At the 20-week ultrasound, you’ll at last get to learn the sex of your baby. But instead of just a casual mention at the doctor’s office, the latest trend in entertaining is the gender-reveal party. The ultrasound tech puts the answer of the sex of your baby in a sealed envelope, and you pass it on to a trusted friend who coordinates a surprise party where everyone finds out together. As we discovered, it can be as simple as a family gathering — or an all-out soiree.
Guests pick Team Boy or Team Girl with themes like Moustaches vs. Red Lips, Neckties vs. Hair Bows, and Mickey vs. Minnie. Fun activities include sipping signature beverages (virgin for mommy, how ironic) and charting old wives tales — carrying high or low, heart rate fast or slow, or the Chinese gender calendar. After tallying the votes, everyone gathers around for the big reveal. Here are some unique ways local parents have discovered what color to paint the nursery.
Here's the Buzz —
Ben and Julie Hollis are having a girl
“What Will It Bee?” was the theme for Ben and Julie Hollis’ party, held at a home in Central Gardens. The table spread included all of Julie’s cravings — from Thai food to blueberry pancakes — along with jars of local honey for take-home favors. Susan McCanless of JPress Designs created invitations, team boy/girl honeycomb fans, and cards for the “Wishing Tree” made of pussy willows in a large vase.
Guests wrote down their wishes for baby and hung them from the tree with clothespins. Ben and Julie learned the sex of their baby bundle when they opened a huge yellow box. Out floated — a bouquet of pink balloons.
Above: Pick your team fans. Below: Yummy treats and drinks. Says Julie, “We thought it was a girl the whole time.”
Invitations & Wishing Tree cards: jpressdesigns.com
Blue and Pink Elephants —
Josh and Brittany Germany are having a boy
When this Midtown couple found out the sex of their second child at the doctor’s office, they wanted a unique way to announce the news to family and friends. So Brittany Germany used Photoshop to make invitations, a banner, and a voting tally sheet featuring a pink vs. blue elephant theme. She converted a plain white paper lantern into a colorful piñata with turquoise and pink crepe paper.
Brittany used a circle of freezer paper as a plug for the round hole in the bottom and attached a string. At the party, 2-year-old son, J.J., pulled the string, and out poured a shower of blue confetti.
“The girl who had the tutorial on making a piñata from a paper lantern must have been a DIY goddess, but we came up with a pretty good attempt in the end,” says Brittany.
Pinata: ohhappyday.com/2012/01/diy-surprise-lantern
Bunny Has a Secret —
Foley and Robby Holditch are having a girl
The Runaway Bunny was Foley Holditch’s favorite book as a child. So the couple discovered the sex of their baby by slicing into this fabulous, cream cheese-frosted bunny cake. Mary Helen Hawkins, a chef instructor for Viking, received the sealed envelope, then baked and decorated the cake, right down to it’s winking M & M eyes.
Of course, she kept the flavor a secret. So at their reveal, surrounded by guests wearing pink and blue, Foley sliced into the cake to discover — it was bright strawberry pink.
“My friend, a graphic designer, did the invitations and also took pictures at our party. Now they’re featured on her blog,” says Foley.
Invitations and pics: catherineannherrington.blogspot.com/2012/04/baby-holditch-gender-reveal-party.html