How to Plan a Gender Reveal Party: A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you planning a gender reveal party for your upcoming bundle of joy? Perhaps your best friend or sibling is pregnant and they’ve asked you to help arrange a gender reveal party. 

Love them or loathe them, gender reveal parties are increasingly popular amongst UK parents looking to celebrate every milestone of their pregnancy. 

But how do you throw a gender reveal party? Should it be a big, flashy occasion for all of the expectant-parent’s loved ones or just a simple family get-together to celebrate the upcoming arrival?

There’s no right or wrong answer to this.

But as experienced Devon-based event planners, we have some insider knowledge to share with you to make the most of your celebration, big or small. 

Whether you’re looking for creative ideas or practical tips, this guide has everything you need to make your celebration successful. From invitations to decorations, we’ll help you plan a memorable event that any parents-to-be will love. 

Let’s get started!

Decide on a Theme and Colour Scheme

As you start thinking about your scheme, it’s essential to consider the couple’s personality and interests. Throwing a blue or pink gathering is easy, but we believe this is a chance to celebrate each parent. 

We’ve seen some creative gender reveal party themes, from “Ties or Tutus” or “Wheels or Heels?” But these ideas are based heavily on gender stereotypes. There are many more gender-neutral options available that you can explore, such as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, how we wonder what you are.” 

You could go with a theme of “What will the baby Bee?”. The choice lends itself perfectly to a yellow and black bee theme. You can easily make the most of this in your party décor, from black and yellow balloons to napkins with a tiny bee motif.

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, we’ve seen some amazing images on Pinterest and Instagram whereby fans of the series have brought in a Sorting Hat to help them announce the gender reveal. Even if you’re not a Harry fan, we love the way that this sort of theme brings in the parent’s personal interests. 

Looking for inspiration for your gender reveal party theme? Why not follow us on Instagram?

Choose a venue and setting a date

The date of the gender reveal party will naturally be limited by how far along the pregnancy is. 

Most sonographers will be able to state a baby’s sex after 14 weeks accurately, but if you’re under midwife-led care, you likely won’t have your second scan until you are typically between 18-21 weeks. Therefore, your scan date will significantly impact when you can physically host your gender-reveal party. If you’re asking a friend to arrange your gender reveal for you so you can be surprised, make sure you talk to them about possible dates. You could even ask them to attend the sonogram with you so they can find out the sex of the baby without you knowing. 

When setting a venue and date for your party, there are a few things to think about. Do you want to host it at an external venue? Or would you prefer a more intimate gathering at your home? If hiring an external venue, you need to talk to the event management team about any restrictions they may have. For example, many wedding venues ban confetti because of the environmental impact. If you’re considering using a coloured party cannon, will that be accepted by your venue?

Similarly, if you plan on having a gender reveal in a public area, such as a local park, please consider the environment and tidy up after yourself. Unfortunately, there have been many reports of public parks being left with litter following gender reveal parties. 

What’s more, back in 2021, a couple in California were charged with manslaughter after using a pyrotechnic device that sparked a destructive wildfire that burned down five houses and killed a firefighter. 

While this is a worst-case scenario, it’s essential to realise that party organisers will be liable for any after-effects of a public party.  

If you want to host an elaborate gender reveal party, please call us. Our experience means that we know how to plan a spectacular event which includes all of the post-event clean up!

How soon after the scan should you have your party?

We know that you’re excited about your upcoming baby and having your 20-week scan is a very exciting time. Many parents-to-be are keen to have a party as close as possible to their scan date because they don’t want to keep the sex secret longer than needed. 

But it is worth mentioning that you could have a few logistical issues if you host your party on the same day as your scan. 

Firstly, there are the notorious waiting times. There’s no guarantee that your scan will take place at the time of your appointment – if the sonographers are delayed, that could have implications for how long you are waiting at the hospital. If your friends are hosting a party for you on the day of your scan, make sure that you keep them updated if your timescales fall behind. 

Secondly, if you don’t know what the sex of your unborn baby is, you will have to double up on gender reveal party décor. For instance, if you plan to announce the sex through something like a party cannon or perhaps through a cake cutting or even something like a fireworks ceremony or confetti display, you won’t have time to get this arranged without doubling up on your costs. 

If your budget is tight, we recommend planning for your party for at least a week after you’ve had your scan. 

Send Out Invitations

Once you (or your friends) have chosen a venue and set a date for the gender reveal party, it’s time to send out invitations. You can choose to send traditional paper invitations or opt for digital invitations through various platforms such as Greenvelope or Evite.

You may wish to be low-key and message your loved ones through text, WhatsApp or Messenger. If so, why not use Canva to create a fun image to share with all the critical information?

As experienced party planners, we know that, realistically, you will want to give at least 6-8 weeks’ notice to your guests when sending out your invitations.

Your gender-reveal party invitation should include the key info that your guests need.

– Date

– Time

– Location

– Special instructions or requests (such as if it’s cash only/card-only venue or if you’re encouraging your guests to bring a dish)

– RSVP deadline

Let your guests know it is a gender-reveal party, especially if you are hosting a separate baby shower.  

Plan the Menu and Decorations

Once you have the guest list and invitations sorted, it’s time to plan the menu and decorations for your gender reveal party. 

Gender reveal food choices

Your budget may depend on how elaborate your menu choices are; for example, do you want to have a formal dinner and personalised cocktails? Or are you happy with some finger foods and jugs of non-alcoholic squash?

If you’re looking for simple requests, we think a relaxed approach will be logistically easier to plan. Food choices such as cookies, cupcakes and crisps will be easier to pick up from the local supermarket without spending hours baking in the kitchen. In our experience, there are some great snack choices that you can buy and personalise yourself, such as cookies and cupcakes, or you can add your own icing and decorations. 

Top tip! If you’re looking for a cake-reveal approach, it is very easy to dye your cake batter with food colouring before baking. Adding a few drops of pink or blue food dye to your batter will add a nice touch to your party reveal. We recommend the colour splash range from Hobbycraft for vibrant colours. 

Gender reveal party decorations

Suppose you’re keen to host your gender reveal party because you’ve been inspired by Instagram or Pinterest. In that case, it’s always worth noting that people usually take these pictures with huge budgets or excellent Photoshop skills. 

But that’s not to say you can’t DIY your gender reveal party decorations. 

Places like Hobbycraft, The Range and B&M have a great range of party decorations. Décor like streamers, balloons and tablecloths are readily available. You can also create a fun photo booth area with props like moustaches or bows to represent the sex of the baby. 

Get creative and have fun with it!

If you need help to bring your chosen theme to life, please call us. We have a wide range of suppliers that we work with who can help you showcase your party theme to the max. 

Plan the Big Reveal Moment.

The most exciting part of a gender reveal party is, of course, the big reveal moment. 

There are many ways to reveal an unborn baby’s sex, from cutting into a cake to popping a balloon filled with confetti. We’ve even seen drone and firework displays used in the reveal. 

The final choice will depend on your budget and also the personality of the parents-to-be. 

We love hearing about creative ways in which parents-to-be have revealed the sex of their unborn child. Using the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter theme that we mentioned earlier was a brilliant choice. There are also many ways to get older siblings involved in the reveal, such as asking them to hit a Pinata to reveal pink or blue sweets or to pop the confetti balloon!.  

Whatever you choose, make sure it’s memorable and fun for everyone involved.

Do you need help planning your gender-reveal party?

If you need additional support and advice to host a gender reveal party, please get in touch. 

As experienced wedding and events planners, we have thrown many gender reveal parties with various themes and budgets. We love seeing the reactions of your loved ones as you celebrate your pregnancy milestone.

Although our head office is based in Devon, we work with parents-to-be all across the UK. We have a vast contact list of party venues and suppliers to make your celebration memorable for all the right reasons!

To get started, please email us via info@inspired-occasions.co.uk 

Alternatively, if you need any inspiration, why not head over to our Instagram or Facebook page.