40 Gender Reveal Ideas to Inspire You

One of the biggest moments in your pregnancy journey is learning whether your little one is a boy or a girl. Some parents-to-be prefer to wait until their baby's born before they find out, but others want to know as soon as possible. If you already know your little one's gender, read on for some unique ideas to reveal the gender of your baby to your loved ones!

What Is a Gender Reveal?

When you are around 18 to 21 weeks pregnant, a detailed 20-week scan will be carried out to check the physical development of your baby. At this scan, you can ask the sonographer to let you know the exciting news of whether your baby is a boy or a girl. Keep in mind that certain hospitals do not reveal the sex of the baby, so be sure to enquire before your scan. If you have opted to find out the gender of your baby, a gender-reveal party is a fun way to announce the news to your loved ones. Choosing to reveal your baby’s gender is an entirely personal choice, along with who you want to reveal it to. You might want to shout the news from the rooftops or keep it within your immediate family. All that matters is that you feel comfortable. Now it’s time to get creative! Not sure where to start? Check out our tips on how to plan a gender-reveal party to get a complete overview.

How to Plan a Gender Reveal

There are lots of different ways to have a fun time announcing your little one’s gender. Whether you already know your baby’s sex or plan to be surprised yourself, staying on top of the organisational aspects can help make the party a truly memorable occasion.

• Plan ahead. Like with any event, planning is key to everything running smoothly. Allow yourself plenty of time to take everything into consideration, from who to invite, whether you want to post the reveal online or by mail and your budget.

• Invite who you want. Your baby’s gender reveal can be as public or private as you want. If you want to keep things a little more low-key, consider only inviting your immediate family and close friends.

• Consider the audience. The way you choose to reveal the news to your partner may be a little different to how you plan on announcing it to the new baby’s siblings or grandparents. Lots of ideas are suitable for both. Read on for some ideas for gender reveals.

• Stay safe. Avoid using any props that could end up hurting someone or causing damage, like smoke flares, smoke grenades or fireworks.

• Don’t feel pressured. Try to shut out any pressure from others to do something big. There is nothing wrong with opting for a simple gender reveal idea.

• Enjoy the process. At the end of the day, learning and revealing the sex of your baby should be an enjoyable process. Do what makes you feel best!

Unique Gender Reveal Ideas

Now we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a look at some gender reveal ideas for your baby. If you’re looking for something a little unconventional, these unique gender reveal ideas could be right up your alley.

1. Lines in the sand

If you happen to live near a beach, lines in the sand couldn’t be simpler. If not, this idea could be a fun one if you decide to go on a babymoon to a beach destination. Beyond the price of getting to the beach, it’s also completely free! All you need to do is find a stick. You can go as simple or creative as you’d like.

Keep it simple by writing ‘BOY’ or ‘GIRL’ in the sand. If you’d prefer to be a little more creative, you could always write something cute like ‘She’s almost here’ or ‘He’s on the way’. Once you’ve written the reveal in the sand, take a picture of your creation with your belly and frame it along with the stick. This makes a great framed gift for parents or grandparents and is easy to share online.

2. Pop the balloon

Nowadays, balloons are a gender-reveal staple. Add a unique twist by filling an opaque balloon with blue or pink confetti. Or, if you want to keep it a surprise, hand over a sealed envelope containing the gender of your baby to someone else and get them to do this for you. When it comes to the big moment, have a loved one take a picture while you and your partner pop the balloon to reveal your little one's gender.

3. Say it with pumpkins

If you plan to announce your baby’s gender when the leaves are turning, incorporate the autumnal atmosphere into your announcement. This idea is great for both social media and parties.

Invite friends and family to come over and carve pumpkins. Before everyone arrives, carve ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ into your pumpkin, whichever your little one is, and keep it out of sight. Once everyone is done carving, light a candle in each pumpkin and place them on your doorstep.

Ask everyone to stand below the steps with their eyes closed. When they aren’t looking, place your reveal pumpkin in the middle and capture their expressions from the doorway when you tell them to turn around and open their eyes. This idea is great fun for everyone – including your new baby’s siblings.

4. Gender-reveal treasure hunt

Who doesn’t love a treasure hunt? Send your guests out on a quest to find out the gender of your baby by preparing some clues in envelopes. This unique gender reveal idea requires a little more planning than others, but it’s sure to pay off when everyone is running around looking for clues. You could always get creative by involving gender-specific nursery rhymes, fun facts about pregnancy and childbirth, baby-related clues and hidden gear. There are no limits! At the end of the hunt, all of the clues should add up to reveal the gender of your baby.

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Cute Gender Reveal Ideas

Most baby gender reveal ideas are already pretty adorable, but if you’re looking for something to really melt the hearts of your loved ones, take a look at the following list for inspiration.

5. Pink or blue balloon photo strip

This cute gender reveal idea is always a great hit on social media and can also be sent in the mail. It doesn’t require too much effort – just a little camera savvy. Here’s what you need to do: 1. You’ll need two people for this reveal. Sit down next to your partner, parent or friend. You will each need to hold a deflated balloon: one blue and one pink.

2. Set up your camera timer to take a series of images over the next minute or so.

3. Both of you then need to place the balloon between your lips as if you’re about to blow it up.

4. Here’s where the cute part comes in. Only the person with the correct colour for your baby’s gender (blue for boy, pink for girl) should actually inflate their balloon. The other can have some fun and pretend they’re trying yet failing to blow theirs up, but it should remain deflated.

5. Order a photo strip featuring three of your favourite images showing the deflated balloons in your mouths, pretending to blow up the balloons, and the fully inflated blue or pink balloon.

Either post the photos on social media or send them in the mail to share the joyous news!

6. Shopping for baby clothes

This gender reveal idea is good for:

If you’re looking for a fun, adorable way to announce your baby’s gender, this gender reveal idea could be the perfect choice. Take your family and friends out shopping. Send half of them to choose some items from the boys' baby clothes section of a clothes shop, and the other half to pick out some things from the girls' section. When your family members return with their choices, pick the basket of clothes that matches the gender of your little one and take it to the checkout. If you don't yet know yourself, but have your baby's gender in a sealed envelope, you could even ask the shop assistant to reveal which basket of clothes you'll be buying . Of course, you should be aware that your family members might prioritize fun, novelty items over baby clothes that you’ll actually need. Remember that it’s all in good fun!

Give an envelope revealing the baby's gender to a trusted friend or relative, and once the gender-reveal party is in full swing ask him or her to present each guest with a small box of either pink or blue toys wrapped in neutral-coloured paper. Make sure the friend or relative gets the envelope well in advance, so that he or she has plenty of time to prepare. With cameras ready and video rolling, invite all your guests to open their boxes at the same time. By letting your guests do the reveal for you, everyone can feel more involved in the reveal itself. Plus, all eyes (and cameras) will be on you and your partner's reactions, which will surely be priceless. 8. Get the pets involved

Four legged friends are part of the family, so why not let yours help reveal the gender of your baby? You can set up an irresistibly cute shot with your pet posing beside a few gender-revealing clues, like a blue balloon or a pink bodysuit. Alternatively, you could draw up a little chalkboard sign making the announcement, with your pet's paws resting on it.

Easy, Cheap and Simple Gender Reveal Ideas

Not every gender reveal idea requires a big budget and lots of your time. If you’d prefer to keep things low-key, check out the following list for inspiration.

9. Guess the gender

As the party guests arrive, ask each person to take a ‘boy' or ‘girl' name badge, or perhaps a pink or blue paper hat, based on which gender they think your little one will be. When the time comes, open the sealed envelope with your partner, and reveal your baby's gender. Any guests who selected the correct gender will win a gift.

10. Gender reveal baby shower combo

Combine your gender-reveal party with your baby shower by selecting a gender-specific theme. If you want to be surprised along with all your other guests, give your baby shower host the sealed envelope from the ultrasonographer, and allow your host to secretly plan the gender reveal and the gender-specific party elements. Make sure your host also knows to assign the task of taking photos to one of the guests to capture your excitement as the gender is revealed.

11. Baby clothes pose

By now, you may have started to get ready for your baby’s arrival by buying some clothing. Once you find out your baby’s gender, purchase a T-shirt, baby shoes, hat or other item of clothing that indicates the baby’s gender. This could either be through colour (pink or blue) or something written on the clothing. You may opt to lay the clothes out on a surface or on your belly to share the exciting news with your nearest and dearest on social media or in the mail.

12. A family photo with a twist

Get the family together and have everyone pose for a family photo. The twist: Add in a cute, little detail to hint at the gender, like a pink or blue filter, or maybe get everyone to hold a coloured balloon. Post the pic on social media, or send it to your closest friends, and see who gets the hint.

13. Say goodbye to one of the name lists

Take your lists of boy names and girl names, and ceremoniously dispose of the one that no longer applies. You could do this by feeding it into a paper shredder, or if you plan to combine the event with some outdoor cooking, use the redundant list to light the barbeque! Once that's done, you could hold a quick brainstorming session with your family and friends to narrow down the remaining list even further. You might also like to add some unisex names. If you'd like, you could even combine this gender reveal idea with a baby naming party.

Fun Gender Reveal Ideas

Looking to add a fun twist to revealing your baby’s gender? We’ve compiled a list of fun ideas, which are sure to bring a smile to everyone’s face when you announce the big news.

14. The gender-revealing piñata

Give your gender-reveal party a Latin-American flavour by getting a trusted friend to make or order a piñata that looks gender-neutral from the outside, but is filled with blue or pink sweets and confetti. At your gender-reveal party, take it in turns with your partner to swing at the piñata, or let all your friends and family take a turn each. You could even award a prize to the guest who deals the final blow. Once the goodies come pouring out, grab a handful and throw them into the air for a great photo opportunity.

15. Tied balloon release

Balloons are a party classic. Buy some pink or blue helium-filled balloons, put them in a large box and gift-wrap it. You could also tie a little note to the balloons, saying ‘it's a boy' or ‘it's a girl'. At the party, or, if you’ve opted for something more intimate, the next time you see your relatives, hand them the ‘present’. Don’t forget to film or photograph their reactions as the gender-revealing balloons float up out of the box. Be sure to tape the balloons or their string to the box to prevent them from floating into the sky.

16. Bows and bowties

Little pink bows and blue bowties offer a fun way to reveal your baby’s gender to your guests. Get your guests in on the action by creating bows and bowties for them to wear. You can use cloth, ribbon, felt or whatever you’d like to make them. All that really matters is that they include a way to be secured onto clothing. When your guests turn up, ask them to predict the gender of your baby by selecting a bow or bowtie. Once you’re ready, reveal your baby’s gender and everyone who guessed correctly will win a small prize.

17. Breakable chocolate

An equally tasty and fun gender reveal idea. Your guests are sure to thank you for this unique twist. First, you’ll need to buy breakable chocolates in any shape that takes your fancy. Then, take these chocolates to a baker and ask them to fill them with sprinkles, crème, food paint or any other tasty treat to indicate the gender of your baby. Hand out these chocolates to guests at the party or send them in the mail to break the news to your nearest and dearest. Make sure to capture the moments in photos or videos for future keepsakes.

Multiples Gender Reveal Ideas

If you’ve found out you’re pregnant with multiples, prepare for even more fun at the gender reveal. There are plenty of exciting gender reveal ideas to make the surprise at least twice as exciting!

This fun gender reveal idea will require the amount of people as there are babies. You and your partner, friend or relative will each wear a T-shirt that indicates the gender of your babies. Keep it simple with a blue or pink design, or go all out with a custom design. This idea offers a unique way to let people know your babies’ gender in a photo card. If you’d prefer to announce it at a party, surprise your guests by taking off a sweatshirt or jacket to reveal the T-shirt underneath.

19. Nursery reveal

One of the magical things about being pregnant is getting to design your babies’ nursery. Enjoy the best of both worlds by integrating this fun activity into your babies’ gender reveal. This gender reveal idea taps into your creative side. Simply place some items in the nursery to indicate the gender of your babies. From frames filled with photos of pink or blue animals to pink and blue blankets hanging on the side of the crib corresponding to the number of babies, the sky’s the limit. Take photos in the nursery with the decorations to announce the gender online or invite your party guests to come see for themselves.

Cool Gender Reveal Ideas

If you’re all about the latest trends, some of the following ideas may be just your type of thing.

20. Glittering news

Have your partner take a picture of you blowing blue or pink glitter from your hands. If you're handy with an image editing app or programme, you could even alter the image so that everything appears in black and white, except for the glitter. Send copies of the picture to your family. This idea is great, if your family lives a little further away and you can't tell them the news in person.

21. Paint your baby bump

Tap into your artistic potential with this fun gender reveal idea. If you like to keep things simple, just paint your entire belly pink or blue. To take things one step further, you can enlist the help of your partner or other children to write something creative. There are no bounds to your creativity for this idea. Make sure to take photos and post them on your social media or create cards to send in the mail.

22. Water fight

If you’ll be announcing your baby’s gender in the summer months, a water fight could be the perfect opportunity for a nice cool down while spreading the joyous news. Ask everyone who wants to play to wear all white. Then, fill balloons and/or water pistols with water coloured the gender of your baby, i.e. blue for a boy and pink for a girl. Food colouring or body-safe paints are probably the best option for this. Once ready, have a fun water fight and watch as your clothes reveal your baby’s gender. Please note that while this game is suitable for adults and older children, it is not safe for young children.

Original and Creative Gender Reveal Ideas

If you want to stand out from the crowd, these original and creative gender reveal ideas are sure to surprise your relatives and friends. Let your personality shine through by selecting an idea from this list.

23. Pink or blue bubble gum

Take a cool picture of yourself blowing the biggest bubble you can using gum in the colour that corresponds to your baby’s gender. If you want to take this gender reveal idea to the next level, blow up bubbles of both gum colours, pink and blue. Then, pop the bubble in the colour that doesn’t represent your baby’s gender. Enlist the help of your partner or a friend to take a picture when you pop the bubble or once gum is stuck to your face. Then, you can share or send the pictures together, with the only inflated bubble revealing the gender of your baby.

24. Blowing blue or pink bubbles

If you aren’t skilled when it comes to blowing bubble gum, try blowing some real bubbles instead. Buy some bottles of bubble mixture, and ask a friend or family member to secretly add food colouring (pink or blue) to the solution. At your gender-reveal party, you and your partner can reveal the big news to the family by blowing bubbles at each other and the guests.

25. Compose a song

If you fancy yourself as a musician, this creative gender reveal idea could be perfect for you. This way of announcing your baby’s gender is great for parties, social media and emails. You can go as far as you’d like with this project: from composing a song and writing lyrics from scratch, or using an app to mash up existing clips from other songs. Either way, it’s sure to be a great hit. One fun idea is teasing your baby’s gender throughout the song and ending with a lyric that reveals ‘baby girl’ or ‘baby boy’.

26. Scratch cards

This fun gender reveal idea is great for parties. As each guest arrives at the party, give them a scratch card designed to reveal ‘it’s a boy’ or ‘it’s a girl’ when scratched off with a coin. You can often purchase these cards from party stores or online. It may also be possible to customise them with personal details such as your baby’s due date/year.

27. Gender prediction superstition game

Want to learn more about old wives’ tales throughout the ages? Embark on a journey of discovery with your party attendees, ending in everyone finding out the gender of your baby. All you need to do is print off a list of superstitions and traditions (including some false facts) about having a boy vs a girl. They may include titbits such as:

• Sweet or salty pregnancy cravings (sweet cravings mean a girl)

• The side you sleep on (sleeping on your left means a boy)

• The position of your baby bump (low means a boy)

• Morning sickness (having morning sickness means a girl)

Get your guests to read the questions one by one and you will then provide the answers. Once you’ve reached the end of the list, tally up the scores. These fun superstitions are said to reveal whether your baby is a certain gender – let you guests know whether this is correct or not at the end.

Gender Reveal Ideas With Siblings

A new addition to the family is always an exciting development. Introducing your child to a new baby is a major moment in their life as they prepare to take on their role as an older brother or sister. Help get them excited for their new sibling with some of these fun gender reveal ideas.

28. Have an older brother or sister reveal your little one’s gender with a T-shirt

Dress your older child or children in a T-shirt that says, ‘I'm getting a baby brother' or ‘I'm getting a baby sister’. You could get your children involved in making the T-shirts themselves, using special textile paints, or have one custom-made. Have your child or children stroll into your gender-reveal party wearing the T-shirt, or take some photos to send out to friends and family, or to share on social media.

29. Little pink and blue handprints

If you already have older children, get them to decorate a white maternity T-shirt by dipping their hands into some pink or blue paint and adding their handprint on the T-shirt around your belly. Take a picture to show the world whether you're expecting a little boy or a girl.

30. Erupting volcano

Your other children are sure to have a great time constructing this unique gender reveal idea. All you’ll need is some playdough, a plastic bottle, food colouring, washing-up liquid, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda for an eye-catching reveal. Set up the volcano by following these five easy steps:

1. Mould the volcano using playdough.

2. Find a plastic bottle to put in the volcano and form the dough around the top of the bottle.

3. Fill the bottle with warm water and add a few drops of pink or blue food colouring. Make sure your child doesn’t see which colour is added.

4. Add a few drops of washing-up liquid and two tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda. Mix the ingredients inside the bottle.

5. As soon as you’re ready to reveal your baby’s gender, pour vinegar into the bottle to start the eruption. Once the ‘lava’ starts to spew over the top, your children will be able to see whether they’re getting a baby brother or sister.

31. Numbered balloons

If you already have a child or children, you can announce the gender of your baby to family and friends with a cute photo. Line up the older brothers and sisters by age and give each one a balloon with a number corresponding to birth order – number one for the firstborn and so on – and a colour to match their gender. Then have an extra balloon of either blue or pink, perhaps tied to a pair of infant shoes, with the number of the baby you're expecting. Take a snap and send it to your friends and family!

Virtual Gender Reveal Ideas

Nowadays, the virtual world allows us to communicate and stay in touch with loved ones anytime, anywhere. Lots of the ideas we’ve already mentioned work great for sharing on social media, but the ideas below are primarily designed for virtual parties. Just because you might not be able to have everyone around in person, there’s no reason they can’t be involved in this special news.

32. Word search

A word search offers fun for all the family and friends. Email or mail a word search puzzle you’ve created to the attendees of your virtual party for everyone to complete together during the event. There are plenty of free online programmes for designing your own word search. Make sure to use the words ‘girl’ and ‘boy’ lots throughout the puzzle. The word that appears most represents the gender of your baby.

33. Gender-reveal riddle

Get your loved ones thinking with a funny riddle. Create a riddle to reveal the gender of your little one and send it either on social media or by email to your friends, or share it during your virtual party. Then, your family and friends can work together or go it alone to solve the meaning and discover the gender of your baby.

34. E-cards

If you don’t have the time to come up with your own word search or riddle, e-cards are a far simpler gender reveal idea. Send them out to your friends and family by email to announce the exciting news. If you want everyone to find out at the same time during a virtual party, ask everyone to wait until you give the word go to open their e-card.

Private and Intimate Gender Reveal Ideas

Discovering the gender of your baby is a magical moment for you, your partner and your family. If you would prefer to keep this news among your closest relatives and friends, perhaps some of the ideas below can provide some inspiration. Remember, revealing your baby’s gender is an entirely personal choice and you should only do what you feel comfortable with.

35. Gender-reveal jewellery

Ask your partner to learn the baby's gender from the ultrasonographer who does your scan. With the gender in mind, your partner can then select a special piece of jewellery – perhaps a bracelet, a brooch or earrings with a blue or pink stone or insert – or some other gift, that will reveal it to you. Over a romantic candlelit dinner, your partner can present you with the gift. They could also photograph your reaction to share with family and friends on social media. You'll have some great memories and a lasting keepsake.

36. Scrapbook

Scrapbooks are a lovely way to collect memories and photos as mementos for the future. For this intimate gender reveal idea, you or your partner can collect photos from throughout your pregnancy journey. Each page will have you reminiscing about finding out you were pregnant, your first ultrasound, seeing your baby bump grow and buying things for your baby’s nursery. On the final page, glue in the latest sonogram with something to indicate whether you’re having a boy or a girl. A little pink or blue heart could be a cute gender reveal idea. Make sure to leave plenty of pages at the end of the book to fill with more pictures from your pregnancy journey and when your baby arrives!

37. Candlelit dinner

With all the hormones produced during pregnancy, sometimes mums-to-be need a little TLC. Nothing quite says treat yourself like a nice candlelit dinner. Add to the experience by sharing the gender of your baby with your partner, best friend or parent during the meal. Order a gender-revealing candle to burn away during the meal. As the wax melts down, it will start to reveal either blue or pink, representing the gender of your baby. Take a photo together and share the news on social media, in an email or in a card in the mail.

Gender Reveal Cake Ideas

No party is complete without a cake, but you could also use confectionary to reveal your little one's gender.

If you like baking, you could make a gender reveal cake yourself, but if you want the gender announcement to be a surprise for you too (or if you're not into baking), find a cake shop that will make one to order.

These are just a few gender reveal cake ideas that you might like to try:

38. Coloured cream filling

Have a cake made with neutral-coloured glaze or icing on the outside, but with blue or pink cream filling sandwiched between the layers of sponge inside. When the cake is cut, the first slice will reveal the gender of your little one. Everyone at your party can then enjoy a slice and you can share photos on social media to let your wider community know the gender of your little one.

39. Individual cupcakes

Rather than have one big cake, why not bake individual cupcakes for the guests at your gender reveal party? These could be coloured neutrally on the outside, with a coloured filling to signify your baby's gender. Ask everyone to bite into their cupcake on the count of three so that you can all find out your baby's gender together. An added advantage of the cupcakes idea is that you can accommodate guests with special dietary needs or food intolerances or allergies, by making different batches without the ingredients they can't eat.

40. Gender reveal fortune cookies

Not actually a cake, but still lots of fun! Order or make a batch of fortune cookies containing strips of paper that either say ‘It's a boy' or ‘It's a girl'. Hand them out to your guests, and get them to crack open the cookies at the same time.

The Bottom Line

Revealing the gender of your little one to loved ones will be lots of fun; as will finding out the gender of your baby alongside your nearest and dearest if that's what you choose to do.

Just keep in mind that ultrasound scans aren't always 100 percent reliable in revealing your little one's sex (especially if your little one is in an unhelpful position), so there's a small chance your gender reveal will be followed by an even bigger surprise once your baby is born. All these moments are all part of the joy of the pregnancy journey. Enjoy!