When my daughter and son-in-law announced they were pregnant with our first grandchild, our entire family was overjoyed with the news. Immediately, my daughter Rachel and I went into planning mode! Two years earlier, with the help of my niece, my daughter and I pulled off a mostly DIY wedding, and now it was time to start planning a baby gender reveal party!
Say what? You’ve never heard of that either? Let me explain a little more about what has become one of the latest trends for expectant parents. In order for friends and family alike to share in the big news of the baby gender news, the idea is to throw a party where everyone finds out the sex at the same time. This leaves no room for hurt feelings or disappointments as to who the couple told first! Plus, it’s a way to capture one of the special moments of the pregnancy.
Here are my top tips on how to throw a baby gender reveal party in celebration of the blessed coming of a precious new child.
Appoint a Trustworthy Friend
Our daughter and son-in-law wanted to be surprised along with the rest of the guests when the baby’s sex was revealed. For that to happen, she took a sealed envelope straight from the obstetrician’s office and gave it to a girlfriend she could trust. Only one person knew the exciting news, but she had the most important job!
If the expectant mom and dad don’t want to wait until the party, it is certainly acceptable to find out the news in a more private setting at the doctor’s office. Just try to resist the urge of telling too many others in case someone blurts out the news at an inappropriate time!
Location and Guests
Do you want the reveal to be an intimate gathering of family and close friends, or do you also want to share it with coworkers, neighbors and church friends? Depending on that answer, pick a home or location that is easy to set up and will comfortably fit the number of guests you’re inviting. Our daughter hosted the party, and because it was a time of warm weather, it was easy to make plans for an outdoor party. (Just make sure you also have a backup plan!)
Food
Ask guests to help with the food. Most people enjoy a potluck-type gathering, and in our case, we made it an ice cream party. Each family was asked to bring a half-gallon of ice cream. Rachel provided all the fixins for an ice cream bar and served them in adorable tin buckets from Target. Other suggestions would be for everyone to bring an appetizer, toppings for a potato bar or even a chocolate fondue bar.
For party favors, we used Hershey bars with the “he” and “she” letters colored in.
Decorations
Decorations can be minimal or you can go all out, depending on the desires of the happy couple. Rachel decided to use teal to represent a boy and hot pink for a girl; this combination created an explosion of color when we pulled it all together.
The dollar store is my go-to thrift store for table covers, plates, cups, napkins and utensils in many different colors. We even used dollar buckets with ice in them to keep the ice cream cool.
Voting
Another nice touch is having guests make their guess as to the baby’s gender. The guests were all asked to vote for Team Girl or Team Boy and wear pink or blue in favor of a boy or girl. We also had ballots each guest could mark with their guess. Such a terrific way to get everyone involved in the fun!
The Reveal
Appoint one person who is handy with a camera or their phone and station them at the best angle to capture the couple’s surprise and joy.
By the way, it was a boy!