Everything You Need to Plan an Epic Gender Reveal Party

Cover Photo: Pinterest

By Meagan Nordmann

I’m excited to say that I’m expecting a mini-me this fall! …And moments after I saw those two positive pink lines, I thought “Well, how am I going to announce this?!” And then there’s the gender reveal party too!

Of course, the announcements come in waves: I had to first decide how to tell my spouse (tied a note on a scarf to our dog and let her participate in telling the news); then we had to decide how to tell our parents (impromptu excited phone calls); then how to tell our closest friends (sporadic); and then how and when to make it “Facebook and Instagram Official” (got crafty with an Easter Egg…).

After that, there are only two more milestone announcements: The gender reveal; and the baby’s arrival.

Currently, I’m focused on our upcoming gender reveal. And since it seems to be “Baby Season” I have a hunch that many of our BabyPage readers may be, too. First, we must consider: Are we doing a Gender Reveal Party? Or simply a Gender Reveal Photo? …or both?

Here are some awesome ideas I’ve found that may inspire you in making your own decision. The BabyPage Pinterest page is chock-full of even more ideas, so be sure to browse that, too. We’ve separated it into two categories there: Gender Reveal Party & Gender Reveal Announcement Photos.

1. The Reveal:

The centerpiece of any Gender Reveal Party is HOW you’ll do ‘The Big Reveal.’ Is there a certain theme that calls out to you? Do you want the reveal to focus on you and your spouse finding out? Or do you want to include your whole family in the action? Are you okay with it getting messy? Is your crowd a tame one or one that will appreciate lots of humor? The first step is to make sure your OBGYN understands you don’t want to find out at the doctor’s visit. They’ll write the gender on a piece of paper and slip it into a sealed envelope. You’ll then deliver that Top Secret information to a trusted family member or friend who can then coordinate the secret specifics of your reveal. No peeking!!

Squirt Guns: Head out to a beach or a field and let your entire party squirt you with plastic water guns filled with a paint color. Wear white outfits that you don’t mind becoming tie-died! Check this party out.

Baseball Game: Are you a sporty family? Set up some bases and get a game going. Then, decide which spouse will pitch, and which spouse will hit the ball with a bat—-and have the ball full of colored chalk. The ball will burst open into a cloud of color, revealing your new future! You can DIY the balls with clear Christmas ornaments, painted like a baseball and filled with chalk. Or, you can get some great ones off of Etsy. Check out this matching cake, too!

Cutting the Cake: A classic way of finding out is having someone bake a color into the center of a cake or cupcakes. That first slice or that first bite should reveal the awesome surprise!

Gunfire & Explosives: I’m not kidding. This is now a thing. If your family collects guns, goes hunting, or loves visiting the range, this might be a fun theme for you to consider. This family set up tannerite and chalk and received an epic reveal!

Piñatas to Bust or Pop: There are two types of piñatas you could consider for the reveal. The first is the classic version:  Swing a bat until you bust open the surprise inside. We love this big question-mark piñata! A new popular version is actually a DIY paper lantern project —fringed with paper to have the appearance of a piñata. You can rig the lantern so that there is a ribbon you simply pull over your heads, which will then rain down picturesque confetti! This is great for a photo op!

Balloon in a Box: This is a fun one that would be easy for your friends and family to craft in advance. Decorate a box and fill it with balloons. You can decide whether you want the balloons to spring up when you lift the top (helium balloons), or whether you’d want to ‘dump’ the box upside down (self-blown balloons mixed with streamers and confetti) —both look super cute! I’ve also seen this done with little colored balls from a ball-pit.

Balloons to Pop: Similar to piñatas, balloons are so fun to pop! You can do one big one for yourself, or have lots of filled balloons for all of your guests to pop at once! Let the colored confetti rain down… Or, try making a dartboard and have the couple (or entire party) try to pop the balloon from afar.

Sugared Champagne: This exciting news calls for a toast! You can order these heart-shaped sugar cubes online and have everyone drop their cube in at once. The champagne’s color will transform before your eyes and you can toast immediately to the awesome news!

Smoke Bomb: Set up a colored smoke bomb in a box or gift bag and let the gender slowly fill the air outside and encircle the couple. It will look mystical!  Another fave: Release Holi powder.

Silly String: Equally as fun, but a little less messy than the squirt-gun paint reveal, is the silly string reveal. Have a friend cover the cans in white and tie pink & blue ribbons around them. Guests then squirt the couple with silly string, revealing the gender with lots of laughter!

2. Entertain at a Gender Reveal:

While ‘The Big Reveal’ is the highlight of the party, make sure your guests are having fun in the meantime and stretch out the anticipation. There are tons of fun ideas. These are the best ones for a variation on a theme:

Cast Your Vote:
-Set up a chalkboard and divvy it up into two. Let your guests tally up how many believe it’s pink or blue. Or frame an ultrasound photo and guests sign in by signing their name on the mat in pink or blue.
–Dip clothespins into pink or blue paint and let guests pin themselves to show what ‘team’ they’re on. This is a great ice-breaker for friends and in-laws who may not yet know each other well yet.

-Nab some paint sample strips from the home improvement store in variations of pink and blue. Use these as your ballot slips.
-Set up a Photo Booth with signs that say “It’s a Girl/Boy!” or props like mustaches and bows. Encourage guests to take photos in advance declaring what they think it will be.
-Create a large list of all the Old Wive’s Tales for gender prediction and circle your results. This could be an added bonus for them to consider before they vote.
-Create a large poster with your top five choices for girl names and boy names. Let people vote on which name they think the baby will be. Only you will know the one correct name for pink or blue! The name announcement would be a bonus on top of the gender reveal. Or you could have guests submit their name suggestions in a jar.

Snacks:
-Have guests declare their ‘team’ by inserting colored rock candy into their champagne.
-Pink & blue cones for an ice cream sundae bar
-Colored Rice Krispie Treats are easy to make
-Love how whimsical this pink & blue cotton candy set-up looks!
-White chocolate dipped strawberries with a drizzle of pink and blue are very festive

-Pink and blue swirl bark looks amazing
-One can only handle so much sugary punch. Have water available, but add some fun by labeling it “Water Break.”

3. The Invitation or Theme: