11 gender reveal party ideas

Throwing a gender reveal party is a great excuse to have your close friends and family over for a barbeque. After all, if you've got a bun in the oven, you might as well put some burgers on the grill! Announce your cook out with these adorable Esty invitations or make your own.

$20, etsy.com

Bows or boots? Lashes or staches? Prince or princess? It's anybody's guess! As each guest arrives have them choose a pin to wear during the party that represents their prediction. You can make pink bows for the girl vote and moustaches for the boy vote or buy some from Esty. After the big reveal, see how many guests guessed correctly. For added fun you can also tell your guests in advance to come wearing something pink or blue, depending on their vote.

$16, etsy.com  

They say if you're craving sweet treats, you may be expecting a little girl. Check out our list of old wives tales for predicting gender and make your own gender-predicting chalkboard to use as a decoration during the party. All you'll need is a large chalkboard and some chalk. Don't forget to circle the symptoms you have. Guests can consult the chalkboard as they try to guess what your little one will be. If you don't feel like designing your own chalkboard you can also get a personalized printable one from Etsy. 

$16, etsy.com

Not sure what you're going to call your little bundle of joy? Set up a name suggestion station at the party and get your guests to help. All you'll need is a clear jar, some pink paper for girl names and blue paper for boy names. After you've announced your baby's sex, read the names out loud to see who came up with the most creative suggestion. Even if you know you're having a girl, be sure to read the blue choices, too—unisex names are quite trendy now. You can also save this idea jar for future kids.

An Instagram-worthy blue and pink sweet table is a must for your gender reveal party. Give your guests a sugar rush with cake pops, cotton candy, macarons, cupcakes, cookies, dipped pretzels and more. Be sure to make everything equally pink and blue. 

All you'll need for this fun gender-reveal version of Pictionary is a clear jar, some pink and blue paper and a chalkboard or an easel with paper. The parents-to-be can fill the jar with things that are traditionally associated with one gender, such as Barbie, baseball, mermaids or trucks. Then get your guests to draw and guess each thing. The jar of words can also be used for a game of Charades.

It's just like Pin the Tail on the Donkey but with a very adult slant! To make the egg, print a large round circle with a face and place it on cardboard or poster paper. Then make sperm (with cute faces as well) out of paper or felt. Make one for each guest. Make some mini bows and moustaches with ribbon, felt or paper and leave them beside the sperm with glue. Have each guest choose either the pink bow or the moustache (based on their prediction) and then attach it to their chosen sperm. Blindfold them and see whose sperm ends up being the closest to the egg. The winning sperm is the winning gender. Play this game right before the big reveal so you can see if the game's prediction comes true.

Announce your baby's gender with a bang. This giant question mark piñata is a great way to get the guests to participate in the big reveal. You can make your own piñata or buy one from Etsy. Fill it with confetti, candy and coloured paper that's either pink or blue, depending on the sex of your little one. If you want to be surprised on the big day, get another family member or friend (who can keep a secret) to fill the piñata. The parents-to-be and all the guests can take turns hitting the question mark until the big question has finally been answered.  

$69, etsy.com

Serve your guests a cake that's half girl, half boy to represent both possible outcomes. You could go with the traditional half-blue and half-pink, or use a theme, such as touchdowns and tutus, Superman and Wonder Woman, or pirates and mermaids. Check out our cake decorating ideas for some inspiration. This tasty dessert could also double as a gender reveal prop. Just get the baker to make the filling either pink or blue.

If a half-and-half cake isn't your thing, go for a gender-neutral cake with a cute, punny theme instead. Try a "What will it bee?" cake with yellow icing and fondant bees, a "Waddle it be?" cake with yellow duckies or penguins, or cover a simple white cake with gold stars and write, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how we wonder what you are?" on top. To go a step further, use your cake theme for your party as well and dress up your home with matching decorations.

If you want to keep the pink and blue theme going even after the reveal, give your guests some he or she Hershey's chocolate bars as a party favour. Simply decorate the chocolate by colouring in the right letters in pink or blue—you can even add glitter, buttons and bows. Either give each guest a blue and a pink bar, or just decorate the bars according to the gender that has now been revealed and give each guest one bar with a cute "Thank you for coming" card.

$3 per bar, walmart.ca

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