10 Common Gender Reveal Party Mistakes to Avoid

It’s not an easy task to plan a gender reveal party. You have to think about how you’ll announce the gender, what games or activities you will play, and what kind of food and decorations are appropriate. But more than that, it takes careful planning to avoid some of the most common mistakes people make when throwing a gender reveal party.

Check out these ten common mistakes people make when hosting their own gender reveal parties, as well as tips on how you can avoid them!

Not having a backup plan.

Giving away the gender too early

The next common gender reveals mistake is to give away the gender too early. Many people choose to give away clues about their baby’s gender on social media or even send out an email before they’ve planned a party. However, this can lead to disappointment if you don’t have any plans for a reveal event! The best way around it is to not say anything until after your party and announce the gender there.

Holding back on the decorations

Another gender reveals mistake is not getting enough decorations. This can be due to a lack of time or creativity, but you must have about a million choices imaginable for your party’s theme and colors! The best way to do this is to make one or two of them the focal point (such as a cake, balloon archway, or banner) and then fill up your party space with other decorations.

Some other decoration ideas for your gender reveal party are:

• Balloons
• Confetti shot from cannons.
• Cake
• Gender reveal banner
• Streamers
• Paper lanterns
• Gold or silver balloons
• Gender reveal paper plates.
• Signs with “It’s a boy!” for boys and “It’s a girl!” for girls
• Flashing lights around the party space so you can see everyone dancing even when it gets dark.
• Colored light bulbs in chandeliers, lamps, or other light fixtures
• Gender reveal party hats.
• Glow sticks or flashing necklaces to make it a rave themed gender reveal
• Mason jars with colored water and floating tea lights on the tables for an outdoor event
• Balloons that spell out “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” inside of them. They can be attached to the ceiling or just scattered around.

Gender Reveal Parties Don’t Have to Be Just Pink or Blue.

It’s easy to think that you need to stick with pink or blue when having a gender reveal party, but there are many other colors and themes out there. For example:

Themes can include all about the baby (such as what they’ll be doing after high school), where their favorite food is from, animals they like, or even their favorite color.

Colors can be any color you want. For example, many people choose to do white and gold if they’re not announcing the gender at a party.

Some other common gender reveals color themes (that aren’t pink or blue) are:

• purple and pink
• blue and yellow
• green and orange
• black or gray to represent a baby boy, but with rainbow colors for the reveal (or vice versa)

If you’re not sure what colors or theme you should choose, it’s okay to go neutral. You can always change it later!

Forgetting to get important people involved, like your partner’s family members.

Many people forget to get their partner’s family members involved in the party. They might think that they’re not necessary or are too far away, but this is an important part of a gender reveal! To make sure you include them for the big day, it’s best to invite them on Facebook, send out invitations with plenty of time to spare and make sure they know to bring their kids if possible.

Once you invite them to the party, the next step is to get them involved. Some ways in which you can get the in-laws or other family members involved in planning your gender reveal are:

• Send them links to gender reveal party ideas.
• Ask for their help in filling out the guest list
• Find out what they would like to do at the party and assign them a job doing what they’d like
• Give them some input on decorations or other aspects of your gender reveal so it’s more memorable for everyone involved.

You can also give them a gift to open during the party, such as:

• A baby onesie that says “It’s a girl!” or “It’s a boy!” on it
• A bracelet with their grandchild’s name spelled out in beads (or anything else you know they would like)
• A journal that says, “Love the one you’re with.”
• Anything from their favorite store or restaurant, like a teddy bear from Build-A-Bear Workshop.

This way, they will feel even more involved with your gender reveal party, and it will be easier to remember who gave them what so you can thank them!

You can also offer to them to bring the food for the party, which helps you out and gives you an idea of their favorite cuisine.

Messing up the cake

When it comes to gender reveal cakes, there’s a lot of room for disaster.

One common mistake is when the baker pops out the cake and reveals that they used chocolate frosting instead of vanilla because “the customer said so.” Another one is forgetting to write ‘It’s a boy!’ or ‘It’s a girl!’ on the cake before serving (or you just wrote in marker). And finally, people can make mistakes with their writing too: we’ve seen everything from ‘Congrats! It’s a grandma’ written on top of an otherwise perfect cake to spelling errors like “gril” instead of “girl.”

Fortunately, it’s not too hard to avoid these mistakes!

One thing you can do is plan ahead and write the cake message in pencil first before filling it out with icing. That way, if you make any mistakes or need to change your mind about what it should say, you won’t have written over the whole cake that needs to be thrown away.

You might also want to ask your baker for more specific instructions on how they will deliver the cake (to keep it safe) and when they’ll put it together, so there aren’t any surprises at your party.

Finally, don’t forget to take a picture of yourself, putting up decorations before people arrive just in case something goes wrong during decorating time! This way, if something goes haywire before your guests arrive, at least you’ll have a photo to share.

Forgetting to tell everyone that you’re revealing the gender

I remember this one time that I went to a gender reveal party for my coworker’s sister. The cake had a picture of the baby’s ultrasound, and it was decorated like there was already a baby bump on the cake.

The host passed out all of the cupcakes but forgot to tell everyone that this was the big moment and that the cupcakes were actually colored inside pink to let them know that she and Jake (her husband) were going to be having a baby girl.

The entire time, we had no idea what was going on. The only reason I knew is that my coworker told me after the party.

This can be prevented by making sure everyone knows beforehand that you are planning to do a gender reveal (especially if you’re using cakes or some other food to let guests know the gender of your baby).

You can’t make this next one up!

I was at one of my cousin’s gender reveal parties and was talking to her husband Aaron’s mom and dad. Then all of a sudden, there was a loud boom followed by the prettiest blue flash in the sky. It wasn’t until after I regained my composure (and Aaron’s dad out of the bushes) that I realized that it the actual gender reveal and that they were going to have a new baby boy.

It’s hard to believe that someone could forget this! But if you do want something flashy like fireworks, make sure they’re on the agenda beforehand, so no one has to get startled.

Many people might think that forgetting to announce the gender reveal is hard to forget, but it’s actually not. People can get wrapped up in the excitement so much that they forget the reason for the event, revealing the baby’s gender.

Forgetting to decorate

The only thing worse than skimping on the decorations for the party is forgetting to decorate at all.

Believe it or not, it happens!

I remember this one time where I was supposed to be helping my friend, and her parents set up for her gender reveal party. We were decorating the table, and there were all these pink balloons everywhere, but we didn’t see any blue ones anywhere.

It wasn’t until after everyone arrived that she realized I had forgotten about them! If you’re having a gender-reveal party at someone’s house, make sure you know where the decorations are before you head over.

This is an easy one to forget about if you’re busy with other things. Make a list of what needs to be done and check it off as you go so there’s no chance that someone can call out “surprise!” without seeing any of it.

Don’t just focus on decorating around the cake, either. Here are some other areas that you should pay attention to when decorating for a gender reveal party:

• The front door – it’s the first thing people see when they come in.
• The buffet table – it should be a mixture of both colors to represent both genders.
• The cake stand – this is your big reveal. Think about what color you want for that too!
• The patio – add something to make it pop.
• The gender reveal cake – this is your big moment.
• Your mailbox – gender reveals don’t always have to happen at the party.

Giving the party props to little children

Be sure no little hands can get a hold of the gender reveal props and spoil the surprise. Your toddler, for instance, might jump up and pop your balloon while you’re walking into a party or other event where it’s being revealed!

Or what if you’re using a cake to reveal the gender. If your little one is fascinated by the cake, they might take a bite out of it and ruin everything.

This can be prevented with some simple precautions, such as ensuring that all props are put up high on shelves or in cabinets when not in use.

It’s also a good idea to keep them hidden from children who don’t know what they are and might want to touch them.

An excellent way to tell if a kid is curious about the props without letting on that they’re for your gender reveal party is by using some of these ways:

• Use decorations with both colors, so adults know what’s going on, but children think it was just an ordinary decoration like any other party.
• Use some of the decorations to cover up the prop you’re not ready for children to see yet.
• Put a sign on top of your cake that says, “sorry, this is only for adults right now!”
• Use cake stands that are high enough so kids can’t reach them.

These are all great ways to allow little ones at your gender reveal party without them knowing!

Making your own explosives

This is a mistake that can be avoided by hiring an expert.

Hiring someone who knows what they’re doing to set off your fireworks will ensure you don’t have problems like the ones below:

And then there’s the case of the man who exploded around 80 pounds of explosives at a gender reveal party in New Hampshire that rocked the entire neighborhood. People for miles around thought that a bomb had gone off! (He was charged with disorderly conduct “due to the fact that he caused public alarm,” by the way).

If you want to be sure that your party is a success, hire someone who knows what they’re doing.

Being too hard on yourself

At some point, you may rewatch your gender reveal video on Youtube or something and think to yourself, “I look miserable.” Or maybe you began ugly crying when you found out that it was a girl, but all the boy names you picked out were perfect. 

Once you find out the gender of your baby, it can be hard to contain all the emotions that come with such an exciting announcement. Some people may feel joy and delight, while others are disappointed if they wanted a different result. Feelings like these are normal – after all, having children is one of life’s most important decisions!

Picking the wrong venue

Picking the wrong venue can lead to a lot of disappointment.

Your guests may be confused about why gender reveal decorations are in an otherwise neutral space like your home or office. Or, they will be freaked out when you pop off pink smoke bombs in your kitchen to let them know it’s a girl.

We recommend picking a venue that is gender-neutral and has plenty of room for your guests.

Check out our list of ultimate gender reveal venues in Livingston Parish

Just make sure to call ahead so you can reserve it before someone else gets there first.

Forgetting the props

Be sure to go through your party list with the gender reveal coordinator or event planner before you start decorating.

This way, they can ensure that all of the props are accounted for and ready to be set up on time. 

If not, it’s best to have backup plans in place, so things don’t get too hectic.

This also includes food and games.

For instance, if you’re going to do a gender reveal piñata with pink or blue candy, be sure that the coordinator has enough of both colors on hand so that it can be filled up in time for your party.

Selecting a blabbermouth to keep the secret

Don’t let Aunt Betty know the baby’s gender beforehand if she can’t keep a secret.

If the gender reveal party is a surprise, it’s essential to make sure that your guests know this fact.

How can you do this? By sending out invitations or emails with clear language such as “Please note: This event will be a secret until we announce what we’re celebrating.”

This way, people don’t feel the need to ask, “Is it a boy or girl?” while you’re trying to enjoy yourself, and your guests can enjoy themselves without knowing what’s coming.

This also ensures that Aunt Betty won’t be spilling all of the beans!

Peeking

If the reveal isn’t just for your guests, then you should avoid the temptation to take a peek before the big moment.

Once you find out, it’s hard to keep the secret from your other half and coworkers – trust us!

It’s best to take a deep breath and remind yourself that you’ll only have one chance at this.

Instead of peeking and finding out your baby’s gender beforehand, we recommend picking up a copy of What To Expect When You’re Expecting and reading it cover to cover.

This will help you prepare for the big moment, make sure that your baby is healthy, and give you some great tips on how to handle morning sickness as well as other motherhood challenges!

Now you’ll know what’s coming!

Are you pregnant and trying to figure out what your baby’s gender is?

We know that the anticipation of finding out your baby’s gender can be a little overwhelming. That’s why we offer Sneek Peek clinical ultrasounds where you’ll get to find out what you’re having as early as 7-weeks into your pregnancy.

You’ll have peace of mind and be better prepared to throw a gender reveal party (and avoid the gender reveal mistakes above).

Schedule your Sneak Peek Clinical today!