Boy or Girl? Gender Reveal Party Ideas

The whole point of a party announcing to everyone, including the parents, whether their new family member will be a boy or girl, is to keep the information a secret.

Sonograms are a regular part of being pregnant these days and usually that is when the gender of the baby is announced for couples who want to know.

To keep the sex hidden, be sure to tell everyone - doctors, nurses and technicians - that is what you want.  At the appointment when the gender becomes known, have the doctor write boy or girl on a piece of paper and place it inside a sealed envelope. Only outsiders who are helping with the party goodies will see what's written on that paper!

Depending on how you decide to reveal the news using the colors pink or blue (with a cake or balloons or another way) the envelope will go to the person or people who will bake the cake or blow up the balloons.

Photo image from Pixabay

If your choice is to announce the little one using balloon colors, then helium balloons contained in a big box can be released at the party.  When all blue balloons float out, everyone knows that "it's a boy"!  Obviously pink balloons would be for a girl.

Someone takes the sealed envelope (with gender written inside by the doctor or nurse) to the store and asks for balloons - in the color pertaining to the gender written inside the envelope - to be filled and sealed up in a big box.

I would call a grocery store ahead of time and speak to the manager of the floral department about arranging for this.  They can search the backroom for a large, empty paper towel box or save some sort of large box that arrangements come in for you to use for the helium balloons.

You may not need as many balloons as you think.  The videos I watched showed most of the balloons being trapped inside the boxes, so it's important to find a very large box, or use fewer balloons.

This classic invitation card is so well done that the balloons look like they will float right off the paper.  Buy this Elegant Baby Balloon Gender Reveal Invitation by kat_parrella

The way to use food - specifically, a cake - to announce the gender, is to cut into it (usually mom and dad do the cutting together) and everyone sees either pink or blue cake or frosting inside.

Honestly, I have watched a bunch of YouTube videos for this article and one thing that stands out in the "cake as an announcement" themed parties is that no one seems to know how to cut the cake so that the couple, guests and camera operator all see the cake or frosting color at the same time.

If you plan to use the inside icing (pink or blue) or the cake color itself as the gender give away, then give some thought ahead of time as to how you will tape it.

Most couples I saw, cut into it and freaked out, while the rest of the guests and one doing the videoing, were left to wonder.  One woman even got it wrong!  Is she color blind?

The couple in the short video below had the right idea. 

Here are some fun party ideas to get family and friends involved in guessing if your baby will be a boy or a girl.

Invite everyone who is present choose a "side".   They can do that using the ideas listed here:

    1. Wear colored clothing to match their choice - pink or blue.

    2. Hand out pins or buttons to wear saying Team Boy or Team Girl.

    3. Have a sign-in chart or chalk board to choose sides.

    4. Hand out little prizes for the winning team.

This cute invitation with pink and blue owls can be found at reflections06 store at Zazzle.

When you think about it, the expecting parents are never the very first to know if they are having a boy or girl.  It's the ultrasound technician or the doctor who figures it out then tells you.

With a baby shower that keeps the baby's gender a secret, quite a few people will know what you're having before you do.  First the doctor, nurses and assistants will know, and hopefully they won't let it slip on subsequent visits.  Then the grocery clerk, florist, baker or whoever else you involve in the party planning will know because they will supply the correct color balloons and icing inside the cake.

Of course, these people don't count or matter really.  The people who count will be at the party, where the secret will be revealed.