A gender reveal party is an event where the sex of a baby is revealed to family and friends, and often to the parents at the same time too. Whilst at a baby shower you celebrate the expected birth of your baby, at a gender reveal party you celebrate revealing whether you're going to have a boy or a girl.
Pop to See" balloons and have grandparents pop them and fill the air with pink or blue confetti. We can also use a gender reveal balloon garland or use balloons that spell out a message, such as "It's a boy" or "It's a girl." Balloons are a wonderful way to celebrate with grandparents.
Generally, the expecting parents will have the gender results in an envelope that they hand off to a trusted family member or friend to keep secret until the big reveal. This person is responsible for keeping the baby's gender a secret from the other guests until it's time for the big reveal.
Who typically hosts the party? Typically, the expecting couple hosts the gender reveal party. We know — that's one more thing on your plate as you prepare for the new baby. But the good news is that, compared to the baby shower, it's typically a less formal affair.
You also could pass out individual cupcakes with colored frosting inside and have guests bite into their cupcakes at the same time for the big reveal. Note that parents don't necessarily have to know the sex of their baby prior to the party. In fact, many parents opt to find out right with their guests.
When should you have a gender reveal party? A gender reveal party usually takes place during the second trimester — after NIPT, CVS or amniocentisis (as early as 10 weeks) or an ultrasound after week 13.
Technologies introduced in the 1970s that allowed for identification of fetal sex in utero have become increasingly become more affordable, less technically demanding, and less invasive. Ultrasound is the most common method, and is used to determine sex at around 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Writing for FiveThirtyEight.com Mona Chalabi crunched the numbers and came up with some surprising statistics. She looked at two studies - the first from Harvard Medical School that showed 58 percent of women and 58 percent of men said they had found out or planned to find out the sex of their baby. Nice and even huh?
In short, bringing a gift to a gender reveal party is certainly appreciated, but not required. "Gift-giving is a personal choice and so is the amount you spend on the gift," says etiquette trainer Suzy Lins. "Keep in mind that gifts don't need to be expensive to be thoughtful."
It's all about Dad's genes
When I tell patients there's about a 50/50 chance for either sex, I also tell them the father's genes determine the baby's sex since some of his sperm carries X chromosomes and some carries Y chromosomes.
Hire a photographer and set up a gender-reveal photo shoot. You can dress in pink or blue and hold up signs, balloons, or anything else that will announce baby's gender. When you get the images from the shoot, make them into cards for family or post them to social media for everyone to see.
Therefore, one of best twists on the concept that I have seen, was a 'reverse gender reveal'. The concept is the similar but instead of nobody knowing the sex of the baby, all the invited guests were told in advance. The reasoning being that the guests were the ones who would tell the expecting parents.
Planning a gender reveal party typically takes place closer to 20 weeks, but some couples may hold the event at 12 weeks, believing that the results will be more accurate.
“Sometimes there isn't enough fetal genetic material in the mother's bloodstream to get an accurate reading, which could happen when blood is drawn too early in the pregnancy,” he says. But when conducted at the right time, NIPT is very rarely wrong, at about 99 percent accurate.
At a gender reveal party, expecting parents celebrate whether they're having a bouncing baby boy or a beautiful baby girl. Typically, there are three gender reveal ideas for the party: Parents know their baby's gender but the guests do not. The parents are surprised along with their guests.
Most gender reveal parties are limited to family and close friends, though it really depends on the couple and what they wish to celebrate. Because baby showers are usually reserved for the mother's and her girl friends, this celebration is a good time to include more male friends.
Most often, the host pays for the baby shower. This is not always one person. For example, several aunts and cousins might cover the full tab of a shower at a restaurant, or a group of coworkers may help coordinate all the decorations, food and fun.
Typically, a gender reveals party has finger food and not a full-fledged buffet.
To wear pink or blue clothing is common at a gender reveal party [1]. If you want a gender-neutral theme, you must choose a dress in light beige, cream, green, lilac, yellow, or silver. Using them is also wise since they look more formal and casual.
In the end it comes down to sharing our gender reveal with those we feel close to or those we want to celebrate with. There is no right or wrong number of people to invite. If we all can enjoy the celebration, we are golden.
Although males are typically the dominant sex in mammals, the authors note that females obtain power differently than their male counterparts, and that this power depends on the type of mating system the species employs.