OVER the years several major baby milestones have marked the path to parenthood with different celebrations held along the way.
These include the initial pregnancy announcement, a maternity photo shoot, and in more recent years, the big gender reveal party has slotted its way either before or with the baby shower.
How the reveal is done all depends on the couple or mom-to-be.
Some opt to keep things simple with an intimate reveal among family and close friends, or an announcement/reveal via videos or photographs released on their social media accounts.
Popular examples over the years have included a couple or the mom-to-be cutting into a cake (where the colour of the sponge or icing on the inside reveals the baby’s gender, for example blue or pink icing or sponge).
Shooting off a confetti cannon or popping balloons, which will release confetti coloured accordingly to the baby’s sex, have also been popular.
Elaine Anirudh, the owner of The Partyshop Events in uMhlanga, said there had been an uptick in gender reveals among younger couples in recent years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic as they were more intimate affairs.
“A reveal can be planned as soon as the doctor is able to tell the sex of the baby. Usually the parents-to-be would ask their doctor to write the baby’s sex down on a piece of paper and this is then handed to the event planner.
“A reveal is a personal choice in terms of whether the families want to have an intimate reveal or a bigger event. Some parents-to-be also opt to combine their reveals and baby showers in one where they would do the baby shower first and then the gender reveal. But most people prefer to know the sex of their baby before the shower nowadays.”
Anirudh said how the reveal was done was also a personal choice.
“Some families opt to use the balloon, confetti cannon and cake reveals. Others have done things differently. We have arranged requests for a few different methods, including a cupboard reveal and an engine revving reveal.”
According to Wikipedia.com, the gender-reveal practice originated in the United States during the late 2000s.
“The trend was popularised on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest, although it originated before the latter two. Primarily, the focus on gender-reveal parties is fetal sex, while baby showers focus on the giving of supplies.”
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