Gender-Reveal Parties: Touching or Tacky?

I love a good party. From Super Bowl and Halloween bashes to birthday and graduation fiestas, I’m all for celebrating holidays and personal accomplishments with family and friends. I love the food, the decorations and the general merriment associated with these types of festive get-togethers.

Engagement parties and bridal showers are commonplace before a wedding (perhaps the most extravagant type of party there is), and nearly all moms-to-be have a baby shower. I’m happy to attend (and sometimes even host) these milestone events. But the one party I just can’t seem to get excited about is the gender reveal.

Have you heard of this new fad? At a gender-reveal party, the expectant parents learn the sex of their baby at the same time as their guests. This can be done by simply opening a sealed ultrasound photo or more elaborately by having a baker (who has seen the results of the sonogram) create a frosted cake that’s pink or blue on the inside. When the parents-to-be cut the first slice…surprise! It’s a boy! Or a girl!

For as much as I share about my life on my blog, I am a relatively private person. I’m also a little bit shy, and the thought of learning such big news in front of other people feels uncomfortably public to me. Finding out that we were having a son was an extremely emotional event for me and my husband, and the only person there to witness our reactions was the ultrasound technician… who let us have time alone to let it sink it. I just can’t understand the want or the need to have an audience for this personal moment.

I was recently invited to a gender-reveal party that I couldn’t attend because it was after my son’s bedtime, but if I’m being honest, I’m kind of glad I wasn’t able to make it. I think I’d feel just as awkward being a guest at one of these events as I would the guest of honor. Casting votes and wearing pink or blue in anticipation of the big reveal seems so staged to me. And what if the parents, upon biting into a pink or blue cupcake, showed an ounce of disappointment when learning the sex of their baby? How uncomfortable would that be for their friends?

How do you feel about gender-reveal parties? Are they touching or tacky events?

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