A recent trend many expecting parents have been joining into is a gender reveal party. These creative birth announcement parties can be a lot of fun for parents, family members, and friends to join together to find out the gender of the upcoming baby. The great thing about gender reveals parties is that you can be as creative as you’d like. Here are some ideas to help if you’re planning a gender reveal party.
Why Have a Gender Reveal?
It has been a long-standing tradition for women to have a baby shower before the birth of the baby. During these events, guests engage in fun games, eat food, and present presents that will help the expectant mother as she welcomes the new baby into her life. The guests typically know the gender of the baby beforehand so they can shop appropriately.
Back when I had my children, we simply learned the gender of our child through a sonogram at a 20-week checkup. Then we shared the information with a printed announcement you sent in the mail or emailed. You called important people and told them the great news.
But times have changed, and now, it has become a fun tradition for both parents to have a gender reveal party where they announce their baby’s gender through a fun method, such as a cake or balloons. Why tell everyone you’re having a girl through 30 different text messages when you can invite everyone together for a fun party where you can announce your baby’s gender in a way that makes an impression?
Who Hosts a Gender Reveal Party?
The guest of honor at a gender reveal party is the expectant mother, but most parties also include the father. The parents might plan the party, or it might be hosted by a friend or family member in honor of the parents. There is no right or wrong way to plan a gender reveal party.
All that matters is that everyone goes home knowing the sex of the baby when it’s possible. Not all results are conclusive, so be sure to convey this to the attendees ahead of time, just in case gender is considered non-determined. My friend had a huge party for her gender reveal, only to send everyone home confused because the ultrasound wasn’t conclusive on the sex.
How to Host a Gender Reveal Party
There is an infinite number of ways you can host a gender reveal party. A quick search on YouTube can show you some of the most creative, ingenious birth announcements parents have come up with, that usually takes a lot of planning and creativity. While we applaud these parents, we’re going to stick to announcements that are a bit more simple to perform.
When you’re planning a gender reveal party, the first thing you’ll want to do is come up with a theme. Don’t feel like you have to stick to a traditional topic like ducks or babies. I’ve seen people go all out with Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, even Pokemon.
Your theme will help you decide how you want to reveal the gender of your baby to your guests. If you’re going to keep it simple, don’t even worry about having a party theme. Just have a simple way to give away your big news, such as with a cake or a colored shirt that the mommy-to-be wears underneath a jacket or sweater.
Planning the Gender Reveal Party
Once you’ve figured out how you want to reveal your baby’s gender, it’s time to prepare the party. If someone is hosting the party for you, you might decide to stay uninvolved to be surprised. In this case, you may provide a guest list and your input on the menu and then stay hands off the rest of the way.
There will need to be someone who is in charge of having the gender reveal designed. To do this, you’ll need to have a copy of the sonogram or results from a doctor that identifies the baby’s gender. If you’re having a product designed to reveal the sex, like a cake or cookies, you can hand the sealed test results to the company without ever knowing what’s inside so everyone can share in the surprise.
Many people like to have someone who knows the secret so they can do all the appropriate planning. It would be difficult to know what color balloons and confetti to put into a surprise box if you don’t know the baby’s gender. Pick someone you can trust to keep the results to themselves.
Make a Guest List
You can’t have a party without guests. But nothing can ruin a party faster than people who don’t get along. To avoid unnecessary drama, make sure the guest list is discussed before invites are sent. Once the list is finalized, the invites can be delivered. We recommend sending these out at least three weeks in advance of the party, so everyone has time to arrange their schedules.
Design the Invites
When designing the invitations, you can use a template you’ve found online or buy predesigned invites from the store. But custom invitations are too cute to resist. Take a picture of the mommy to be wearing a white shirt (or dress) with a pink handprint on one side of the belly bump and a blue on the other side. Here are some fun quotes to include:
- Heels or hats?
- Fish or flowers?
- Lures or lace?
- He or she?
- Buck or doe?
- Boots or bows?
- Rifles or ruffles?
Be sure to include the essential details, such as time, place, date, and RSVP or no. Announce that they are being invited to share in the exciting experience of learning the gender of your baby-to-be. Gender reveal parties are a newer concept so make sure you mention that this is a co-ed, everyone is welcome, type of party.
Traditionally, women have a baby shower before the birth of their baby, which is usually limited to women attendees. However, many couples have tried to make co-ed baby showers a thing. With a gender reveal, you invite everyone to celebrate, so be sure to tell the men to come along too!
Decorations
What’s a party without decorations? You can keep it simple with a homemade banner and a few balloons, or you could throw up significant decorations all over the place to max out your themed party. Streamers, balloons, and tablecloths can make any party more festive, and it’s affordable and easy to do.
Some planners like to take it that extra step and set up themed foods, like babies in a blanket (cocktail weenies wrapped in biscuits) and gender dyed deviled eggs and popcorn. Most people feature blue and pink because no one knows the baby’s gender yet, and you don’t want to give it away too early at the party.
But plenty of people like to use the food to announce their gender reveal. Yummy punch is a great way to tell your guests whether you’re having a boy or a girl. Pink lemonade or blue Hawaiian Punch poured into a clear bowl can get your guests ecstatic. You could also freeze some dyed water into ice cubes that will turn the guests’ drinks colored.
Plan Some Games
Playing games is a fun way to keep your guests entertained during a gender reveal party. Tell everyone to wear a pink or blue shirt to make their prediction of the baby’s gender. Provide props like paper bows and mustaches attached to sticks. Or have guests cast their vote by putting their name on a list for a boy or girl. Once the reveal is over, the people who got the right guess will win a prize.
Ideas for Announcing Your Baby’s Gender
We’ve rounded up some of the best gender reveal ideas from parents around the globe. These parties can be hosted with minimal costs and effort. Whether you’re on a budget or you want to go all out, these fun gender reveal ideas will work for everyone. They certainly make me wish this was a thing back when I had kids. It would have been a more memorable, fun experience to share the gender of my four children.
Bake a Cake
One of the most common, and cheapest ways to announce the gender of your upcoming baby is to use a cake. Many bakeries will allow you to bring in an unopened sonogram announcing the baby’s sex, which they will then make into a dessert by dying the inside filling pink for girl or blue for a boy. However, you can always designate other colors for your reveal; just inform your guests ahead of time.
When using this method to reveal your baby’s gender, it usually occurs by the mom and/or dad cutting into the cake and serving up a slice. Another option that allows everyone to join is to serve up cake pops – cupcakes on a stick – that have been dyed the appropriate color.
As the guest of honor cuts into the cake, instruct the crowd to bite into their pop. You could skip the cake altogether and just do the cake pops if that’s more your style. Have a simply decorated cake or go all out and make it into a showpiece, complete with tiers and baby toppers. Everyone cares more about the color of the inside.
Make it a pinata cake by having a cake designer provide a hollow cake filled with jelly beans of the appropriate color. You could fill the inside with any kind of snacks or treats you want to match your baby’s gender, including colored pretzels or M & M’s.
Surprise in a Box
Another common and affordable solution for parents to be is to have a large box filled with balloons that announce the gender of the baby. Once again, you could stick with primary gender colors of pink or blue, or give it your twist and use your own color theme.
A lot of times, the parents don’t want to know the baby’s gender before the big reveal, so there’s a friend or family member who knows the secret and does all the preparation. For this party idea, if the guests of honor are going to be surprised by the gender, the box will need to be assembled by a third party.
The method is simple, so that anyone can do it. All you have to do is get the results of the sonogram then inflate balloons with helium to match. Then, you shove them into a large box and wait for the countdown. When the parents open the box, the balloons float up, revealing the baby’s gender.
Include the Siblings
If this won’t be your first child, consider letting your kid play a part in the big reveal. Let them hide in the box, and when it opens, they can toss the appropriate colored confetti, let go of a balloon, or even hold a onesie that says, little sister or little brother.
Pop the Pinata
Who doesn’t love beating the crap out of something? With this adult version of a pinata, you can hit to your heart’s content, and no one would mind a bit. They’ll be cheering you on as you repeatedly beat a pinata stuffed with items that will announce the baby’s gender. Or keep it non-exerting and just pull the string instead of using violence. But what fun is that?
There are some adorable pinatas available online that can work with any theme you might want to go with for your reveal party. What you put inside is up to you. Some people like to go with colored confetti, dyed rice, or even colored powder.
You could also fill it with party favors such as pink or blue candy baby bottles, bubbles, bows or bow ties, or candy with blue or pink labels, such as Hershey’s kisses, M & M’s, or even jelly beans.
Say it with Fire
If you’re announcing your baby’s gender, why not go all out and do it in a big way, using colored smoke? If this sounds fun for you, look online and find smoke bombs like these, which give off a colored “smoke” based on your baby’s gender. Pink for a girl; blue for a boy. All you do is pull the ring tab on the “flare” and wait to see which color emerges.
Write your message in the sky by shooting off gender reveal fireworks. You can pick something as simple as a single firework or light up the night by choosing a fountain or even a 12 packshot, so there’s extra excitement to go around. Let the little ones participate by purchasing streamers, poppers, confetti cannons, or even sparklers that light up pink or blue.
If you’re the outdoorsy type and enjoy sitting around a bonfire, why not make it into a gender reveal party using a flame test kit. All you do is add a few drops of flammable alcohol to the powder, which you add to your fire. Once you light the logs, the fire will glow with the color of the gender. You would need someone who isn’t kept out of the loop to do this one for you if you’re going to be surprised by the answer.
Need something more lowkey? How about gender reveal candles? These fun ignitors can go on top of any cake to add a festive look. Once lit, the flame will be blue or pink, depending on your baby’s gender. If you already have a child, let them blow out the candle so they can be part of the celebration.
Balloons
Balloons are a simple yet powerful way to do a gender reveal. There are so many ways you could use these small rubber objects to announce your big news. You could have one balloon that you and your spouse pop, which has been filled with colored chalk, paint, or confetti.
Other people like to make it into a game, where they hang a bunch of balloons onto a board along with cutouts of a female figure. The balloons are the belly and the couple, or the guests, each take turns popping a “belly.” All of the balloons should be empty or filled with non-exciting stuff like white chalk instead of colored except one that contains the baby’s gender.
Or you could have a balloon bouquet that you release from a box that floats up to reveal your answer. A lot of people like to use creative sayings before popping their balloons to reveal the contents such as, “He or she, pop to see.” Or if you’re having another kid, “Sister or brother? We’re having another!”
Sports Themed
Gender reveal parties have become a hit for couples to host for family and friends. It’s not uncommon to see a reveal that appeals to the dads’ interests. With this in mind, allow us to present sports-themed gender reveal parties.
If your dad-to-be has a favorite sport or hobby, consider implementing it as part of your big reveal. There are plenty of companies out there that design fake sports equipment to be used to announce the gender of your child.
For instance, consider these golf balls, which explode on impact, revealing a colored dust cloud. Not into golf? No worries. You can also find basketballs, soccer, baseballs, hockey pucks, even footballs. It is wise to remember that the colored powder can make a mess, so you might want to consider doing this activity outdoors for less cleanup.
If you want to DIY it, fill a balloon with colored chalk or paint and have someone toss it to the dad to hit. Or let him chuck it at a hard object that would make it burst to reveal the contents. Or try this fun idea – fill a cooler with pink or blue confetti and dump it over the parents’ heads.
Be aware of using glitter. That stuff gets everywhere and takes forever to get rid of! My boyfriend forbids it to come into the house because it attaches to his beard. He sparkles for a week every time.
Get Messy
If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t mind a little mess, here are a few fun ideas you could try for your gender reveal. These fun activities are cheap and make a great way to get your guests involved with the unveiling. If you have younger children at your party, they’ll have more fun with these than watching parents cut a cake.
Silly string is a time-honored prank that everyone should remember from their childhood. Use it as an aid to help announce your baby’s gender by giving everyone cans of silly string that has been wrapped in foil, so the color isn’t showing. At the end of a countdown, everyone sprays the parents in blue or pink.
For the brave-hearted parents-to-be, let your guests shoot you with water guns filled with colored paint to match the gender of your baby while you’re wearing a white outfit. It shows off the color of the paint better than a colored outfit.
If getting covered with paint isn’t your idea of fun, you could always have your guests each hold a water gun or can of spray paint. On the march, everyone turns their weapons to a white canvas. Once the party is over, you’ll have an abstract piece of art to remember your baby’s special day.
Learn from the Lava
If you’re looking for an interactive gender reveal, try a volcano. Plenty of us have had experience making a volcano for a school science project at some point in our lives. I believe I was in the 3rd grade and took second place. All you need is some baking soda, food color, and vinegar, along with something to mix the combination in, such as a 2 liter or 20-ounce soda bottle.
Many people like to use play-doh or clay to make a vase of sorts to cover the bottle for a decorative look. If you want to make a volcano, that’s undoubtedly okay as well. When it’s time for the reveal, have you, your partner, or even your child pour the vinegar into the baking soda/food color mixture that has already been placed inside the “volcano.” The lava erupts in the color of the baby’s gender.
This is a fun activity to do with your older children to help them get excited about their new sibling. It’s crucial to include your child(ren) in your celebration of the new baby, so there are fewer issues once the baby has arrived. Some kids take time to adjust to a sibling, so you want to get them used to the idea as soon as possible.
Use Announcements
Not everyone is into having a party. If you need a way to announce your baby’s gender to friends and family without hosting a party, try these creative announcements. You can do these with the help of a professional photographer, or even just a friend or family member who has a camera.
Pose with a Onesie
If you want to announce your baby’s gender to the world, have a photo taken of the mommy-to-be holding up a pink or blue onesie. You can make it more personal by having it customized with your last name and the baby’s birth year. Or make it a family photo by having the whole family wearing the same shirt and having a onesie for the upcoming baby.
A Picture with a Pair of Shoes
Announce your baby’s gender by having the mommy to be, or the whole family, holding a pair of knitted booties in the appropriate color. Or make it personalized by having the entire family wearing the same pair of shoes and having a pair for the baby at the end.
Baby Bump Photo Op
If you’re not shy about showing off your baby bump, paint your belly pink or blue and do a maternity photoshoot. Not too fond of posting a photo of your bare belly? No problem. Put on a white shirt and paint the belly area instead. Or make it a cute way to include your whole family by having everyone decorate your tummy with handprints.
Use Balloons
Keep your announcement simple by having the mommy-to-be take a photo holding a bouquet of colored balloons or with just one balloon that says, “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a Girl!” Or make it a family photo with the balloons as a backdrop. Use a creative font to help announce your baby’s upcoming birth.
Plan Your Gender Reveal Party with Ease
We’ve given you all the tips and suggestions you’ll need to plan a gender reveal party that will be talked about for years to come. When you welcome a new baby into the world, you want to share the excitement with all your loved ones. Now you can, by having a fun gender reveal party that can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of gender or age.