Gender Reveal Parties

Today’s generation of parents-to-be have a new way of celebrating that is trending to be as popular as baby showers, but without the gifts! Gender reveal parties are all the rage with a myriad of Pinterest-inspired themes and ideas centered on revealing the unborn baby’s gender in a party-like setting with family and friends.

            

Recently, my family experienced this new generation frenzy first hand when we planned a gender reveal party for our first grandchild. Following an ultrasound where the technician printed out a picture with GIRL written across the bottom and handed to me safely in a sealed envelope, the planning began. I have been to countless baby showers, but gender reveal? Nope, I had no idea what to do, so I Googled it!

            

The Internet proved to be an invaluable tool, particularly Pinterest. It offered ideas for themes with slogans, games, foods and reveal options. There were so many choices and it didn’t take long for me to become overwhelmed. With paper and pen in hand, I set out to plan the ultimate gender reveal.

 

 

First things first…

The first thing to realize is that this is a celebration for the parents because they do not know the gender! In some cases, the parents-to-be are the ones throwing the party, and in other cases (like ours) it was the grandparents-to-be (on both sides – his and hers). Carrying out the wishes of the expecting parents is paramount to a successful party, and with that in mind, we all sat down and picked out the centerpiece for which the event would be planned around first and foremost…the cake! We decided to choose a themed cake (elephant) and have the baker use a colored batter to reveal the gender of the baby (pink or blue respectively). When the cake is cut and the gender is revealed, this is the focal point of the party…the first point in which the parents and all the guests share in the excitement surrounding the new life! Below are more ideas for the reveal:

 

• Pink or blue helium balloons placed in a wrapped box, opened by the parents or a sibling.
• If the couple has decided on a name, a banner bearing the gender-specific name may be revealed at some point during the party or placed in an inconspicuous place as a reveal.
• Piñatas are a fun way to reveal, especially if there are lots of younger kids attending the party. Fill the piñata with pink or blue candies and when it breaks, the secret is also spilled!
• Fortune cookies that all say something like THINK PINK or SNIPS AND SNAILS are a cute reveal as well.

 

Details, details…

After choosing the reveal and the theme, the rest seems to fall into place and delegating begins, much in the same way as a baby shower would. The cake, of course, would be the centerpiece of the table and we had equal amounts of pink, blue and white balloons filled with helium as the main source of decoration in the room with one of each color placed on the mailbox for added anticipation. We rolled up plastic-ware in pink napkins tied with blue ribbon for table decoration and added a blue plush elephant for additional theme reference and color.

 

Party foods…

The decision to have heavier foods proved to be a good choice due to the evening timing for the party. Chicken salad on crescent rolls, fruit and veggies with dip all filled beautiful platters as well as bellies! Rounding out the tablescape was the most fun part…the sweet treats in full baby theme! Below are some fun choices (thanks again to Pinterest):

 

• Oreo cookies with half the cookie dipped in white chocolate, then sprinkled with pink or blue little baby-themed sprinkles.  
• Baby Hershey candy bars with blue or pink ribbon tied around them, or using Sharpies, color the HE part of Hershey with blue and the SHE part with pink.
• Candy molds with baby feet, booties and other themes are relatively inexpensive and are great for filling glass bowls with sweet little themed treats.
• Glass jars filled with pink and blue candies respectively add a pretty touch to the table as well as a fun treat for the kids (big kids included)!
• Pink lemonade is a great punch in keeping with the theme.

 

Games…

While we opted not to play games, there are lots of options! Wooden clothespins painted blue or pink are always fun. Place in a bucket by the door and offer each guest to wear the color that corresponds with what they believe the gender will be. Everyone wearing the correct color at the time of the reveal may be rewarded with a small prize.

            

If someone is videoing the event, have them film different guests offering their thoughts on what the gender will be, keeping in mind that even the smallest of guests have the cutest comments. Take lots of pictures for the baby book. Also, this is a good venue in which to give small gifts to siblings of the new baby, but it is not a baby shower, so no baby gifts are expected.

 

In the end…

While gender reveals are a new way of celebrating, these ideas are only the tip of the iceberg. Check out Pinterest (type in gender reveal party) and don’t discount your own creativity for putting a different spin on something specific that you love. Choose foods and themes that you love and include folks that are near and dear to you and the new baby to help roll out a celebration to remember.

 

Becky Beall is a local travel writer and host of “The Travel Voice By Becky.”