By Bethany Kandel
Who says baby showers have to be for women only? Guys want to have fun, too, since they're just as excited about the little one on its way. Some couples may split up and do his and her showers, but others join forces and have co-ed celebrations, inviting
fathers, brothers, uncles and male friends, too.
For the best outcome, ask your better-half if he wants to join in and then come up with a theme that works for you both. You may want to stay clear of anything too “girly” and some of the traditional shower games if there will be guys attending. Not to
worry, there are plenty of activities that work for mixed genders and can be just as much–if not more–fun
Here are some party ideas to get you started:
- Literary Lunch: Have everyone bring their favourite children’s book to start baby’s library off right. Ask them to write a special message to baby inside instead of a card. Print up quotes from some of
the most popular kid's books and let the guests guess which title it’s from for great prizes.
- Backyard Baby-Q Bash: A perfect co-ed theme for your bun in the oven is a barbecue – or Baby-Q -- with burgers on the grill and a special bun in the oven. Do a toppings bar with everything from mustard
and ketchup to chili, shredded cheese, sautéed onions and peppers, sauerkraut, and more.
Instead of spending hours opening presents, Mike Mohammed and his wife Ana played lots of games at their party. “We were very competitive and played guess the baby food, place the egg in the ovary (like pin the tail on the donkey) and how big is mama’s
belly,” says Mohammed, a new dad who wouldn’t have expected anything but a co-ed baby shower before his son was born. After all, he too was becoming a parent, not just his wife, he says. “We did a BBQ with lots of food, beer, tunes and fun games we
all played together.”
Here are some other games to play at a co-ed shower:
- Have a relay where teams have to diaper a baby doll, open and eat a container of baby food and dress a doll in record time.
- Open a bag of Huggies and have guests add their own message with colourful permanent pens. New parents will get a laugh at the jokes and advice when it’s time to change baby, especially in the middle of the night.
- Instead of the Newlywed Game, play a Parenting Guess Who with questions about the new mommy and daddy. Whose belly is bigger? Who got to name the baby? Who weighed more at birth? Everyone fills out an answer sheet and the one with the most correct answers
wins a prize.
- And then there’s a classic: have everyone bring a baby picture of their own and try to figure out who’s who at the party.
The secret to a co-ed bash is just to have fun honouring both mom and dad. “I wouldn’t have changed a thing,” says Mohammed, of his co-ed festivity.
Image : Getty