Gender Reveal Party Ideas

Announcing your baby's gender is lots of fun, so why not make a party out of it? A gender reveal party is an increasingly popular practice among new parents. When I found out I was having a girl, I bought a pink blanket and hid it in a shopping bag. I pulled it out to announce what I was having. It was such an exciting moment...everyone gathered around waiting to find out...the room so quiet...the excitement me and my husband felt having a secret we were about to reveal...I wish I made a party out of the event to maximize the fun! So if you're having a gender reveal party, here are some ideas and tips on setting the date, invitations, how to make the announcement, and more!

Before the Party

Set the date: This part is a little tough. Many people plan their gender reveal party for the evening of the day of their 20-week ultrasound. But there is no guarantee that your baby will cooperate during the scan and reveal whether it's a boy or a girl. (Of course, if you can't find out what the baby's gender is, you can always go ahead with the party but make the color be gender-neutral like green!) When you set the date for is up to you, but keep in mind that you may need to reschedule if you can't find out the gender that day.

Decide to whom to make the announcement: Decide how big or little you want your party to be. It can be just family, or a big event with family, friends, and neighbors. Also, decide whether you want to find out your baby's gender along with everyone else or whether you want to find out by yourselves beforehand. If you want to find out along with everyone else, you can ask the ultrasound technician to write down the gender on a piece of paper rather than announcing it to you in the ultrasound room.

Invitation Ideas: In the invitations, you can ask your guests to wear pink or blue to signify their guess as to what the baby's gender is. Gifts are not customarily given, so you may want to specify that no one needs to bring a gift to the party to avoid confusion.

Gender Reveal Party Ideas

Color Scheme or Theme: If you'll be decorating for the party, you'll need a color scheme or a theme. For a color scheme, you can go with a mix of pink and blue, or a gender-neutral color like yellow or green. If your decorations will follow a theme, there are lots to choose from. Some ideas: Question mark theme, a mix of girly and boyish things theme, and a baby animal theme.

How to make the announcement when you know the gender: There are a multitude of ideas for how to make the gender announcement to everyone. Get creative with this part! Here are a few ideas: Get little favors in either pink or blue, and put them in gender-neutral gift bags. Have everyone open their gift bag at the same time to reveal the gender. If you have your baby's name picked out, try playing a game of hangman using the baby's name. You can also do what I did: Buy an outfit or other baby item in either pink or blue, and pull it out of a bag to make the announcement. A fun idea for an outdoor party is to fill a box with pink or blue helium-filled balloons, and when you're ready to make the announcement, open the box and let the balloons fly out!

How to make the announcement when you don't know the gender: Have the ultrasound technician write your baby's gender on a piece of paper and hide it in an envelope. The day of your party, go to a bakery and give them the slip of paper. Ask them to bake you a cake with either pink or blue icing between two layers of cake, with vanilla or chocolate frosting covering the cake to hide the color on the inside. Or you can have cupcakes made. The cupcake batter can be either pink or blue, or there can be a pink or blue frosting filling inside. At the party, have everyone bite into their cupcake at the same time to reveal the gender!

Twin announcements: For a twin gender reveal party, you have several options. You can have the bakery bake a two layer cake, with each layer being a color of the baby's gender. You can also have two cakes baked, or cupcakes baked for you in all blue, all pink, or half blue, half pink.

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