Gender reveal party
We’ve had lots of questions about the gender reveal party. What does it involve, why, how and where? 🙂 So in this blog I’ll explain a bit more, and show you some more amazing photos by Linda Hemmes Photography (who you can follow on Facebook here) AND there’s a competition in which you can win some cupcakes from Zoet Goed Taarten! That’s at the bottom of this story.
And now, back in time… In 2011 I was watching a TV program called EditieNL, and there I heard about gender reveal parties for the first time, something which had blown over from America. The idea was simple: at the anomaly scan at 20 weeks (or sooner if you so choose) you ask the sonographer not to tell you the gender of the baby, but to write it on a piece of paper. That gets popped into an envelope and taken to a baker who makes a cake which is pink or blue on the inside. Together with family and friends, or whoever you choose (even just the 2 of you), you cut the cake to find out whether you’re having a boy or a girl.
Discovering the gender of your baby seemed to me like a very special moment, but I didn’t want to wait until the birth to find out. Being able to shop more specifically seemed like fun to me. 😉 Even back then I thought it would be nice to be able to give the gender reveal all your attention, rather than while lying on a table with gel on my belly. So from that moment I thought, “Maybe, one day…..”
I told everyone who wanted to know about the gender reveal cake, but not everyone was as enthusiastic as I was. Apart from a friend who was pregnant with her third child in 2012. She thought it was a great idea, and when we Googled we found out that you can make the party as big or small as you want to. My friend went big, with games, a high tea and more. It was a great day, and I took photos. You can see here how much fun it was: https://fermontfotografie.nlen/boy-girl-party
Denny and I wanted to make a real ‘moment’ of it, but also wanted to keep it simple. Simply a moment to cut the cake, in the company of a few friends and family. Lisbeth Blitz designed a gorgeous invitation for us, and then it was just a question of waiting until the big day…
I made a Pinterest board full of ideas, ordered some nice boy/girl decorations, and Denny and I talked about what we wanted the cake to look like. As a joke I’d pinned some ‘sperm cupcakes’ to my Pinterest board, but Denny was immediately very enthusiastic about them. “It’s been all about my sperm the whole time, so we may as well really make a big deal of that now!” I wanted a cake which was a bit different, and not the ‘standard’ baby cake, so I thought it was a great idea. We planned it so that the scan was on Saturday morning, and the party would be that Sunday, so I didn’t have to wait for too long. 😉 Prior to that we had an appointment with Marloes about the cake, and she had a great idea which would also take inspiration from the party invitations. Knowing that we wouldn’t hear the gender on the day of the scan also meant that it didn’t occupy our minds that day. We were focussed on the scan, and whether everything was going well with the baby (you can read a more detailed blog about the anomaly scan here).
When we go into the room for the scan, I immediately tell the sonographer our plan, and she takes her job very seriously indeed. She checks the baby over from head to toe, and when it’s time to see the gender, she turns off the screen that we can see. She also turns her own screen away from us. What an exciting moment – she knows, and we don’t! She looks at the screen for what feels like a long time, and out of curiosity I ask, “Can you see it clearly?” I want her to be completely sure, of course. But she answers, “That’s a trick question, and I’m not answering it.” Hahaha! I hadn’t thought about that, but quite often boys are much easier to spot than girls… but she reveals nothing. This was the last part of the scan, and now we’re sent back out, because she also doesn’t want us to see what she’s writing on the piece of paper. Like naughty children, we sit in the corridor until we’re allowed to go back inside. When we go back in, Denny is given the envelope that we have to pass on to Marloes from Zoet Goed Taarten. It’s strange to know that I could in theory now know what the baby is, but I’m giving that information away. And it’s even stranger to think that soon Marloes will know and we won’t.
The rest of the day I’m on Cloud Nine. I’m so glad that the anomaly scan looked good that I have plenty of patience for the wait until tomorrow. I’m in love anyway…
On the day of the party loads of friends send me messages: “Are you nervous?” No, not at all, actually. I just cannot imagine that it’s a boy, and if it is, he’s more than welcome. We’re at the location an hour early, and together with Bo and Max, Denny and I decorate the room. There’s one compulsory task for every guest. I want them all to write their name on a pink or blue piece of paper, according to what they think it will be. For those who aren’t sure, I’ve made a list of all the Old Wive’s Tales which apply to me at this time. There are pink and blue balloons, a nice table cloth, and Marloes has brought the cake and cupcakes. There are pink and blue cocktails, and a vase in which people can put their name suggestions. It all looks wonderful! Slowly people start coming in, and there are more people than I thought. I feel like I can’t talk to anyone, and just keep checking whether everyone has arrived so that we can cut the cake. The last people walk in and it’s time – we can cut it! At that moment I am terribly nervous. I’m worried that I’ll cry, no matter what the gender is, and that people will think I’m not happy about it, haha! (If you want to hear me scream you can watch the movie in this blog.) Denny and I hold the knife, and he says, “It’s like we’re getting married.” I decide that this isn;’t handy at all – he can cut the cake! It feels like it take forever! “Cut it now!” When the knife goes in and comes out, I see pink crumbs. “Yessssss!! I TOLD YOU SO!!!!” I’m screaming hysterically, haha! I knew it! Denny is standing next to me, smiling. Yippee! I give him a big kiss, and then we start handing out cake. Everyone can have a bite of sperm, haha! They don’t swim, but they do taste good. 😛
It was a lovely afternoon, and and we’d do it again in a heartbeat. It was very special!
And now the fun part: you can win a box of 12 cupcakes from Zoet Goed Taarten.
What you have to do:
- Like Zoet Goed Taaarten’s Facebook page here (and take a look at some of her fabulous cakes while you’re there)\
- Let me know on my Facebook page what event you’d like cupcakes for, and whether you know what you’d like them to look like. I’m curious!
Good luck! I’ll announce the winner on my blog next Monday.
