How to organize a beautiful gender reveal party?

Bursting balloons, pink or blue confetti, cries of joy… gender reveal party videos are popping up on the Internet, showing parents who are all happier than each other at sex announcement of their future baby. Very popular in the United States, these celebrations are attracting more and more people in France.

Of American origin, a gender reveal is a party bringing together family and friends to announce the sex of a future baby. less known than la baby shower, the purpose of which is to celebrate with the mother the imminent arrival of her future baby, the gender reveal party is an original idea which brings together family and friends around the revelation of a sacred secret! It is often organized around the 5th month of pregnancy, when of the second ultrasound which defines with almost certainty the sex of the future baby.

Traditionally, in the United States, it is the godparents who organize this event, eagerly awaited by parents. For this, the gynecologist notes the sex of the baby on a paper that he gives them, before they announce it (often spectacularly) to the parents and their entourage. More commonly in France, it is the parents who organize a party themselves to announce the good news to their loved ones. In some cases, the mother also takes the opportunity to reveal the baby sex to daddy.

A successful party often rhymes with colorful decoration! As for a baby shower, opt for an atmosphere related to childhood, while remaining neutral so as not to give a clue. Sweet themes like clouds, hearts, flowers or stars won’t arouse suspicion. However, nothing prevents you from opting for a gender reveal party in investigation mode, where everyone will put themselves in the shoes of a detective.

To brighten up your living room, nothing better than Balloons : safe bet, there are all colors, which will adapt to the theme you have chosen (note thatthere are biodegradable ones today). Also very trendy the balloon arch, tedious to inflate, but so pretty once installed. To the round balloons, you can also add balloons in the shape of letters, to form the words of your choice. Ideal to sow a little more doubt!

In the same idea, you can add garlands of all shapes, from crepe paper to pennants. They can be hung anywhere, on a wall or ceiling, on the living room beam or on the pine branch in the garden. Because if the weather is nice, a bucolic decoration can be of the best effect. In addition to garlands, multicolored lanterns, round or cylindricalwill bring a very trendy bohemian touch.

In addition to the decoration, it is possible that you have planned a little snack. Rather than disposable paper plates washed out, unsightly and above all polluting, prefer to use your dishes. No need to buy a whole table service, just a few details to match your table to your decoration. A white tablecloth (a sheet will do just fine), a few flowers, small toys from your childhood and voila!

If the surprise of the baby’s sex can be enough to delight everyone, nothing prevents you to organize some games to liven up the party and keep your guests waiting.

You can already ask your friends to come in disguise, dressed in pink or blue, depending on their prediction. You yourself can sow doubt by wearing small touches of color, sometimes blue, sometimes pink.

To keep good memories, why not opt ​​for a photobooth? Always popular, these small portable booths print your photos instantly. Do not hesitate to bring many accessories such as giant glasses, sequined hats and other fluffy boas that are sure to brighten up the atmosphere. However, be careful with the budget, these large cameras are often a bit expensive: count on average 300-500 € for rental, depending on the model.

To work the brains of your loved ones, you can also hang a giant ultrasound in the living room, and let them guess the sex of the baby. A good opportunity to launch debates and bets!

Finally, when it’s time to leave, you can also offer your guests a copy of the ultrasound, a nice pair of socks or even a bag of personalized shortbread. It’s a little thought always very appreciated!

Parents often redouble their imagination to announce the sex of their baby to their guests. There is no shortage of ideas, and as proof, here are a few ideas to adopt:

Big stars of all parties, balloons are also very popular in gender reveal. To do this, you can slide a handful of confetti into a large opaque balloon (black or white, for example). When the time comes for the announcement, you pierce the balloon, and when it bursts, the color of the confetti indicates the sex of the baby.

In the same idea, you can slip in a large box pink or blue balloons (or another color according to your tastes) inflated with helium. When you open the box, the balloons will fly away and reveal the surprise to your guests.

Fragile by definition, you can make it homemade or buy it in store. In the shape of a unicorn, a big question mark or a pram, it’s up to you. You can fill it with ribbons or confetti, then hang it on the end of a branch before trying to break it as a family, in front of everyone’s eyes.

The colorful cake or cupcakes

Classic but effective, the cake is a very popular way to reveal the secret: a great classic of cake design, a slice is cut at snack time. If it’s blue, it’s a boy, if it’s pink, it’s a girl. Otherwise, you can also opt for a cake filled with a small bean. Whoever finds it will be able to reveal the secret to everyone.

Holi powder is an effective and aesthetic solution to announce the sex of your newborn. Safe for a pregnant woman, it is made from corn starch supplemented with food coloring. Once disseminated, it flies away with the wind, or melts in the rain in a few days. If it does not stain, be careful however because it is very volatile! So prefer to release it outside, using a small cannon specially designed for this purpose, or by kicking a ball previously purchased and containing this famous powder.

If you can’t find holi powder, you can opt for smoke bombs. More delicate to use, they are just as impressive. Easier to handle, there are also confetti cannons.

Where does the practice of gender reveal come from? In 2008, the American Jenna Myers Karvunidis, pregnant, celebrated the future birth of her baby with all her friends. For the occasion, she prepared a cake with pink frosting to announce the gender of her child. After posting a video of the announcement on his blog, the idea was picked up across the country and beyond. If at the beginning, she found it flattering, today, Jenna Myers Karvunidis regrets it. In 2019, she returned to this event in a post on her Facebook wall: “ Who cares about the sex of the baby? I did it then because we weren’t living in 2019 and we didn’t know what we know today – that a focus on gender at birth excludes a lot of the potential and talents of children, which have nothing to do with what lies between their legs. She continues: I’m glad these gender reveal parties brought joy to some, but that joy came at the expense of non-binary and transgender people.. »

Necessarily gendered by nature, these festivals are today more and more criticized : they are accused of participating in the social constructions that many parents today try to overcome: ” Pink for girls and blue for boys “, thus asserted the former ultra-traditionalist minister of Jair Bolsonaro, Damares Alves. What make you want to abandon these gendered expectations of society and favor alternatives, such as that of a couple of scientists who preferred to use X and Y chromosomes to announce the arrival of their baby.

More than confetti or glitter, some parents overdo it, with ever more grotesque ideas (archery, helicopter, etc.), dangerous, even frankly stupid : In September 2022, a couple in Brazil caused a real scandal by coloring the water of a waterfall blue to announce the arrival of their baby boy, reports the Washington Post. However, beyond the potential ecological impact, the waterfall flows into a river that supplies drinking water to a city of 100,000 inhabitants. In Florida this time, a couple used an alligator to announce the sex of their baby, according to The Guardian. After tying a balloon to a stick, the father hit the animal on the head, until it went wild and bit the balloon. Beyond the obvious cruelty of such a gesture, the story could have turned into a tragedy. Like in Arizona where in 2018, the party had started a gigantic forest fire, or when in 2019, the future father died after the explosion of a device used to reveal the sex of the baby, reports CNN. And these are just a few examples…

So if you are embarking on a gender reveal, favor sobriety in the choice of activities, which will not prevent you from having a good time with your guests, and having a great party for the future baby!