Are you wondering how to decorate for a gender reveal party? You’re not on your own because these parties are becoming more and more popular in Australia; parents no longer want to wait until the birth to share the gender of their new little one. Just telling people is no longer enough – now we want to throw a party and celebrate!

It’s all good fun and if you have been asked to organise a reveal party for your friend or relative, you need to find out everything there is to know about these parties. Starting with - what is a gender reveal party anyway?

What is a gender reveal party?

It’s a celebration! A way to dramatically share the gender of your friend’s soon-to-be-born baby with their friends and family. It’s not the same as a baby shower, however, where everyone ‘showers’ the mum-to-be with gifts for their new baby, this celebration is purely to share and celebrate the gender of your friend’s baby with everyone.

So if you are hoping to organise your friend’s celebration, let’s, first of all, take a look at how to host a gender reveal party successfully and then explore some of the more popular gender reveal ideas and decorations.

How to host a gender reveal party

Before you spend time organising the reveal party, you first need to confirm that your friend has had the gender confirmed by an ultrasound scan. Whilst these scans aren’t infallible, they are just about the only way your friend is going to know the gender of her baby, so it’s a vital step in the process.

Once you are totally sure of the baby’s gender, lots of ideas about how to decorate for a gender reveal party will shoot straight to the top of your priority list! Of course, if your friend is having twins of different genders, then things are going to get a bit complicated, but wouldn’t that be even more fun?

With the gender of your friend’s baby to hand, you need to pick a theme for the celebration, then set a date and time, send out invitations, decide on the drinks and food, and think about organising some activities and games for the big day. Phew! So now one of the biggest questions you will need to answer is - how is the actual gender of the baby going to be revealed to everyone? Let’s start with looking at five of the most adorable gender reveal ideas and then move on to looking at some lovely party decorations you can arrange around the room or patio on the big day.

1. Cupcake reveals

Cupcakes are one of the best girl or boy gender reveal ideas because all you need are cupcakes! So create your cupcake batter as normal, but also bake a pink or blue sponge as well (whichever one indicates the gender of the baby). Cut up this coloured sponge into small squares then pop them inside the cupcake batter so that it’s hidden inside. Ice your cupcakes as normal using white icing, giving nothing about the baby’s gender away! When everyone bites into their cupcake they will see the gender of your friend’s baby.

2. Balloon reveals

Everyone loves balloons, so why not use them as the gender reveal? These are one of the most popular girl and boy gender reveal ideas, simply because all you need is lots of pink or blue helium balloons and a large box. You do need a very big box, however, so source one from your local moving company, unless you have one hidden away in the garage. You can cover the box with blue and pink colours, gift wrap, images and photos, and you’re your friend can dramatically open the box at the right time and all the balloons will rise out of the box, revealing the gender of their baby.

3. Piñata reveals

A celebration isn’t complete without at least one Piñata! Hang your Piñata under the patio or from a tree in the garden, fill it with blue or pink confetti, sweets, bows and streamers, and when they whack the Piñata – all these goodies will stream out revealing the gender of your friend’s baby!

4. Silly string reveals

Silly string is one of those party tricks that turns everyone into little kids again! The most exciting reveal is when you give each of the guests a can of silly string and they spray the happy couple with it – revealing the colour of their little one. So that no-one discovers the colour of the silly string before time, you will need to cover the outside of the cans with cardboard or just remove the coloured lids if the colour isn’t written on the can.

5. Confetti reveals

Shooting a cannon of blue or pink confetti is a very popular way to announce the gender of a baby. Everyone loves to be showered in confetti and it’s a very simple, but a crazy way to celebrate your friend’s baby’s gender on the big day.

Gender reveal party decorations

No party is complete without a few decorations, but what decorations are suitable for a gender reveal party? Well, if you are hosting the party at home, you can have one room decorated in pink or blue where everyone will gather after the reveal to eat and drink (remember to restrict access to this room or the game will be up!).

In this room, and after everyone knows the gender of your friend’s baby, you can have a large glass urn of pink or blue lemonade, a big celebration cake with pink or blue icing, lots of pink or blue confetti-filled balloons, flowers and tableware to match.

In another room or in the garden your gender reveal party decorations can include a large sign asking, ‘Boy or Girl?’ or you could focus on honeybee decorations and ask, ‘what will it bee?’. Even a banner that reads ‘Pink or Blue – We Love You’.

There are lots of other gender reveal ideas you can brainstorm for your friend’s celebration – and check out the large range of decorations and accessories at Costume Box for even more inspiration.