Remember the days when parents to be found out the sex of their unborn child in a private, intimate moment and just told their family and friends? Neither do we, but thanks to social media, gender reveals are now a rite of passage to unveil a child’s sex in the perfect staged photo opp to Instagram, Facebook and YouTube followers in a quest for a collection of likes.
What started as pink or blue filling in cakes and colored balloons in boxes has now morphed into a craze, where parents are going over the top in a game of social media upmanship. Take a look at the cheesiest (literally) and most jaw-dropping trends in gender reveals that are making headlines.
Airplanes
Apparently, the sky’s the limit on gender reveal ideas. It seems a Texas couple started a new trend when they hired a pilot to dump pink or blue crop-dusting dye from a plane into the water as their families watched on. Spoiler alert, it’s a girl.
Baseball Games
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Made popular by Brittany and Jason Aldean, we’re seeing more parents stage a mock baseball game in which the father to be or siblings swing at a smoke bomb baseball that fills the air with pink or blue.
Confetti Poppers
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This trend has seemed to replace the surprise balloon box, as it gets guests involved in the fun! For this reveal, everyone lines up and is given a confetti popper. After a countdown, pink or blue confetti is released into the sky. Hilary Duff even got on board with this idea for her Instagram announcement.
Hair Dye
While some doctors frown upon hair coloring during pregnancy, some brave women are taking to the salons for their gender reveal, getting the surprise of a lifetime by having their hair color and baby’s gender revealed at once.
Lasagna
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We’re not sure if our readers are lucky or not, but Villa Italian Kitchen in Lincolnwood said it will carry the world’s first-ever gender reveal lasagna catering package in the coming weeks. The special catering package features one large cheese lasagna with a secret (unappetizing) pink or blue interior, garlic rolls and a salad. The NJ-based Italian eatery chain made headlines when it was the first company to coin the bizarre product and term it the “Lasagna Reveal.”
Live Alligator
We’ve got to give the Louisiana couple credit for the most jaw-dropping gender reveal that quickly went viral, garnering nearly 12 million views. To determine the gender of their unborn baby, the father-to-be, who is actually a professional alligator wrangler and trainer, placed a watermelon into a gator’s mouth. When the gator snapped its jaw shut, blue liquid came oozing out.
Paintball Gun
We don’t think pregnant women are even supposed to be around paintball guns, but nevertheless, some mamas-to-be are actually shooting their partner with a paintball gun loaded with pink or blue splatter paint to reveal the gender. Ouch!
Smoke Bomb
This trend surely looks safer than a few others on this list. Popular in the spring and summer, parents-to-be are flocking to open-air spaces where a pink or blue smoke bomb is set off into the air.
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