"When you’re expecting a baby, so many curiosities bubble up about the tiny being you’ll be bringing into the world. What will their interests be? What will their personality be like? Are they going to like pizza and ranch at least as much as you? And perhaps one of the more quintessential questions: Are they going to be a girl or a boy?
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Even with how progressive society has become around embracing more fluid gender norms and identities, celebrating the reveal of a baby’s sex still has its magic. For many parents, being less rigid about gender doesn’t mean not encouraging its existence. It just means not boxing children into a prescribed set of appearances, behaviors, interests, and expectations based on their gender. That’s why being excited to find out if you have a baby boy or baby girl on the way—who can grow up to be anybody and do anything—is still big news.
And what better way to spread your excitement than with some fun-loving gender reveal ideas? Whether you’re trying to keep it low-key or hype it up with a wider circle of friends and family, there are tons of ways to make the occasion special. Keep scrolling for over 20 of our favorite unique and unusual gender reveal ideas.
What is a gender reveal?
Positive pregnancy test, check. Starting prenatal care, check. Another major milestone as you attend your appointments with your OB-GYN, midwife, or other pregnancy care provider is the opportunity to find out the sex of your baby. While it’s possible to do so as early as 10 weeks of pregnancy, it’s also more commonly determined by ultrasound sometime between the 18 and 22-week mark. Not everybody wants to learn what they’re having ahead of time, preferring spontaneity and surprise. Meanwhile, for those who do, it’s a happy revelation worthy of celebration.
Enter the gender reveal, a planned event (or private moment later shared) spotlighting the fresh news of finding out a baby’s gender. It often involves a big moment of reveal where the expecting parent(s) creatively announces if they’re having a girl or a boy. Think glitter, confetti, popping balloons, cakes or cupcakes, clever social media photos/videos, customized articles of clothing, and a whole host of other imaginative efforts to create cheer around the announcement.
Some choose to do something quiet—for example, one partner might set up a gender reveal surprise for the other. Others are eager to share the occasion with an intimate group of family and/or friends and set up a gathering or party accordingly. Then, there are those who can’t wait to throw a big party that includes a wider circle of family, friends, and even beyond. One thing’s for sure: No matter how you’d like to celebrate, there’s a creative way to fulfill your vision for a memorable gender reveal.
Low-key gender reveal ideas
Hoping to keep your celebration simple and sweet? Or maybe you’re just trying to set up a cute gender reveal between you and your partner. These are some low-key yet thoughtful ideas to get the ball rolling.
With a photo or video, there are a myriad of ways to incorporate pink or blue to signal your reveal. You could include a pink or blue dessert, baby blocks, balloons, or confetti. Maybe you blow pink or blue bubbles with bubble gum or create commemorative shirts. Or, you might opt to feature your sonogram photo adorned with a pink bow or a blue accent. Or eschew traditional gendered colors altogether and go with a neutral palette with the words “boy” or “girl” revealed.
Have a video-savvy friend or family member? You could even get really creative with your announcement like this unusual Disney-Pixar-themed gender-reveal. Whatever you decide, it’s a way to do something celebratory and socially engaging without all the bells and whistles of a party.
Incorporate your dog or other pet
If you have a furry friend at home, they’re probably already attuned to the newest addition. Incorporate them into your gender reveal by dressing them up with a pink or blue accessory or equipping them with a pink or blue toy. Then, have them make a surprise visit to your unsuspecting partner for the big reveal.
Write a surprise card or note
Creating a personalized card or note can be a charming way to reveal your baby’s gender to your partner, as well as anyone else you might like to send the news to. Etsy has a lot of lovely customizable options, or you could DIY using pink or blue craft materials. Some decide to include their sonogram with a pink or blue decoration as part of their card/note, too.
Light a gender reveal candle together
Gift your partner a special gender reveal candle that you can light together. As it burns, the melted wax’s color changes to pink or blue to announce the big news!
Plan a surprise colored drink at a restaurant
Decide on a restaurant you can head to with your partner where they serve colored beverages on their menu. Find a way to connect with the bartender or waitstaff beforehand, and ask that they surprise you both at the table with a pink or blue colored cocktail or mocktail. Cheers to your new little boy or girl!
Gender reveal party ideas
Have your heart set on a sentimental party that’s more to the nines in nature? These festive and unusual gender reveal ideas to incorporate are sure to make for an unforgettable celebration.
Play darts with balloons
Set up a dart board with a collection of black balloons, filling each one with either pink or blue confetti. Have guests take turns throwing darts at them, letting them know that the gender will be revealed when they’ve popped three balloons that explode with the same color. By filling at least three balloons with the color of your baby’s gender and only two with the other color, they’ll inevitably make it happen!
Have a Squirt Gun Fight
For some action-packed fun, dress up in white T-shirts and fill squirt guns with water that has been dyed pink or blue with washable food coloring. Guests can stand by cheering as you and your partner engage in a gender-revealing duel, or, if you’d like everyone to be more involved, you can also provide them with their own white tees (or ask them to bring one they don’t mind getting temporarily dyed) and squirt guns.
Plan a Confetti Gender Reveal
Nothing expresses the thrill of exciting news like being doused with confetti. There’s no shortage of options for creating a blue or pink confetti spectacle to reveal your baby’s gender. Though a party confetti reveal is innocent in most cases, we’d be remiss not to mention the cleanup and to be careful with anything that ‘explodes’ given the gender reveal party wildfire tragedy that occurred back in 2020 using a gender reveal smoke bomb.
A Balloon Drop or Balloon Unboxing
What’s a party without balloons? Go beyond merely using them to decorate and arrange for a special gendered balloon bouquet to emerge from an XL box. You can either plan a balloon drop or unboxing with helium balloons for a picture-perfect reveal!
Have a Gender Reveal Par-Tee
For expectant parents who love to hit the links, a gender reveal golf-themed party might be perfect. Grab specialized golf balls that reveal pink or blue powder, confetti, and streamers for an unusual gender reveal idea all the guests will be talking about. Not a golf fan? We’ve seen gender-reveal baseballs and soccer balls, too!
Decorate Hershey Bars
You don’t have to be a diehard chocolate lover to use Hershey bars to your gender reveal party’s advantage. Announce your new bundle of joy’s gender by handing out Hershey bars with customized wrapping, or just color in the “she” or “he” part of regular Hershey bar wrappers with a pink or blue Sharpie!
Make it Holiday-Themed
If your gender reveal festivities fall around a holiday, why not continue to spread the holiday cheer through your gender reveal? Whether you strike open a heart-shaped piñata for Valentine’s Day, brew up pink or blue confetti powder for Halloween, or serve mugs with gender reveal cocoa bombs for the winter holidays, there seems to be a creative twist for coupling your baby’s gender reveal celebration with every holiday.
Create a Group Splash Painting
Think your guests might enjoy a little round of arts and crafts? Then, you might consider one of the most unusual gender reveal ideas we found.
Away from where everyone will be congregating, set up a large white canvas or sheet on a table (be sure you protect the table’s surface and floor underneath) and a few squeeze bottles filled with different shades of pink or blue. Put someone in charge of monitoring this station, and instruct guests to visit it two to four at a time. The person in charge ensures everyone gets blindfolded before being put in front of the canvas, and then hands them a squirt bottle to decorate it with. After everyone has had a turn, the final pink or blue-spattered masterpiece is revealed to the whole group.
Break open a piñata
These aren’t just reserved for children’s birthday parties—plenty of adults are happy to take a good-natured cathartic swing at something when given the chance. Fill your piñata with all kinds of small pink or blue candies, favors, and confetti to shower guests with once the breaking news strikes.
Gender reveal cake ideas
Part of the charm of many unique gender reveal parties is having a pièce de résistance, like a celebratory cake. These gender reveal cake ideas are not only tasty but will add that extra dazzle to your party.
‘What will it bee?’ cake
Have a cake that’s all the buzz! The cake’s pink or blue filling can reveal the gender of your little honey bee who’s on their way.
Cakesicles
Want a cake favor that’s a little meatier than a cake pop, but more individualized than a cake? Serving some darling-looking cakesicles is a happy medium. Some choose to fill them all with pink or blue, others keep the filling neutral and have one to a few with pink or blue for more suspense. It’s up to you!
Piñata cake
For an unusual gender reveal cake, a piñata cake is especially eye-catching when a bunch of festive fillings tumble out! Find your favorite layer cake recipe and cut a circle in the middle layer(s). After you’ve assembled everything but the top layer, fill the hole with blue or pink candies and sprinkles. Top with the final layer of cake, and frost the whole thing in a way that leaves room for surprise once it’s cut open.
Breakable heart
While it’s not technically a cake, having a giant piece of chocolate to break open to reveal pink or blue candies inside is at least as sweet. May it be the only heartbreaker at the party!
White mystery cake
You can’t go wrong with a classic and delicious white cake that has been stuffed with creamy blue or pink buttercream frosting. For a cute photo op, keep some champagne glasses on hand to cut into the cake with.
Cake Pops
Cake pops are always a reliable and yummy way to spread some cake love. You can even create a more elaborate mystery with your gender reveal cake pops by only filling a couple (or only 1) with pink or blue centers. That way, people can’t say no to dessert and have to mingle as they dig in!
Baby bump cake
Of course, there’s a gender reveal cake for those who appreciate a whimsical touch. Add a pink or blue cake ball as a baby bump to the top of your cake before it’s frosted and decorated. Then, when the big reveal happens, you can literally show everyone what’s inside your belly!
Gender reveal gift ideas
Gender-reveal gifts don’t have to be something extravagant. Rather, bringing something touching but relatively inexpensive as a kind gesture can certainly show you care about the occasion. That being said, with so many great gifts being gender-based, how do you even know what to choose? Here are some adorable gender-reveal gift ideas to get you started.
Something soft for baby
From nap time to bath time, it’s always nice to have something ultra cozy and comforting for baby to cuddle up with. From a swaddle to a bath wrap to a blanket, there are lots of ways you can go.
A cute item for parents
Prefer to present the proud parents with something that’ll bring a smile? There are plenty of celebratory gifts to fit the occasion.
A playful onesie for baby
With how many messes babies make, you can never have too many onesies. It also means less laundry! Plus, it can be precious to see your little one dressed up in one that has personality—like these.
A heartfelt card
It can be the words that count. If you’re not planning on a gift, bringing or sending a card to honor their gender reveal can be just as thoughtful.
A book or toy for baby
Kind of like with clothing, books and toys for baby will likely abound. That doesn’t mean another catchy title or plaything won’t be welcomed, though!
Katherine Ballesta-Rosen, Editorial Intern
Besides being an avid reader and writer since girlhood, Katherine decided to kick her literacy-laden background up a notch by receiving her Master’s in teaching, and went on to teach English Language Arts to high schoolers for several years. As an intern at The Everymom, Katherine writes about topics such as maternal wellness, sex and relationships, and more.