Entertain | July 2015

Bowties or Bows? 

Savor the Surprise with a gender reveal party

Story by Michelle Hope | Photography by Peter Conrey

Boy or Girl..... Revealing the announcement with a stylish shindig!

Whether it is your first baby or your fourth – a celebration to reveal whether you’re having a boy or a girl is exciting and fun for everyone invited. Here are the details from a recent spring party to give you some ideas and help you plan one for yourself or someone you love.

Theme & Decor

There are so many cute themes to choose from for a gender reveal party, it might be hard to narrow it down to just one. Bows and Bowties was the final decision, mainly because there are lots of options for decor and details using bows that are economical and DIY friendly.

The “big reveal” and how we chose to unveil it was at the forefront of the theme. You should enlist a friend or trusted family member to retrieve your gender results and be in charge of that aspect of the party. We decided to use a giant Mylar baby balloon that would have a bow tie around its neck or a hair bow on its head to reveal the gender. The balloon was filled with helium, weighted, and placed inside a large box (which was wrapped with cute paper and tied with a bow — of course!) along with a chalk board that proclaimed “It’s a boy” on one side and a large blue bow-tie on the other side.

A gender neutral color palette of turquoise, pink and yellow gave the party whimsical flare. Some of the decor included a DIY bowtie pasta garland and a large bow tie made of fresh florals by Holliday’s Flowers. Guests were told to choose a pink or turquoise bow tie pin to wear upon arrival, based on what they thought the baby’s gender was.

Food to Fit the Mood 

Pizza served from boxes wrapped in giant bows was a crowd pleaser and BLT bow tie pasta salad & fruit salad were served in little cups for easy pick up sides. A mini dessert buffet was the icing on the cake - pun intended! Bundtini’s by Nothing Bunt Cakes, Cake Pops by Cookies and Cakes for Goodness Sakes, and Bow/Bowtie-shaped Sugar Cookies by The Painted Cookie left everyone with a sugar rush. 

We also had “It’s a boy” signage handwritten by Nicole Baldridge Designs in the bundtini cake liners and the cake pops revealed blue inside once eaten. Those were just other fun ways to reveal the gender and could have been done on their own as well. Just make sure no one eats dessert until you are ready to reveal!

Making Memories

The best part of the reveal was having photographer Peter Conrey of Creation Studios there to capture our guests’ reactions. We have family out of town and several close friends that could not make the party, so we could share it with them through our photos. For us, this was a second baby and our daughter (the big sister) had so much fun planning this party. It was the perfect way to celebrate our baby boy for the first time! Celebrations are truly about making memories and memories are priceless, so start planning your party today.