How to Throw a Surprise “Gender Reveal” Party!

Happy Monday friends!!! Ok… just a little “FYI” that this post is NOT my own gender reveal party, as we are done having babies!!! LOL!! This is a party that Matt and I hosted at our house for a sweet friend of mine (Alina) and her husband, Lee (Matt’s friend). 

Being pregnant is both an amazing and crazy experience at the same time. You’re met with shock, joy, fear, excitement, nervousness, and everything in-between. I remember that in both of my pregnancies, one of the most anticipated moments was when I found out what our baby’s gender would be! 

Once you have found out the gender of this new little person you are carrying around inside of you, there are so many more questions that need to be answered. For example, how to prepare a baby nursery, must-have items to purchase for your baby, baby’s name, baby gender reveal, and baby shower planning! It feels SOOO overwhelming and exciting at the same time! 

How This Party Planning All Started…?

When my friend Alina shared her pregnancy news with me, I was so excited for her!!! She was telling me how she was SO excited for the arrival of their baby but also overwhelmed with so many things to plan! She told me that she would love to find out the gender of her baby with us! She said maybe one weekend we can come to your house, get a cake filled with “Blue” or “Pink” and find out what the baby’s gender was by cutting the cake!

She said she was going to ask her doctor, who was my OBGYN as well as our friend, to call me and tell me the baby’s gender. She said she wanted me to keep the gender a secret until she came to our house! I immediately thought of using “gender reveal confetti or powder cannons” to announce the baby’s gender! I thought the confetti or powder cannons would be much more “fun and exciting”!!!! So, we started talking more about the party details together…

She offered to come and help me with the party planning and all the decorations! I didn’t let her… #1: because she was pregnant and I didn’t want her to move things around decorating our backyard, #2: I decided to keep all the party details as a “surprise” and create a “Surprise Gender Reveal” party for her and her husband!

Here is how I planned their party:

What Exactly Is a Gender Reveal Party?

Good question!!! The gender reveal party is a “newer” trend among all other celebrations for the arrival of the baby! In fact, I don’t even remember when I was pregnant with Valentina and Alina, if gender reveal parties existed (maybe they did… and I was clueless! hahaha)!!! 

A gender-reveal party is a party held during pregnancy to reveal the baby’s gender to the expectant parents, family, and friends. To be honest, I think finding out your baby’s gender is one of the most beautiful moments that you have been waiting for as parents (especially as a mom)!!! 

When Should You Throw a Gender Reveal Party?

When I was planning this gender reveal party, I did a lot of research about “what is the best time to throw a gender reveal party during the pregnancy”? Several doctors and articles recommended any time after 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy. Some couples decide to combine these two events and “announce” their baby’s gender at the baby shower which is also fine if that’s what you like to do! 

How to Host a Gender Reveal Party

We decided to host our friend’s gender reveal party at our house. Matt and I invited some of our friends and family to celebrate this special day for them and their baby! I have now hosted several friends and family gatherings in our house… so many that I feel like I am becoming an “expert” at throwing parties! Hahaha! Even though I have planned and hosted several gatherings including Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas Eve dinners, Easter brunches, Valentina, and Alina’s birthday parties and so much more…. I think every party requires its own unique kind of planning. 

I like to plan our parties a couple of months in advance!!! I’m not talking about small gatherings (those parties do not really require any planning… hahaha). I am talking about parties that I like to “design” memorable tablescapes and decorations. For those parties, I like to plan ahead! Whether you’re having a small get-together with friends or planning an elaborate event, there are some key things to keep in mind when making your plans. 

Here Are Some Tips on How to Have the Perfect Gender Reveal:

1- The first thing you need to do is decide when and where the party will be! Do you want to host your party at a restaurant, resort/hotel? Or an outdoor venue, your house, or a friend or family member’s house?

2- Once you decide on the venue, then start planning the party by choosing a theme! 

3- Send out invitations with the invitation saying, “a surprise awaits”.

4- Make a list of what you’ll need for decorations.

5- You can order the majority of your party items on Amazon (I’ll tell you soon on “what to order” and “what NOT to order” on Amazon for your party). 

6- Start thinking about what foods, desserts, and drinks you like to serve at your party! 

7- Cake or Cupcakes: This is how most couples like to “announce” the baby’s gender! The “surprise” color is hidden inside the cake! There are lots of beautiful cakes ideas for the gender reveal party! Like here, here, or here…. 

8- Decide on how you want to decorate your party! You can do several DIY genders reveal decorations to make your party looking chic and elegant! 

What to Order for Your Gender Reveal Party?

Gender Reveal Powder Cannons Vs. Gender Reveal Confetti Cannons: I can’t emphasize this enough… DO NOT order the “Powder Cannons”!!! I would NEVER order the gender reveal “Powder Cannons” if I knew how MESSY they were! They made most of our guests’ clothes, shoes, faces all blue!!! And they also made the biggest mess in backyard! They are also NOT easy to clean up! Instead order the gender reveal “Confetti Cannon“! They will be both messy…. but it is MUCH harder to clean up the messy powder!

Regardless of your guest count, I recommend ordering either “Disposable Dinnerware” or simply “RENT” plates, silverware, glasses, ect…This makes the “cleanup” process much easier! I was originally planning to rent dinnerware! However, when I looked up several rental companies in our area, they mostly offered “white color dishes” or other colors that would not work well for what I had in mind!

I wanted to combine a beautiful “soft blue” and “soft pink” dishes and glasses on my table setup! Therefore, I looked on Amazon! I found these elegant “Blue and White” disposable dinner and dessert plates! The plates had 5-star rating and I fell in love with them! I ordered them right away! Since our party was setup in the patio, I wanted to use mostly plastic items. I found these soft floral pink round chargers, and I though they would compliment the soft blue disposable plates very well!

I also ordered this set of “gold and white pearl napkin ring holders“. They are not the best quality but they are so elegant and work perfect for one night event (or even future parties…)! I used our soft pink champagne glasses and wine glasses that I purchased for Easter last year. These blush pink napkins are also so from Amazon!

These gold disposable flatware looked so beautiful and elegant! I loved the fact that we did not have to worry about washing any dishes or flatware after the party!!! hahaha! I also got this white wood vintage flowerpot on Amazon last year. They are now discontinued. However, you can get a similar one here or here. You can also get a get a cute white vintage lanterns here or here! I ordered the beautiful 24″ balloons from PartyCity.

What to Wear to A Gender Reveal Party (As A Guest)

This is a question that most guests wonder about before attending a gender reveal party! For any gender reveal party, it’s important to dress in a way that is appropriate for the occasion. 

Ok…. here is the thing…! There are some extravagant gender reveal parties that have become trendy these days! Some of them are such high-caliber parties held on yachts with some crazy fireworks! Some other couples host their gender reveal party at a hotel’s rooftop viewing the city or ocean…, some others host their party at some luxury resorts…  

The other group of couples is the ones that do not like any of these huge formal genders reveal parties! They want to have a simple gathering with close friends and family either at their house or at a casual restaurant, park, or even a casual beach picnic party!

The answer all depends on:

1- Find out where the party is being hosted: If the party is more “casual”, for women, I recommend wearing a “natural color” outfit. Maybe a cute white day dress, or a fun floral dress, animal print dress, or a polka dot dress. If the party is formal, you can wear any of these dresses or skirts and top only a more “formal dress”.

For guys, the same rule applies! If the party is held some place casual, you can wear a pair of casual jeans or shorts with a t-shirt! If the party is held some place formal, then choose nice pants, jackets or even suit! 

2-  What time of the day or night? If you know where the party is being held, but are still unsure of what to wear, simply check the time of the party! Usually, daytime parties are “more casual” than nighttime parties (unless if the party is specified as a “formal” brunch or “luncheon”). “Day Dresses” like this, or this, or this is the safest choice! If the party is at nighttime, try to choose a simple and yet elegant cocktail dress or skirt and top like this or this….!

3- Customized Team Girl- Team Boy: Some couples like to create more fun and exciting “Team Girl” Vs. “Team Boy”. They either order customized “Team Girl” and, “Team Boy” shirts or they ask their guest to wear the color that they think the baby’s gender is going to be! If that is the case, you are all set to go! Hahaha! Wear the color that you think the baby is going to be!

4- ALL White: I have seen several genders reveal parties they the “mom and dad-to-be”, asked their guest to wear WHITE only! The parents are the only ones wearing “Pink” and “Blue”! 

5- Lace Dress: You can never go wrong with a beautiful lace dress! Lace dresses are so elegant, and you can easily wear them for daytime gender reveal parties or nighttime parties! I recommend something like this or this or this. 

There are some great ways to plan a big or an intimate “gender reveal” party for your friends and family. Just follow these simple steps, but also don’t forget to make it uniquely yours. You can even incorporate the surprise into other traditions you have with your loved ones like a birthday or anniversary celebration! I hope this post helps you to plan your gender reveal party and congratulations on your new baby!

Congratulations again to our friends Alina and Lee for the arrival of their sweet baby boy! We can’t wait to meet and hold him in a few months!

Love,

Sherry

Sherry, xoxo

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