Gender Reveal Dinner

I don't know if you know this but I love to throw parties. With that said, baby showers and wedding showers are probably my least favorite to attend. I like having things relaxed and fun so when I do throw them I try to make it more of a social than lots of games. But that's just me. Since I'm currently pregnant with my third child I wanted to throw a party for the baby. I wanted one that would include all of our family not just the women, since Jed refuses to have a co-ed baby shower (I personally think they're more fun). So for this little bundle of joy, I did a gender reveal dinner.

I wanted to have neutral colors with hints of pink and blue, so I did a yellow and white chevron design with a black chalkboard for the background. I chose to go with chalk writing (chalkduster) because I wanted to tie in our "we're expecting" announcements too (above).

I think it was a lot of fun and I think it was a great way to get everyone excited about it. I sent out packages to family that lives far away so they could be included in the game. I sent a pink tiara and a mini bowler hat with simple instructions to put in their votes.

Here are their results:

Since this was just a dinner, I kept the decorating to a minimum, especially since we had it over at my in laws' house. I made centerpieces for the tables. I filled vases with different candy that could be a description of the baby and yellow flowers.  (Note to candy corporations: come up with a candy name that can pass as a girls name.)

For the actual dinner, I had a buffet of foods that I have been craving throughout this pregnancy. 

I had everyone tally their vote on a box that I painted with chalkboard paint. Afterwards, I had them get into the groups that they thought it would be. I then passed out their props so they wouldn't be guessing because they didn't want to wear a tiara. The groups were evenly split.

After dinner we played a game. I had a list of "old wives tales" and we went through them to see what it would predict we were having. It predicted a girl.

Here's a list of the questions and answers:

1.            Do you crave the heals of bread or the middle?

Heals: Boy

Middle: Girl

2.            Hands Chapped/Dry or Softer?

Chapped: Boy

Softer: Girl

3.            Eating more or sick/nauseated?

Eating more: Boy

Sick: Girl

4.            Can people tell you are pregnant from the back?  Or are you pregnant all over?

Just from back:  Boy

All over: Girl

5.            During the pregnancy, have you been crabby or happy?

Crabby: girl

Happy: boy

6.            Carrying low or high?

Low: Boy

High: Girl

7.            Do you crave sweet foods or sour/salty foods?

Salty/Sour: Boy

Sweet: Girl

8.              Is the heartbeat high or low:

High: Girl

Low: Boy

9.              Which side do you lay on when resting:

Left: Boy

Right: Girl

10.            During the pregnancy, have you been clumsy or graceful?

Clumsy: Boy

Graceful: Girl

11.            Show me your hands.

Shows them palms up: Girl

Shows them palms down: Boy

12.            Has the husband put on weight during the pregnancy?

Yes: Girl

No: Boy

13.              Pick up a single key.

Picks it up by the long narrow part: Girl

Picks it up by the round part: Boy

Picks it up in the middle: Twins

14.              Did the older sibling say Mom or Dad first?

Mama: Girl

Dada: Boy

15.              Consider the Mother’s age at conception and the year or conception.

Both even or Both odd: Girl

One is even and one is odd: Boy

The kids by this time were really anxious to know what we were having and what was inside the box. 

For the actual reveal, I decided to do balloons because it was easier to do; plus for the baby's first birthday I'm planning on a balloon themed party (yes I know it's ridiculous that I already have the theme, but I have themes planned until all my kids are at least five and that includes the kids to come). I have seen it where people revealed it by making cakes or cupcakes and have the filling inside either pink or blue. (We did this for Jed for work) 

Jed's big contribution to the party was that he really wanted to pass out candy cigars as party favors. Since this was his only request of course we did it. I found chocolate cigars on Amazon with the best deal.