Gender reveal parties are pretty commonplace at this point. What's more fun than to gather together friends and family, and all find out together what the gender of a new baby will be? The cringiest gender reveal ideas put a damper on these festivities. As with most kinds of parties, there's a way to throw a classically fun, engaging celebration. And, there are all kinds of ways to throw a party that goes off the rails for all the wrong reasons. From homemade cannons to very flammable fireworks, there are lots of ideas that couples should steer clear of when planning their gender reveal.
How did gender reveal parties even start becoming a thing? It's different than a baby shower and requires a fair amount of planning. Whatever way you incorporate the “gender reveal” aspect, it has to be kept hidden from the parents and revealed to the guests in an appropriately celebratory showing. The first documented gender reveal party took place in 2008, and since then they've burgeoned in popularity. Read on to learn about the history of the gender reveal party. We'll talk about some of the cringiest, and accident-inducing ideas for a gender reveal. And stick around to learn about some more attainable and reasonable gender-reveal ideas. By the end of this, you'll have a great idea of how to throw your own gender reveal party.
The History Of The Gender Reveal Party
It's entirely possible that revealing the gender of a new baby may have been a shared event in the past. However, the first viral documentation of a gender reveal party dates to 2008. A blogger, and soon-to-be-mom named Jenna Karvunidis held a gender reveal where she cut into a pink-icing-filled cake. Her blog about the event went viral. Soon after, more and more people began to create their own “gender reveals.” But, an event that started with cutting into a colored cake, soon expanded into an array of wild, quirky, and downright dangerous kinds of gender reveals. According to CBS News, some of these highly choreographed gender reveals have put guests in danger. Others have been massively detrimental in other ways. Let's get an idea of some of the cringiest gender reveal Ideas.
The Cringiest Gender Reveals
1. Steer clear of anything involving flammable props.
You may have heard of the El Dorado, California wildfire. Well, it was started by a smoke bomb intended for a gender reveal party. That one smoke bomb burned 13,000 acres and affected some 3,000 California residents. Earlier accidents involving pyrotechnics burned 47,000 acres of an Arizona forest. This blaze cost some $8 million to douse.
For obvious reasons, no gender reveal should impact the environment to this degree. Therefore, any flammable, unnecessary props, are out. Especially when you could just cut into a delicious cake!
2. Another of the cringest gender reveals involves anything you can't easily clean up!
There are several articles online covering the number of gender reveal parties that leave trash in public parks, or natural lands. From Colorado State Parks to South Florida beaches, parties that have involved colored powder cannons, or paper confetti have wrapped up the festivities and then left behind a colorful mess. There are so many ways in which litter of this kind can impact the local wildlife, not to mention that someone is going to have to clean it up.
If you must use colored paper, or powder or cannons to celebrate the gender of your new family member, make sure it is easy to clean up or be prepared to pack those cordless vacuums, and trash bags for post-party clean up.
3. Avoid putting yourself, or your guests in danger.
A couple in Louisiana utilized their trained Alligator “Sally” in their gender reveal party. “Sally” made her debut by cracking open a watermelon that sprayed out blue jelly. While both Mike Kliebert and Rebecca Miller are trained Alligator handlers, especially without the correct supervision, an event like this could go downhill very fast.
In 2016, a couple documented their homemade cannon blasting out confetti and streamers much harder than anticipated. While the caption of the video ensures the audience that they laughed about it, someone could've definitely gotten hurt. In 2021, a gender reveal went very awry when a cannon used for shooting confetti harmed someone standing nearby.
Consider what kinds of stunts are worth pulling, and if the “virality” of a party idea is more important than the enjoyment of your guests, or the celebration of a new baby!
How To Throw An Enjoyable Gender Reveal Party
If a gender reveal party is still very much on your bucket list, there are ways to make it happen without loss of limb, littering, or liability. If the whole point of the celebration is to welcome a new baby, and to involve your friends and family, find ways to make it enjoyable and engaging.
Even the “creator” of the gender reveal party expressed that her only goal in accidentally starting it was to get others excited and involved as the due date approached. So, with this in mind, let's brainstorm some ideas on how to throw a straightforward, non-life-threatening gender reveal party:
©Sergii Sobolevskyi/Shutterstock.com
1. Order sweet treats for everyone to sample.
Recently there's been a trend where every guest is given a sweet treat that could reveal the gender. One woman handed out cake pops to every member of the family, and in a viral TikTok video, they each took a bite until somebody's showed up with pink filling. While riffing off the original gender reveal, this was a low-key way to involve everyone in the ultimate gender reveal, and enjoy some treats!
2. Make it into a game.
Another option is to make the gender reveal into a game of sorts. The parents play, but everyone who's in attendance can have a good time watching. Some couples have set up a huge game of tic-tac-toe, and under each square is a possible gender. Connect three in a row and voila! The gender is revealed!
3. Go for a unique, buyable gender reveal.
The internet has some unique gender reveal props available for purchase, that are perfectly safe to use! Check out gender-reveal candles, that are safe to burn and once they're down to the wick reveal the color related to your baby's gender. You can order specialized cakes that have compartments in the middle for a paper sign showing the baby's gender, or get one filled with colored sprinkles.
While this may be closer to the original gender reveal party than any of the more unique variations, what's wrong with enjoying a little cake and finding out your baby's gender at the same time? Sometimes classic is classic for a good reason, and at the end of the day, pretty much everyone enjoys good cake!
4. Make it fun, as a celebration, not just a gender reveal.
If having a baby shower, and a gender reveal party seems like too much, why not combine them? The bottom line is that preparing for a baby to come can already be stressful and life-changing, so the events leading up to the birth should be fun, and relaxing (if possible) for everyone involved. Gathering your friends and family together can absolutely be centered around a gender reveal, but find ways to make it about yourself and your guests as well.
Get the food you enjoy, or bake treats you want to eat. Think of activities the guests can do outside of the main event. Baby names from A-Z or baby bingo cards can be a way to engage guests of all ages. Play a round of “guess the size of the bump,” or take guesses on what the baby's birthday will actually be. Make it fun for all involved, avoid the cringiest gender reveal party ideas, and enjoy some cake—this will surely be a fun celebration of your new baby.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©aprilante/Shutterstock.com.