How did you announce your baby’s gender to friends and family? Extravagant gender reveals are becoming more and more common, with many expectant parents planning elaborate and exciting ways to announce whether their baby is team pink or team blue. It’s important to remember that you need to be comfortable with someone knowing the gender before you and your partner, and you need to be able to trust that person to keep it a secret. It can be quite a responsibility planning a gender reveal, so the person you ask also needs to feel comfortable with the task you’re asking them to complete. Make sure you have a video camera set up to catch everyone’s reactions, as watching them back in slow motion can be really amusing!
Whilst the internet is filled with intricately planned and unique gender reveals – they don’t have to be complicated! There are lots of easy yet fun ways to announce whether you are expecting a boy or a girl, and from my own experience, I can confirm that the anticipation and suspense is worth every second!
When we found out we were expecting a second child, I was really keen to find out our baby’s gender. We already had a daughter, and at 3 years of age, I felt it would help her adjust to having a sibling if she knew what to expect from the outset and we could talk about her baby sister and what would happen when she arrived. When we reached the second trimester, we had our gender scan and asked them to write down the gender in a sealed envelope. We then passed the envelope to my Dad and tasked him with the job of baking a cake with pink or blue sponge. It was so strange to know my Dad knew before we did!
We invited close family and friends round for a party where we cut the cake and revealed the pink sponge hiding inside! It was so simple to do yet the impact was fantastic, and I will never forget the little cheer my eldest gave out when she learned we were having another girl!
If you’re happy for a friend, shop assistant or family member to know the details before you, here are some other easy but fun ways to announce your baby’s gender:
- Cake pops or cupcakes. Unlike the option of having one large cake we had above, cake pops or cupcakes (with pink or blue sponge inside) allow every guest to be involved in the big reveal. Hand each guest a cake on arrival and at a suitable point in the gathering, ask everyone to bite into them simultaneously! This is a great way to make everyone feel included and involved, and is fun for older siblings and grandparents too.
- Balloon Pop – Order a super-sized balloon filled with pink or blue confetti, head out into the garden (unless you fancy finding confetti in your house for weeks to come) and simply hold the balloon up high and POP to be showered in the colour of your child! This one makes for a great photo, seeing the reactions on your faces as the confetti flutters down above your head.
- Get your older children involved – Pop on a white t shirt and have a trusted family member ask your child to dip their hands in pink or blue paint whilst out of sight. Take a photo of them with their hands against your bump, before asking them to quickly pull their hands away to reveal pink or blue handprints! This works really well as a visual reveal to share with friends and family on social media or printed postcards.
- Gender Reveal Piñatas filled with pink or blue candy are really good fun and a great way to build up some suspense, as they can take quite a few attempts to pop! A few of my friends have done this and the frustration when they can’t get the pinata to break has been so funny to watch as they became more and more desperate to know the outcome!
- Order a reveal box – a large box filled with helium balloons in pink or blue. Again, this one works really well in the garden or the outdoors – open the lid and watch as they all rise up and reveal their color to the parents to be and their guests! Another great photo opportunity, and super easy to plan.
I hope these ideas give you some inspiration – it doesn’t take a huge amount of planning but a gender reveal is certainly something you will remember forever, and I am so glad we decided to have one!
