Congratulations! You are going to be welcoming a shiny newbaby into the world soon. Well, maybe shiny isn't the right word...screaming might be more appropriate. But before you can join the rest of the parents of infants in the Land of Little Sleep, you have to find out your baby's gender. This is helpful when you are buying clothing and picking out nursery themes.
Plus, gender reveal parties are rad!
Traditionally, an expectant mother or parents only had one party during the pregnancy: a baby shower. That's changed over the last decade or so, and now they often have gender reveal parties as well.
These celebrations are used to reveal the biggest secret of the pregnancy and they are usually smaller, and more intimate gatherings than a baby shower. Although they don't have to be, it just depends on what the soon to be parents want. Just like a traditional baby shower, gender reveals usually have a theme. Picking one is part of the fun!
Luckily for you, we have a few fun ideas for your gender reveal party. And each one of our Gender Reveal Themes comes with a suggestion for which prop you should use to let everyone in on the secret!
Staches or Lashes?
One of the cutest gender reveal party themes that we have is Staches or Lashes. Mustaches and beards have been all the rage in the last few years, and so have fake lashes — why not combine them for a really fun celebration.
This would be extra adorable if dad planned in advance and grew a beard to fit the theme. Mom can find some pretty lashes at her local drug store for fairly cheap. Of course, you don’t have to go to those extremes, but really embracing a theme can be a lot of fun.
Decorations
For decorations, you might want to buy a sash for mom-to-be to wear at the party. Strategically placing boy or girl balloons around the venue and mixing them in with other balloons is an easy way to make the area look cheerful.
Make sure you get a staches or lashes cake topper so the dessert is tied into your theme. Stringing a staches or lashes banner behind the food table or across an area where photos are going to be taken is a good idea.
You can hand each of your guests a team staches or lashes sticker when they walk in the door depending on what gender they think the baby is going to be. Then at the end of the party take a group photo of the team that guessed correctly.
Which prop to choose...
When picking a gender reveal prop, it’s a good idea to keep your venue in mind. If your party is outside, gender reveal darts are exciting to play with. The parents just throw a dart at a balloon and colored powder bursts out to reveal the sex of the baby.
If you have it indoors, a gender reveal balloon box is the perfect way to go and easy to clean up.
What Will It Bee?
Do you love all things honey bee? That makes for a sweet gender reveal party! A bee theme is not only delightful, but it’s also one of the easier ones to pull off.
Don’t be afraid to incorporate honey into your desserts and food dishes as well. That’s a great way to tie it all together. The mom-to-be shouldn’t eat local, fresh honey, but instead, get the pasteurized kind just to be on the safe side. You don’t want to have anything that could potentially contain harmful bacteria.
Decorations
Look for things like black and yellow napkins, plates and cutlery to keep the decor buzzing. Get the expectant mommy a fancy queen bee glass to drink out of during the celebration. It’s a nice and subtle touch.
A white sash with a touch of gold allows mom to tie her outfit in with the theme in a classy way. For the room, you can place a gold banner in the area. Also, go ahead and get some gender reveal photo props for pictures.
When you have the cake made, ask the baker to pipe some bees on it and decorate it with flowers as well.
Which prop to choose...
Since a bee theme is something you may want to take outdoors just to keep with the spirit of it all, pick reveal props that you can use outside.
For example, a gender reveal smoke bomb is an exciting way to reveal the big secret. All you have to do is light the wick and wait for colored smoke to let you in on the big surprise.
Gender reveal confetti cannons also work well. You just point, shoot, and twist! The next thing you know, the air will be filled with pink or blue confetti. The pictures will be fabulous!
Oh Baby!
One theme that is really versatile is Oh Baby! You can do it as a stand-alone idea or incorporate it into another one. The mom-to-be should definitely have an outfit that has "oh baby" scrawled across her belly. Dad can just wear a pink and blue shirt. The wonder that's the internet almost guarantees you'll be able to find outfits like that.
To be honest, you can just wear whatever you want, but like we said, really committing to the theme is part of the magic that is a gender reveal celebration!
Decorations
Look at your venue and identify a really good area to stage for photographs. Get these sweet baby shower letterboxes. They spell "baby" and you can stack them any way you want. Of course, you can use them for the actual baby shower too. Dual-purpose! What parent doesn't like that? Purchase photo props, as well. You gotta add a little more humor to those pics.
String up “oh baby!” balloons behind the cake table for an added touch of awesome. Speaking of cake, how about an "oh baby!" cake topper to tie it into your these?
Which prop to choose...
Do you want something a little different to reveal the actual gender? If you or your partner are really into cars, there are actual gender reveal burnout kits. They're exactly what you're imagining: a way to reveal the gender of the baby by burning out in a car. We have one word to describe it: incredible!
If you are looking for something a little more subdued, gender reveal powder cannons are pretty great. Like the confetti cannon, all you have to do is twist and pop! Powder billows out and the color lets you know if you're having a sweet little baby boy or a girl.
He or She, What Will it Be?
Finally, our last theme suggestion is simple and sweet: He or She, What will it be? For this one you've gotta incorporate lots of question marks and other mysterious decorations. Mom and her partner can each choose a color to wear to represent what they think the gender of the baby is going to be. Some parents will wear blue, and the other will wear pink, but if you both think the baby is going to be a boy, show your spirit colors! There's no reason why you can't match.
Decorations
If you are the kind of person who goes all out, you can ask your baker to make a cake shaped like a question mark just for fun. Or have the symbol piped all over the cake and add one of these gender reveal cake toppers to it. There are even extras for cupcakes.
You can get team boy, team girl stickers for the guests and ask them to pick a gender. Decorate the room with regular balloons, and awesome blue LED and pink LED balloons. Yes, the glow as brilliantly as you are imaging right now.
Which prop to choose...
You can buy a gender reveal balloon kit and hang it from the ceiling. When it comes time to make the big reveal, all you have to do is pull a chord and either pink or blue colored balloons will fall around you.
If you prefer something a bit more dramatic, get a "He or She? Pop to see" balloon. This black balloon conceals the color of the confetti within. When you are ready, just pop it and wait for blue or pink to explode around you and tell you if you are having a girl or a boy.
You could take it one step further and purchase apiñatathat is shaped like a question mark. Beat it with a stick to reveal colored candy representing the gender of your baby-to-be.
Good Luck!
Enjoy your special day, because you will soon learn that time passes very quickly when you have children. One minute you are expecting them, the next you're teaching them how to drive and planning for college. It goes so fast and every once in a while, you are going to need to stop, look around, and soak it all in. Your gender reveal is one of those moments.
