Finding out whether your baby is a girl or a boy is one of life’s greatest surprises— and one of the longest waits, which can be problematic for those of us who need to know thingsnow. (Um, not like we know anyone like that.)
To make the most of the surprise, gender reveal partieshave been upping the ante, getting bigger, messier, and more creative by the ultrasound.
So we peeked around the web to share with you some of our very favorite ideas.
(Ed Note: Yes, we know that technically they should be called “sex reveal parties.” Only the baby’s biological sex traits are revealed, not the gender at all. Butfor the sake of using the common idiom, we’re sticking with gender reveal for now, with the strong acknowledgment that we hope one day, very soon, it changes and we can all be more accurate.)
At top: gender reveal at Grey Likes Baby | photo by Dreamtown
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Related: More outrageous gender reveal party ideas. Just…whoa.
Milk-Pour Gender Reveal Party Idea
I’d say“milk and cookies” will always be a winningparty theme where kids are involved. Even if the kids are yet to be. Visit Paige Meyer Photography’s gender reveal party which hadcookies everywhere, but the milk came into playwhen the couplepoured colored milk from a sealed jugfor the big reveal. Click over to Kara’s Party Ideas to see the rest of the sweet party details.
Andhey, if milk and cookies aren’t your thing, I’ll bet youcould easily sub in any otherkind of beverage. Just make surethat you can color the liquid intwo different, easily distinguishable ways.
Powder Toss Gender Reveal Party Idea
For thispowder-fueled gender reveal partywe saw over atGrey Likes Baby (also shown at top), the parents-to-be put together one impressive idea that involved a whole lot of coordination and trust (will your guestsreally keep their eyes closed until the big reveal?), plusa big wide open space. It’s very cool to read about. And the photographs by Dreamtown are amazing.
Psst… We love this idea so much we looked around some more to learn how to do itand landed on Lovely Indeed, which has a DIY recipe for making your own powder— cool!
Sibling Help Gender Reveal Party Idea
Older siblings can totallybeinvolved withthe big reveal, and in this gender reveal party idea by AE Creative, the older siblingis the big reveal. What an awesome way for big brothers or sistersto be the center of the excitement.You have to click through and check out the adorable way it came together.
At other gender reveal parties,parents have letolder kids in on the big reveal action withglitter-filled piñatas and balloons in boxes. (More on that below)
Surprise-Ending BookGender Reveal Party Idea
For her librarian sister, Louisafrom Ice Cream Off Paper Plates threw a wonderful book-themed gender reveal party complete with personalized bookmarks and a banner made from the pages of children’s books— a fabulously cleveridea byitself. But one of thesmartest toucheswas the actual reveal, which appearedon the very last page of a customkids’ book. She has all the ideas on what to do, and just how to make it over on her site. So smart!
Related: Modern gender reveal cakes that deliver the message just right.
Splatter Paint Gender Reveal Party Idea
The gender reveal party by Macon Photographywent the way of water guns — filled not with water, but with shades of blue paint to splatter on the couple.A hugemess, obviously, but sucha fun one as everyone gets in on the action. She’s got some great warnings and suggestions on her site, including the kinds of paint you have to use, and the fact that this takes way more time to plan than you might think. Who knew?
Balloon Box Gender Reveal Party Idea
Bubbles and Bumps found out the it’s-a-girl news after opening abox that a friend had filled with pink balloons— an idea that scores high on both the “easy” and “surprising” scale.
Our very own new mom Caroline, experienced this firsthand for her own reveal when our associate editorKate (and clearly an awesome mom friend!) gift-wrapped a cardboard box containing blue balloons. Mostly blue balloons, that is —on top of those was a layer of white balloons with question marks on them, just toprolong the suspense. Sneaky!
Caroline says the boxwas a fun way to involve older kids too; she had her nieceshelp with opening the box.
We’d just say not to release them into the sky, becausewe’d all like our children to grow up on an earth that isn’t littered with latex remnants that can hurt animals and polluteour natural water resources.
Golf Ball Explosion Gender Reveal Party Idea
The couple behind A Hint of Garlicare so into golf, they designed their entiregender reveal party around the sport. They found out the gender of“Daddy’s little caddy” thanks toacolor-filled golf balltheir friends had ordered, which exploded into blue dust upon impact. Click over for more info.
(And of course, Daddy’s little caddy could have also been pink. Girls are awesome golfers too!)
But, if golf isn’t your thing, you can findcolor-explosion baseballs and footballsonline too. Who knew this was such a thing?
Confetti Cake Gender Party Reveal Idea
This isn’t justacake. This isthecake. Cutting into sugary layers of pink or blue is pretty standard-issue fora lot of gender reveal parties,this amazing gender-reveal confetti cakeby none other than Betty Crocker also appeared in our past post about 18 wildly creative gender reveal party ideas.
And if you take a good lookat the recipe, it trulydoesn’t even seem too difficult to pull off. Of course I say thatwith wild optimism.
Related: Outrageously creative pregnancyannouncement ideas. So fun!
Balloon Pop Gender Reveal Party Idea
One of the things we totally loveabout thisconfetti balloon gender reveal ideathat Brittany at Ever Love Design used for her own gender reveal party is that she made it herself — and shares all the details for how to do iton her site. And although sheused cut-up tissue paper to make the confetti, I wonder if you could replace it with something like eco-friendlypink seed paper confetti hearts instead?
I’d say thisidea may be best for moms-to-bewho won’t be surprised into laborwith loud popping sounds. Heh.
Cookie Gender Reveal Party Idea
In a sea of confetti and paint, thesegender reveal cookies by Montreal Confections that we spotted over at Sweet Sugarbelleare so sophisticated andsubtle. I know for a fact that making storks out of icingis not in my wheelhouse,but the tutorial demonstratesthat puttingtogetherthe actual color-centered cookiesis doable for most of us.
This is also a nice idea if you’re not all about a ton ofguests and lots of mess. I can see inviting a few friends and family members over for a tea party and serving these cookies. The surprise is still there…just on a smaller scale.
Cuckoo Clock Gender Reveal Party Idea
One of the biggest questions you get asked when you’re pregnant — aside from “Do you know what you’re having?” — is ,”When are you due?”Lulu’s Event Paperie answered both questions inone party that was themed around…clocks!
The expecting momused aDIY tutorial from Ever Kellyto make a cuckoo clockthat would deliver the news right on time (ha). Click over to see even more brilliantthemed party ideas, from timepiece cookies to a cute voting station. And I’mespecially, ahem, cuckoo for the he/she chocolate bars.
Tags: baby shower ideas, crafting + diy, party ideas, party recipes
