I know gender reveals are a newer idea…our parents were lucky to know if it was a boy or girl before delivery! When my husband and I were pregnant with our first we wanted to do something to reveal the gender to our families so it seemed like a good excuse to throw a mini-party, invite our friends and family and celebrate! For our first baby, I was finishing up nursing school right when we found out so we had a small party at my parents’ house. Jordan and I found out together at the ultrasound, I called a bakery and had them make a blue cake with frosting, did a countdown and lifted up a cut piece of cake for all to see! It was simple, easy, cute, fun and most of all we were just so thrilled to share the moment with our families.
PICTURE OF ELIS GENDER REVEAL
For baby #2, the gender reveal went out with a bang…Literally. My husband had seen a video of a tannerite gender reveal long before we were pregnant and we both thought it was epic and fun but it never really crossed our minds to actually do one ourselves.
PIC OF PARTY
That is, till one Saturday morning when we were both searching for fun gender reveal ideas and tannerite came back up. Pretty much after watching one video, we were both sold. Since Jordan’s parents have an acreage we had the perfect location too! For those who haven’t heard of a tannerite gender reveal, its where you place colored chalk in a box with tannerite (a mini explosion you can get at most outdoor stores) and then you shoot the tannerite and it blows the colored chalk SKY HIGH. Oh, and did I mention my husband likes to blow things up?
PIC OF THE GENDER REVEAL PARTY
After we decided to do the tannerite we also decided to find out with both of our families at the party instead of at the ultrasound. This added a whole new level of excitement for us, more so than I ever thought. And, to top it all off, there hadn’t been a baby girl on either side for 25 years so…let’s just say there was definitely a desire for some pink.
PIC OF PARTY
This is what we used for our tannerite, chalk explosion:
- 2lbs of tannerite (find at your local outdoor store)
- 5lbs of colored pink chalk
- 5lbs of colored blue chalk
- A cardboard box
- A .308 full-metal-jacket round (ballistic tip trial was a FAIL) *Total gun mumbo, jumbo but important if you want to do one too!
PIC OF BOX
Two days before Mother’s Day (the day we planned for the party), we had our ultrasound and the little baby was kicking and perfect. We looked down while the tech checked if our munchkin was a boy or girl. She printed the picture out with the words of what our little baby was on the picture and put it in a sealed envelope.
ULTRASOUND PIC
At the party, we had two tables, blue and pink, with matching drinks and cupcakes for each. A cute chalkboard sign and LOTS of food.
PIC OF TABLES
PIC OF CHALKBOARD
We also had asked a friend ahead of time if he would mind being the one to open the envelope in secret and place the right colored chalk in the box.
PIC OF PARTY
Once everyone had arrived, we passed out ear protection (it was going to be LOUD) and Jordan got the gun all set up for our CRAZY gender reveal. Our friend went down to the tannerite box and put the right colored chalk in and we gathered everyone outside on the deck. We all covered our ears…and waited (Jordan did not want to miss.) I remember I could hear my heart pounding through my plugged ears, said a little prayer for pink and…BOOM.
PICTURE OF BOOM
It was the best Mother’s Day gift. All our family and friends gathered and a little GIRL on the way.
Haley Jo xo
Hi! My name is Haley and I live in good ol’ Nebraska with my husband, Jordan, and our little Eli. Let’s Mama is my way of sharing my thoughts on life, pregnancy, motherhood, fitness, fashion and everything in between. Thanks for stopping by! 
