Baby Shower vs Gender Reveal Party
So, you’re having a baby. Congratulations on being a new mom! This alone is a great reason to throw a party and share the excitement with your family and friends. The next question is a Baby Shower vs Gender Reveal Party!
Many first-time moms will either have a Baby Shower or a Gender Reveal, and some may even have both. So, which is which? And which one should you have? If this is what you have been wondering about, worry no more. Here are our thoughts on a Baby Shower vs Gender Reveal Party to help you come to a decision!
Baby Shower vs Gender Reveal Party: What’s the Difference?
A Baby Shower is an occasion held in honor of you as a mom-to-be to celebrate the forthcoming arrival of your new baby. During this occasion, your friends and family will shower you with gifts for the baby.
On the other hand, a Gender Reveal Party is an event where you reveal the biological gender of your baby to family and friends. Usually, the reveal will also be news to you as the parents as you will enlist the help of a close friend or family member to plan the reveal and keep the baby’s gender a secret.
Baby Showers have been taking place for decades while Gender Reveals are fairly new thing. Another key distinction is in the planning process. For Baby Showers, although you can take part in the planning as the expectant mom, friends and family will typically organize everything to surprise you. In most cases, your best friend will plan the event, book the venue, and take care of all the expenses with the help of the rest of your friends without involving you at all.
This is different for Gender Reveals. They are usually organized by the expectant parents, who also decide who to invite.
On top of that, gift-giving is the main idea behind Baby Showers. With Gender Reveals, your guests can’t buy gender-specific gifts. If you opt to have both parties at the same time, people will be forced to bring unisex gifts.
Lastly, Baby Showers are typically female-only events while anyone can be invited to Gender Reveal Parties.
Can you have a Baby Shower and a Gender Reveal Party?
Yes. A lot of parents these days are choosing to have the best of both worlds; a Baby Shower for the mom-to-be and also a Gender Reveal.
Here are a few interesting statistics from a survey carried out by WeddingBee.com:
- Baby shower only- 40%
- Combined baby shower and gender reveal party– 33%
- Separate baby shower and gender reveal party– 25%
- Gender reveal party only- 2%
This survey shows that while a lot of people still prefer Baby Showers, Gender Reveals are becoming more and more popular. Additionally, most parents would prefer to have a single party for their baby; either a Baby Shower only or combined Baby Shower and Gender Reveal Party.
If you choose to have your Gender Reveal and Baby Shower as one party, you have to be careful about your guestlist. If it is an all-girls event, try to find a way to consider the father-to-be.
Why Have a Baby Shower?
Baby Showers are usually held about six weeks before the due date. This gives your guests time to share their enjoyment with you and also to offer you and baby gifts and good wishes before delivery.
Typically, they last about two or three hours. This is just enough time for guests to enjoy a meal and present gifts and not so long that the mom-to-be feels overexerted.
You can also decide to have a Baby Shower after the baby’s delivery. This mostly happens if you do not want to reveal the baby’s gender and do not want gender-neutral gifts.
Things to Consider When Planning a Baby Shower
- Carefully select the date and time to hold the party.
- Establish the visitors list and the budget.
- Select a venue that will be convenient for the mom-to-be as well as the guests.
- Send the invitations earlier enough. Guests should receive the invitations six weeks before the event date.
- Settle on the menu and décor.
- Organize the day’s activities.
Why Have a Gender Reveal Party?
Gender Reveals are now a thing because technology has made it possible to know the sex of a baby prior to delivery. The party is usually held before the baby shower, at around 20 weeks of pregnancy.
It symbolically employs the color blue to represent a boy or pink for a girl. The color is usually concealed in a piñata, a cake, balloons, or something similar. The party will also have lots of gender prediction games and activities.
Substitute gender symbols are bows and bow ties, bucks and does, or softballs and baseballs. Here are a few other ways to do your gender reveal:
- Painting the baby bump blue or pink
- Release of balloons from a box
- Spraying silly string in the air in the color of the gender
- A creative family photo
- Use of confetti
- Gender reveal bonfire or color bombs
Why Should You Have a Baby Shower-Gender Reveal Party?
You can choose to combine your Baby Shower and Gender Reveal Party into one event for various reasons:
- If you do not have enough time to plan them separately
- Perhaps you live far from your family and friends and you don’t want to bother them to travel twice for the events
- You want to have a memorable event so you decide to combine the two to manage your resources more efficiently
- If you feel that holding two parties for yourself is too demanding to your friends and family
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, whether you decide to have a Baby Shower, a Gender Reveal Party, both of these or a combination of them is entirely up to you. This is your baby so you get to make this decision! Figure out what works for you, and when that time comes, be sure to make it memorable. Take lots of pictures and videos, you are going to treasure them for the rest of your life!
We hope this Baby Shower vs Gender Reveal Party post has helped you figure out what you need to go for. Good luck!
About Author
Jane Sheriff is the founder, creative director, party planner and mom of three. She started Darling Celebrations back in 2012 to share easy and beautiful ideas for celebrating the special events in life.
