A colleague is pregnant. She is about to find out the sex of the baby. All she is talking about is the planning of the gender reveal party. Gender Reveal Party? My youngest grandson is three, and this is new to me!
Of course, I asked her all about it. The prospective parents get the ultrasound that reveals the sex of the baby in a sealed envelope which they bring to a baker. They select a gender reveal cake. Yes, this is a new industry for bakers. The baker will make the inside of the cake pink or blue (food coloring, I actually asked how) and only the baker will know the inside color and sex of the baby. There are apparently other ways to do this cheaper on the hundreds of websites about gender reveal parties. More about this to come.
The party is planned for soon after the ultrasound appointment. This colleague’s gender reveal party is four days after the ultrasound. I guess it depends on how impatient the parents are to know the sex and how fast the baker can bake and decorate the elaborate cake. Google “gender reveal cake” to see these amazing cakes!
This colleague is having a BIG event with lots of friends and family. I asked if this takes the place of a baby shower, and got a weird look. Apparently, at a gender reveal party, it is the prospective parents who get presents and not the prospective baby! The baby shower comes later in the pregnancy.
Of course, there are games and prizes. She is giving out numbered lollipops, pink or blue, to those guests who pick girl or boy before the big reveal. The numbers go into a “hat.” After the cake is cut, and I assume this is done early for anxious parents, they pick a number from the hat of the winning side. The winner gets a prize.
The colleague is as excited about the party as learning the sex of the baby. This is the first baby grandchild in the family, she said, and a good way to tell everyone at once. No hard feelings about who was called first to tell the sex. This is as good a reason as any for a party to celebrate a new baby, it seems.
This Grandma was curious. Is this “gender reveal party” a mainstream and common occurrence in 2014? I went on the internet. A gender reveal party is BIG business and also generates BIG commentary pro and con. There are articles on how to plan the party, such as How to Host a Gender Reveal Party.
There are party plates and accessories such as found on Amazon.
Whether or not to ask for or bring gifts is a BIG issue for discussion on the internet.
I asked the colleague for gift ideas and we brainstormed and came up with: baby bags for moms and dads, baby body carriers, jogging strollers, books for the prospective parents, as good ideas.
Some other good ideas include massages for the parents to be, dinner gift cards, and other gifts that allow the prospective parents to take advantage of the little time they have left as a couple alone. Remember, the first time grandma-to-be is going to be there, and if anyone thinks that a grandma-to-be can be held back from buying for the first grandchild, think again. Any excuse is a good excuse.
This Grandma is not giving links to those blogs and commentaries pro and con gender reveal parties. It does not matter. If the prospective parents decide to have one, a prospective guest just has to decide whether to be part of the celebration or not.
That is the point. We of long (we never say old) years know that life is hard and we will have many funerals to attend. A celebration of life is warm and fuzzy and gives us the warmth and fuzziness and happiness that life can also provide. In my youth, I did not understand or have the appropriate respect for celebration of “life passage events.” Now, as a Boomer Grandma, I look for reasons large and small to celebrate life and joy and happiness. I have lived long enough to know to take advantage of the good to balance the bad to come in life.
So, is this Grandma in favor of this new trend? Absolutely, yes! Celebrate the happy times in life as much as you can with
Joy,
Mema
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