot items like “diapers” or “onesie.” First person to get five in a row unmutes and yells “BINGO!” The whole thing costs you nothing if you use free templates from Canva or a quick Google search. Keep it moving by having the mom-to-be hold up each gift close to the camera for a few seconds before moving to the next one.
2. Nursery Room Tour Scavenger Hunt
Your virtual guests get to see the nursery while playing along. The host calls out items like “stuffed animal,” “baby book,” or “white onesie,” and the mom-to-be has 30 seconds to grab it and show it on camera. Guests mark off what they see on a simple checklist you’ve sent beforehand. This one’s completely free and takes maybe 10 minutes. It shows off the nursery setup without that awkward “let me give you a tour” vibe. Make it easier by keeping most items within arm’s reach of where she’s sitting, or harder by spreading them around the room.
3. Emoji Nursery Rhyme Decoder
Text or screen-share a list of nursery rhymes written entirely in emojis. Moon + cow + violin = “Hey Diddle Diddle.” Spider + water spout = “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” The first person to type the correct answer in the chat wins that round. Free templates show up everywhere online, or make your own in about 15 minutes. This works better than expected for mixed-age groups since everyone knows these rhymes. Stick to 8-10 rhymes total so it doesn’t drag on forever.
4. Baby Photo Matching Game
Guests submit their own baby photos ahead of time, and you create a numbered slideshow to share on screen. Everyone tries to match the baby face to the current adult face they’re seeing on Zoom. The digital version is free, though you might spend about $3-5 if you’re printing a nicer version for the mom-to-be to keep as a memento. Set a firm deadline for photo submissions (at least three days before) because someone always forgets. The chaos when you reveal who’s who makes this worth the slight hassle of collecting photos. Number the photos clearly and have guests write their guesses in the chat simultaneously to prevent copying.
5. Price Is Right Baby Edition
Screenshot baby items from Target or Amazon (diapers, wipes, bottles, that ridiculously expensive tiny nail clipper), then share your screen showing each product without the price. Guests type their price guesses in the chat. Closest without going over wins, just like the real show. Setup takes maybe 20 minutes and doesn’t cost a thing. Keep items in the $5-50 range so guesses stay interesting. Pull prices the morning of the shower since baby items fluctuate.
6. Mad Libs Advice Cards
Email a baby-themed Mad Libs template to guests before the shower. During the party, have everyone fill theirs out. You know the drill: adjective, noun, verb. Then take turns reading the ridiculous parenting advice out loud. “Always burp the baby with a SPARKLY UNICORN while DANCING in the BATHROOM.” Free templates exist everywhere, or create your own in Google Docs. The funny ones get screenshot and saved in a shared album that the parents look at later. Give people about five minutes of quiet time to fill theirs out, otherwise everyone talks over each other. This works even better than in-person because you can mute the chaos while people write.
7. Diaper Raffle Tickets Go Virtual
Guests who bring a pack of diapers to the mom-to-be’s house (or send via Amazon) get their name entered in a drawing. For virtual showers, show the prize on camera and use a random name generator website to pick the winner. The prize runs about $15-20, usually a nice candle or gift card. This brings in useful stuff for the new parents while keeping virtual guests engaged. Keep a list of who contributed diapers in the chat, then paste those names into wheelofnames.com for the dramatic spin. Drop-ship diapers work perfectly for long-distance guests who want to participate but can’t physically attend.
8. Guess the Baby Food Flavor
For about $10, you can buy 5-6 jars of baby food, remove the labels, and number them. Hold each jar up to the camera, open it, describe the color and texture (which feels strange but works), and let guests guess the flavor in the chat. This gets legitimately funny when you’re trying to describe pureed peas to a screen full of people. Even the playing field by not letting anyone taste or smell, just going by your description and the color. Save the jars for the actual baby instead of wasting food.
9. Baby Name Voting Brackets
If the parents haven’t decided on names yet (or are willing to share their shortlist), create a March Madness-style bracket with name options. Share your screen and have guests vote in rounds until one name wins. Free bracket makers exist online, or sketch one in PowerPoint. This takes about 15 minutes to play through and sparks hilarious debates. Set clear rules upfront about whether this is binding or just for fun. Someone will take it seriously. Works best with 8-16 name options to fill a proper bracket.
10. Virtual Background Baby Themes
Everyone changes their Zoom background to something baby-related (nursery rhymes, cartoon characters, baby animals). Screenshot the whole group and have the mom-to-be pick her favorite. This takes two minutes and won’t cost you anything. The variety gets wild when you have 20+ people choosing backgrounds. Give everyone a five-minute warning before you take the official screenshot so they’re not scrambling. Make sure you show people how to change backgrounds before the party starts, because someone’s always technologically lost.
11. Baby Item Memory Tray Digital Version
Fill a tray with 15-20 baby items, show it on camera for 30 seconds, then hide it. Guests write down everything they remember in the chat (privately to you, not publicly). Most items remembered win. The tray setup is free if you borrow items from the mom-to-be’s stash. Have someone help you tally responses while you keep the party moving. This works better virtually than in-person because you can zoom the camera in close so everyone sees the same view.
12. Nursery Rhyme Lyric Fill-in-the-Blank
Share your screen with nursery rhyme lyrics that have blanks where key words should be. “Twinkle twinkle little ___.” First correct answer in the chat wins. Free and takes about 10 minutes for a full game. The speed element makes this more exciting than you’d think. Make some blanks obvious (“little ___” is clearly “star”) and some trickier (what comes after “the cow jumped over the…” because some people blank on “moon”). Stick to rhymes everyone knows, not obscure ones that only one grandma remembers.
13. Labor or Tall Tale Game
Guests submit either a true labor story or a completely made-up tale before the shower. During the game, read them aloud, and everyone votes in the chat whether it’s real or fake. This reveals some wild stories without costing a dime. Keep stories to three sentences max, or this drags on forever. The mom-to-be shouldn’t participate in voting since she might know some of the real stories from friends. Screenshot the votes before revealing answers to catch anyone trying to change their response.
14. Baby Shower Pictionary
Use the Zoom whiteboard feature or a free site like skribbl.io, where one person draws baby-related words while others guess in the chat. Common words like “bottle,” “pacifier,” or “diaper bag” work best. Give each person 45 seconds to draw while others frantically type guesses. The free version of skribbl.io works perfectly for groups of under 12 people. For bigger crowds, Zoom’s whiteboard feature lets everyone see the same canvas. Make sure the artist shares their screen if you’re using the whiteboard; half the room can’t see what’s being drawn.
15. Belly Photo Timeline Guess
Collect belly photos from the mom-to-be at different weeks of pregnancy, show them on screen in random order, and have guests guess which week each photo represents. This works especially well for virtual showers where long-distance family hasn’t seen the progression in person and won’t set you back anything. Number each photo clearly and have everyone submit all their guesses at once to prevent copying. Use 6-8 photos from different trimesters so there’s a visible variety. Save the slideshow and send it to her afterwards as a pregnancy keepsake.
16. Virtual Onesie Decorating Contest
Mail or email guests a plain white onesie template outline ahead of time. During the shower, everyone holds up their decorated version (drawn, painted, digitally edited, whatever) to the camera. The mom-to-be picks her favorite, and that person mails her the actual decorated onesie afterwards. Templates are free online, and the onesies cost $3-5 each at Walmart. This brings that hands-on craft element to virtual showers without the mess of doing it live on camera. Give people at least a week’s notice so they have time to create something.
17. Baby Bottle Chug Race
Everyone fills a baby bottle with their beverage of choice. On “go,” everyone drinks from the bottle as fast as possible. The first person to finish wins. Bottles are $3-5 each, but most guests already have one lying around or can borrow from friends with kids. This gets ridiculously funny watching adults struggle with slow-flow nipples. Make sure everyone shows their empty bottle on camera to prove they finished, because someone always tries to cheat by dumping it out. Water or juice works better than anything carbonated. Otherwise, you’ll watch people suffer.
Make This Celebration Happen
Distance is real, and it’s hard when you can’t gather everyone in the same room. But your friend’s baby deserves this celebration, and you can pull it off from wherever you are. Three states away doesn’t mean disconnected.
Start with Baby Bingo Goes Digital if you need something familiar that works instantly, try the Nursery Room Tour Scavenger Hunt if you want people genuinely connecting through their screens, or set up the Emoji Nursery Rhyme Decoder when you need competitive energy that gets everyone talking. You don’t need fancy software or a tech degree. You just need a few good games that bring people together, even when they’re scattered across time zones. Your friend will feel loved, your guests will have fun, and you’ll create a celebration that distance couldn’t stop.