Finding out what you’re expecting is exciting, life-changing news. A few months into your pregnancy you can choose to find out even more news: whether you’ll be welcoming home a baby boy or a baby girl.

My husband and I didn’t have any big gatherings where we revealed the biological sex of our baby to family and friends, yet opening the sealed envelopes my doctor gave us together was such a special experience. I still remember crying when I found out my last pregnancy was a set of twins — a wonderful boy-girl pair.

If you choose to find out and reveal your baby’s sex during pregnancy, we’ve rounded up some of the most memorable gender reveal ideas for your big surprise.

What is a gender reveal?

A gender reveal is when the expectant parents find out the sex of their growing baby. Usually, this would happen sometime during the second trimester.

You can typically find out the sex of a fetus as early as 10 weeks into a pregnancy with a noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT), chorionic villus sampling (CVS), or amniocentesis at your doctor’s recommendation. What is really learned at this time is the biological sex of the fetus is determined based on sex chromosomes tested in the mother’s blood. If the embryo has XX chromosomes, it is determined to be female, and if it has XY chromosomes, it is said to be male.

Ultrasounds may also reveal the sex around 20 weeks. If the sex is confirmed during an ultrasound, the technician or doctor is determining the sex based on fetal genitalia development.

Some parents-to-be opt to turn a gender reveal into a party. This can be combined with a baby shower, but often they’re standalone events.

The gender reveal party tends to be a smaller, more intimate gathering for a group of five to 20 people — typically family members and sometimes a few close friends — and usually isn’t a gifting event, says Renee Patrone Rhinehart Opens a new window, founder of Party Host Helpers Opens a new window. The baby shower, on the other hand, is typically a more inclusive event where friends and family members “shower” the parents-to-be with presents and items they’ll need once they bring their newborn home.

How to do a gender reveal

Large or small, there’s really no right or wrong way to do a gender reveal party. Some couples are more comfortable finding out the news in a more intimate setting, while others want to share the thrill with all of their nearest and dearest at once.

If you’re leaning towards a private reveal, you may consider something simple: opening a sealed envelope, biting into cupcakes with your partner and any future siblings, or opening a box of pink or blue balloons, for example.

If, on the other hand, you’re planning a big party, you’ll want to more carefully orchestrate the reveal. When setting the date, it’s a good idea to leave a two- to three-week gap between the time of the anticipated results (whether via sonogram or blood test) to account for any minor hiccups — like your baby being in a less visible position or the lab taking longer to process results.

And no matter how you’re finding out your baby’s sex, don’t forget to remind your practitioner that you want to keep the news a surprise. Ask your provider to put the baby’s sex in a sealed envelope. This way, you can pass it on to whoever is coordinating the big reveal on your behalf.

Finally, please use caution when considering fireworks, cannons, smoke bombs, and any other potential combustibles — you do not want to become one of those couples who end up on the news due to a failed gender reveal! Not to mention, they can have dire consequences.

Here, get inspired with gender reveal ideas for every type of celebration.

Unique gender reveal ideas

Looking for a gender reveal idea you haven’t already seen all over social media? Try these clever ideas:

• Take a swing. Whether your family loves baseball or spends Saturdays on the links, this is a gender reveal idea suited for the sports fans out there. You can purchase special baseballs, golf balls, and more — all filled with pink or blue dust. When you hit the ball, it disintegrates, revealing a burst of color.
• Power up a lightsaber. If you’re looking for a gender reveal idea that’s out of this world, buy a special lightsaber that lights up blue or pink when you turn it on.
• Prepare a bubble bath. You can buy all kinds of bath bombs — including a rubber duckie that’s perfect for the gender reveal theme “He or She: Waddle It Be?” — that dissolve when tossed into water. You can dunk the bath bomb in a big clear tub for a party or in your own bathtub for a sibling-friendly gender reveal idea.
• Enlist the dog. Have someone walk your pup around the corner with blue or pink balloons tied to its collar. Alternatively, if you have a particularly rambunctious dog, you can buy a chew toy filled with blue or pink stuffing.
• Turn on a fog machine. A fog machine is a much safer alternative to a smoke bomb. Just use one that comes equipped with lights so it can glow pink or blue.
• Go “fishing.” Like the golf balls and baseballs mentioned above, there are special fishing lures designed for gender reveal. They pop when they hit the ground, revealing pink or blue dust. For twin gender reveals, each parent can take a turn going “fishing.”

Simple and easy gender-reveal ideas

A gender reveal doesn’t have to be an elaborate — or expensive — endeavor. Here are some simple and easy ideas for those who prefer to keep it low-key:

• Cut a cake. Hire a baker to fill a cake with pink or blue icing, then cut a slice together to see what’s inside.
• Unwrap a present. Have a friend or family member purchase a baby boy or girl outfit, then wrap it. Open the gift in front of everyone at your gender reveal party. Alternatively, you can have the store clerk do this for you — just make sure you pick out two outfits at the same price, so the receipt won’t spoil the surprise for you.
• Do a word search. You can find simple word search printables online. The concept is simple: Find the words boy and girl throughout. If you’re having a girl, there will be 10 instances of the word “girl” and only nine instances of the word “boy” (or vice-versa if you’re having a boy).
• Have flowers delivered? Would you prefer to take in the news while cozied up at home? Schedule a flower delivery. When the doorbell rings, you’ll get the surprise of a lifetime — a big bouquet of blue or pink flowers!
• Light a candle. For a romantic night with your partner, pick up a gender-reveal candle. When you light it, the wax looks white, but give it about an hour, and all of a sudden you’ll start to see blue or pink.

Cute gender reveals ideas

Hoping for a reaction in which everyone squeals “aww” all at once? These gender-reveal ideas will do the trick:

• Open a box. Fill a big cardboard box with pink or blue balloons. Order helium-filled ones, so they float out when you open the top of the box.
• Bite into cupcakes. The baker can fill individual cupcakes with pink or blue filling. Countdown from three, and have each guest take a big bite at the same time.
• Enlist a sibling. Have the big brother- or sister-to-be walk around the corner wearing a “big brother” or “big sister” t-shirt holding pink or blue balloons.
• Make handprint art. This is a fun one for photoshoots. Have the pregnant woman wear a white shirt and stand blindfolded in front of their partner, who should also be blindfolded. Then, have the partner dip their hands into pink or blue paint, reach around and leave a handprint on mom’s stomach. Remove the blindfolds!
• Decorate the nursery. This one works better if the parents-to-be already know the baby’s sex. They can use the finished pictures of the nursery to reveal their gender to family and friends. If your loved ones live close, you can always invite them over, so they can take a peek at the space and be surprised in person.

Creative gender reveal ideas

Hoping people will see your gender reveal and think “How did they think of that?” These ideas are one-of-a-kind:

• Break a chocolate heart. Some chocolatiers sell hollow chocolate hearts filled with pink or blue candy. The chocolate treat comes with a mallet to smash the heart, revealing the baby’s sex.
• Have a scratch-off card made. Hand out special gender reveal-themed scratch-off cards and coins to your guests. Once they’ve successfully scratched off their cards, they’ll get the big news.
• Get showered with confetti. You can buy an umbrella packed with pink or blue confetti on Etsy. Stand in front of your guests with your partner, open the umbrella, and let the confetti rain down.
• Have a dance party. Want your gender reveal to feel like a true party? Host a dance party for your friends, complete with a light show. In the middle of the song, slowly the lights transition to either pink or blue. Alternatively, you can play songs that hint towards the gender — i.e. “My Girl” vs. “Rocket Man” — and see if anyone picks up on the surprise.
• Use a Hershey bar. This one is super simple but no less creative. Simply color the HE on the Hershey bar wrapper blue (or the SHE in pink) to indicate whether your baby is a boy or a girl. You can wrap each bar in gold foil, pass them out, and instruct your guests to open their candy bars all at once.
• Set up a scavenger hunt. This one is especially fun for a couple of older siblings or cousins. Write out clues that lead the kids on a hunt to find the final clue — one that reveals the baby’s gender.
• Blow a bubble. You can do this one of two ways — both are super photogenic. You can either chew a piece of blue raspberry or bubblegum-flavored gum and blow a big bubble, or you can put a drop of food coloring into the bubble solution of a bubble machine. If you opt for the latter, just be sure to wear clothes you don’t mind getting a little food coloring on in case a bubble pops on you.

Fun gender reveal ideas

These festive ideas will really have people at your gender reveal party talking:

• Pop a balloon. Fill an opaque balloon — most people opt for black to fully conceal the contents — with pink or blue confetti. Then use a pin to pop it. Parents of twins can each have their own balloon!
• Try your hand at dart art. Fill a water balloon with pink or blue paint, and affix it to a white canvas on an easel. Toss a dart at it to pop it, splashing the paint onto the canvas. Once it’s dry, this serves as a great keepsake for your baby’s nursery.
• Spray each other with a squirt gun. Fill water guns with pink or blue solution (all you need is water and a few drops of food coloring), then squirt each other on the count of three. Make sure you wear something you don’t mind getting dye on!
• Use silly string. Alternatively, you can squirt each other with silly strings. Just have someone cover up the label on the can beforehand, so you don’t know what color is inside.
• Fill a piñata. Add pink or blue goodies and confetti to a piñata. Have guests take turns trying to break it open.
• Stir up a special drink. If you’re having your party catered, ask the caterer to come up with a signature mocktail — either a pink drink or a blue drink. Once it’s time for the reveal, have the servers come out with either the pink drink or the blue drink on their trays.
• Blow glitter. This one is more of a photo-op than a surprise, but it’s fun nonetheless. Have a photographer take pictures of you blowing either pink or blue glitter from your hand. Then, post the snapshot online to reveal the news to your network.

This article was first published here.

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