Forty weeks is a long time to wait to meet your baby. You grow with your baby, talk to it, and feel it moving, but the closest you get to seeing it before birth is on a screen during an ultrasound. Any information you can soak up about this little person who is about to change your world is coveted. One of the things you look forward to knowing the most is the sex of your baby.

Once you know if the baby is a boy or girl, it’s hard to decide who to tell first! A fun way to share the news with loved ones all at once is to host a gender reveal party.

How to plan a gender reveal party

Unlike a baby shower where friends or family members make the accommodations, the expecting couple typically hosts the gender reveal party. This can get tricky when you want to be surprised by the reveal too.

It is possible to plan a gender reveal without knowing the sex. Ask your ultrasound technician to write the determined sex down so that you don’t see or hear the news. Then look for a helper who can prepare the reveal for you. Bakeries and party supply stores are usually more than happy to assist you when their products are part of the reveal.

Below is a list of what you’ll need to host a gender reveal party:

• Theme: A theme can add to the excitement. See below for some great gender reveal party ideas.
• Guest list: Decide if the party will be intimate, involve a large crowd, or somewhere in between.
• Location: Will it be indoors or outdoors? You won’t need to search long to find gender reveal places nearby. A backyard, living room, restaurant, or park will do. Consider the size of your guest list.
• Date: You’ll want to plan the party for after you receive your baby’s genetic results.
• Invitations: These can be paper or digital, but they should include the date, time, location, and a way to RSVP.
• Decorations: When deciding what to buy for a gender reveal party, keep in mind that you won’t want to give the surprise away in the décor. Keep it simple or go all out, but keep it gender neutral.
• Games: Having the guests guess the sex of the baby can build the suspense for the big reveal. Get some ideas below.
• Refreshments: Get as fancy as you like with food and beverages. A cake or special dessert is a popular choice. You can even match the foods to the theme.
• Reveal: Sharing the news is exciting no matter how you say it, shout it, or show it. Check out what we think are some pretty cool ways to reveal the gender of your baby.
• Favors: They are not a necessity but a nice way to thank guests for attending. See our picks below.

Unique gender reveal party ideas

Although babies will have their unique tastes and skills, some parents like to use traditional gender “roles” and colors as inspiration for their party themes. Other parents prefer a more gender-neutral motif to announce if it’s a boy or girl.

No matter your style, here are 10 great gender reveal themes for your big announcement:

1. Rock-et-bye baby: The male ♂ and female ♀ gender symbols are also the signs of the planets Mars and Venus, respectively. A space theme is a far-out way to celebrate your soon-to-be earthling.
2. Buck or doe? A fun nature inspired get-together for your little “deer.”
3. What’s the scoop? Festivities revolve around ice cream. Use different flavors to broadcast whether the baby is a boy or girl.
4. Waddle it be? Guests will get a quack out of this theme when you share the sex of your little duckling.
5. Taco ’bout a baby: Spicy señorita or nacho muchacho—this fiesta is all about the food.
6. ABC, XYsee: This alphabet theme allows guests to “see” whether the baby’s chromosomes are XX (female) or XY (male).
7. We “donut” know: If you’ve been craving sweets, the donut theme is a great excuse to sample different flavors as you share the information you DO know now.
8. Royal reveal: A stately celebration for your little prince or princess.
9. Miniature mystery: An escape room type of party where guests receive clues to unveil boy or girl mystery.
10. Guess who? A party inspired by the classic guessing game. Guests can dress in fun mustaches, silly glasses, and wild hats as they guess your baby’s sex, birth date, and name.

What to do at a gender reveal party

Polling friends and family about whether they think your baby is a boy or girl gives your guests a tiny stake in the result.

Here are 5 gender reveal party games we are sure will provide plenty of entertainment.

• Take a headcount of how many guests think it’s a boy and how many think it’s a girl. But to take it up a notch, ask your guests to cast their votes using notes for the baby. Provide fabric pens and quilting squares for guests to write or draw on. They can drop the squares into ballot boxes to count as votes. Later, you can use the squares to create a quilt for you and your baby to treasure.
• Leave clues for your guests to follow to different locations at the party and ways to decode messages. These should ultimately lead them to the reveal item—for instance, the word “boy” or “girl” in a locked box. The clues might even relate to the baby’s family members.
• Use a gender reveal game poster that displays what old wives’ tales say about how a mom feels and acts to determine which sex the myths predict. Then compare with the actual result.
• Solve a logic puzzle that also acts as the reveal. For guests not to arrive at the solution too quickly, use both the words boy and girl and negate one of them.
• After having attendees choose team boy or team girl, hold a friendly minute-to-win-it competition. Some game ideas to complete in one minute:
  • Use a nasal aspirator to pick up and move marshmallows to a baby bottle. Whoever has the most in their bottle wins points for their team.
  • Throw ping pong balls into open diapers set up like baskets with different point values to score.
  • Pair and fold as many matching baby socks with one hand as you can.
  • Taste test baby foods while blindfolded and guess as many foods as possible in the allotted time.

How to make the big gender reveal

The main event announcing the sex of your baby can be as easy as declaring the words’ boy” or “girl.” However, if you’re searching for some more imaginative variations, we’ve got your back!

The following gender reveal ideas can be shared in-person or through the wonder of technology.

1. Consider a virtual gender reveal

More than ever, there are reasons to make your reveal virtually. Aside from protecting you and the baby from health risks, virtual gender reveal ideas have the potential to reach more guests than an in-person event. Setting up an online video event with links to share with your invitees is possible through video conferencing platforms.

You can do this on your own using a smartphone or camera, or you may choose to hire someone who specializes in baby gender reveal photography or videography.

2. Color coordinate

Designate one color to signify a boy and one color to represent a girl. Pink and blue are commonly used, but not required.

• Cake or cupcakes: When cut into, the pastry displays the color corresponding to the sex of your baby. You can do this with colored cake batter, frosting, or candies.
• Paint handprints: Paint your hands and discreetly press them onto paper or fabric. When you’re ready to make your reveal, lift your hands away, and the paint color will remain. (Hint: If you point your thumbs’ tips and touch the tips of your other fingers to each other, your hands form a heart shape which is perfect for placing over your baby belly to print onto a keepsake shirt).
• Confetti poppers, piñata, or silly string: Release colored confetti or silly string into the air indoors or outdoors. The expecting couple (you and your partner) or selected guests can set these off, or you could get everyone involved in the fun.
• Burnout: Use your car in a well-ventilated area outdoor to force the color powder out in the exhaust, creating a vibrant burnout.
• Balloon pop: Burst a giant balloon filled with colored confetti. It’s great for indoors or outdoors; just don’t let it float away.
• Sippy cup: Fill your cups with a cold beverage (something non-alcoholic for you) and sip to the still-growing guest of honor using color-changing straws.

3. Unwrap the excitement

Unwrap a gender reveal box to find artifacts announcing either a boy or girl.

• Balloons: You can either use helium-filled balloons for their color or their levitation power to pull out another item displaying the sex.
• Individual boxes: Your guests can open their own miniature boxes revealing the sex. The item in the box can double as a favor.

4. Words say it best

Whether spoken or written, words are pretty clear.

• Big sibling: What’s cuter than soon-to-be older siblings proclaiming whether they will have a new brother or sister?
• Sign: Hold up a printed or written sign to convey the exciting news. Signs make for fantastic photo props too.
• Scratch-off ticket: You’ve won the lottery with this kid. The guests can use lottery-style scratch-off tickets to learn about your surprise.
• Belly bump: Stand sideways next to a board with the words, “It’s a…” Use your belly to hide the word boy or girl. Move your belly to reveal the end of the sentence.

To use all these as twin gender reveal ideas, double the reveal or select a different reveal for each baby!

Thanking your guests

Favors are a small way to thank guests for attending your gender reveal. Gift ideas usually include candies, bath items, and trinkets. We’ve listed a few we like:

• Baby in bloom seed packets: Flower seeds for guests to plant. As the plants grow, guests will think of your growing little one.
• Ice cream gift card: Share the pregnancy cravings with the gift of a free cone. You could even throw in a pickle!
• Hand sanitizer: In hopes that your loved ones will get to visit your baby soon, they’ll have a way to clean their hands before cuddling. Plus, sanitizer is a pretty sought-after item these days.

What to do post-reveal

After sharing your surprise news about your baby, the only thing left to do is love, prepare for, and wonder about him or her. You have so much to look forward to learning about your little one. So enjoy!