Oh Baby, Baby! 10 Inspiring Gender Reveal Ideas

Besides opening all the unique personalized baby gifts at a baby shower, one of the most fun events during pregnancy is the gender reveal! Gender reveals are typically parties where friends and family members get together to announce whether they’re having a boy or a girl. There are so many different ways you can let the world know. We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite gender reveal ideas. Hopefully, they give you some inspiration as you plan your own!

Quick Things to Know

Before we can get to the ideas, let’s lay down some quick things to know about gender reveals! 

• There’s Really No Pressure. While it might seem like all your friends had the best, most Instagram-worthy gender reveals, you shouldn’t feel any pressure to do the same. This is your pregnancy, and it’s your gender reveal. As long as you enjoy it, that’s what matters!
• You Can Do It However You Want. There isn’t a strict format to follow. Your gender reveal can be as simple or as intricate as you want. You can host a full party with a catered buffet and lots of games, or you can just hire a photographer to take some pictures of you and your partner opening the envelope to find out what you’re having. The best part about gender reveals is that you can make it however you want it to be!
• Creativity Is Key. If you do want to have a large-scale gender reveal, it’s important to get creative! The best gender reveals are often the ones that are outside of the box. The possibilities are endless.

How to Plan a Gender Reveal

If you’re planning on having a larger gender reveal, there are a few things that go into the logistics prior to the actual event. Similar to planning a baby shower or any other event, here are some of the things to remember when planning your gender reveal:

• Choose Your Attendees Wisely. This isn’t to say that you can’t invite everyone to your gender reveal, but you should consider why you’re inviting them. Make sure to pick people you know will rejoice in being such an important part of your child’s life–your parents, your partner’s parents, the child’s godparents or other close family/friends are great choices. You can definitely have as many people as you want in attendance, but you should still consider some of the costs associated with inviting a larger group. 
• Have Food and Drinks Available. It’s important to feed your guests at your gender reveal. The food doesn’t have to be fancy. You can have some light appetizers or finger foods available for your guests to graze on throughout the event. When deciding on foods to serve, make sure you take your guests’ dietary needs into consideration. You should have some vegetarian or gluten-free items available for your guests to eat. As far as drinks are concerned, serve easy-to-make drinks such as tea, water or soda. If you’d like to take it a step further and have cocktails or other alcoholic beverages available for your guests, feel free! This event is yours to host, so you can serve whatever you’d like.
• Pick a Theme. A themed event is always better than a non-themed event. For a gender reveal, you can pick practically any theme you can think of. Whether it’s succulents, zoo animals or even different types of flowers, there are so many different themes you can use when planning your gender reveal. Having a theme will really help your guests get an idea of what you like, especially if you’re having your baby shower after your gender reveal! You can also consider having the gender reveal theme match the baby’s nursery theme.
• Pick a Trusted Family Member to Keep the Gender Secret. If you don’t want to tempt fate, have your doctor’s office give the gender information to a trusted friend or family member. Make sure it’s someone who won’t accidentally let it slip to anyone else who might be attending the gender reveal. The whole point of the event is to be surprised! Entrust this person to make sure that whatever you’re using to announce the gender–cake, confetti, etc.–is made and stuffed correctly. They’ll be very glad to have been trusted to help you with planning the gender reveal!

Gender Reveal Ideas

Now, to the fun part! Here are some of our favorite unique and inspiring gender reveal ideas. 

• Balloons in a Box: A classic gender reveal idea, it’s truly fun for everyone! Have balloons in different shades of pink or blue stuffed into a large box. You can have the box decorated and labeled for a fun addition to the event. You and your partner can count down from 10 and then open the box together, releasing the balloons to learn what the gender of your baby is! Make sure to have the balloons attached to a weight at the bottom of the box so they don’t fly off. Using balloons for the gender reveal also makes for a great photo op. Everyone loves to take photos with balloons!
• Surprise Party: Instead of planning an entire gender reveal party, let your friends and family do it for you! Choose a specific day for your gender reveal and then invite your friends and family over to decorate the house in pink or blue while you and your partner spend the day around the town together. Your loved ones can put up letter balloons to spell out your child’s gender, hang pink or blue streamers and set up all the other decorations needed. They can even decorate the back of the couch or the lounge chair in the living room with pink or blue personalized baby blankets! Then, when you and your partner arrive home, they can surprise you with the gender! So, while the party itself isn’t a surprise, the gender is. Then, you and your loved ones can enjoy some food and take pictures to commemorate the event.
• Dessert Delivery: Contact your local bakery and ask them to help you announce your baby’s gender! You can have different desserts delivered directly to your loved ones’ doors with a note that tells them to open the box to find out what you’re having. This is especially cute for the loved ones who might not be able to make it to your actual party, or if there are other circumstances that prevent you from hosting an actual reveal. Use pink or blue frosting on the cookies, cupcakes, donuts or macaroons to announce the gender of your baby! If you’re having multiples and each one is a different gender, see if you can incorporate multiple colors into each item, such as swirled frosting or having the shells of the macaroons pink and the filling blue, etc.
• Home Run: If you or the Father can hit a baseball on the first try, incorporate it into your gender reveal! Have your loved ones wear baseball tees themed for your gender reveal with “Team Baby” printed on them. Then, when you’re ready to announce the gender, have one of you throw the ball filled with powder or confetti and have the other one swing the bat to hit it. On contact, the ball should bust open to show everyone what gender you’re having. It’s a fun and unique way to announce the gender with a slightly competitive side!
• Decorate Signs: If you’ve opted to not have a party, but still want to make a gender announcement, consider decorating a sign! You can use a chalkboard, a letter board or even a slab of wood. Paint it or use markers to make the sign announce the gender of your baby. Then, take a picture of it–whether you and your partner are holding it, your child is holding it or it’s resting against your sitting dogs–and send it out to all your loved ones!
• Confetti and Pinatas: Some of the best gender reveals have an interactive element to them! Load up poppers with blue or pink confetti and then have everyone push them open to shower the entire space with colored confetti. You can also fill a pinata with blue or pink items (our faves are confetti and candy) and have each guest take a turn or two swatting at the pinata while blindfolded. It gets everyone involved in the fun and they get even more excited once the pinata breaks!
• Boots and Sneakers: Have a photographer take a picture of you, your partner and any other children you have–but just your shoes! Add a pair of blue or pink shoes next to either you or your youngest child to announce whether you’re having a boy or girl! You could also have everyone wear the same color shoes to match the baby’s, further driving home the gender of your baby-to-be.
• Swaddle Toys and the Ultrasound: Using a unique custom baby blanket as the backdrop, arrange it to cocoon a couple of pink or blue baby toys and lay the ultrasound photo on top. Upload the photo to social media and sit back while all your family and friends get excited over your gender announcement! It’s simple, but it’s effective and fun!
• The Trick: Feeling mischievous? Trick your friends and family during your gender reveal party! You can have two sets of reveals–a fake one that serves as a diversion and another one that tells everyone the truth! You can decide which of the two mediums you want to use to announce the gender, such as balloons for the first one and cupcakes for the second one. Do this with caution, though. Some people take the gender of a baby very seriously and might get angry that you aren’t having what they wanted you to have. This idea is perfect for expecting couples that are from a long line of tricksters and pranksters!
• The Green or Purple Method: Not every couple wants to know the gender of their baby. It’s important that you remember, as a parent, you can do your pregnancy in your own way. Some parents will have a gender reveal and then fill cupcakes, cookies or confetti poppers with green or purple colored items instead of pink or blue! This is a great way to remind everyone you love that you’re having a happy, healthy baby, and that’s what matters–more than whether you’re having a boy or girl.

Attending a Gender Reveal

Not everyone has been to a gender reveal before, so we put together a brief list to let you know a bit about what you might see or do at a gender reveal. If you’re attending a gender reveal, here are some tips! 

• You Don’t Have to Bring a Gift. This is one of the most important things. A lot of people aren’t sure whether they need to bring a gift to the gender reveal. Instead of bringing a gift to the gender reveal, bring one to the baby shower! The reveal is all about having fun and learning what the gender of the baby is. 
• There Might Be Some Games. When you arrive at the gender reveal, you might have some games to play. They’ll all be related to the gender reveal itself. You might be asked to hit a pinata, take a pin that says whether you’re Team Boy/Girl or you might have to pick a cupcake with sprinkles or a rubber duck that matches which side you’re on. These mini-games and activities are small but fun ways you can participate!
• Be Glad for the Couple. Even if the gender isn’t what you wanted, still be happy and rejoice with the parents! The couple is having a happy, healthy baby. That’s what matters! Make sure you hug them or tell them congrats.