There are several big milestones for expectant mothers and fathers — like the initial pregnancy announcement, the ensuing maternity photo shoot, and the big gender reveal party. But these days, many types of gender reveal strategies can feel a bit stale. How many times have you seen a couple cutting into a blue cake on Instagram or shooting off a pink confetti cannon? Boring! Good thing these celebrities had creative gender reveal ideas that we can all steal for our own announcements.
Creative doesn't need to mean expensive or overly complicated, either. There are simple ways to shake things up — such as baking a gender reveal lasagna instead of a gender reveal cake. (Dr. Oz's daughter Daphne really did that. It came out pink, since she was carrying a girl.)
If you need some inspiration for your own reveal or a friend's, look no further than this list.
Katy Perry
It's amazing how great Orlando Bloom looks even when covered in pink whipped cream. It seems like for their gender reveal, Katy Perry opted to hit Orlando in the face with a pie — revealing that they were expecting a little girl. It was fun, creative, and delicious. We totally love this gender reveal idea.
Shay Mitchell
Shay's reveal was so creative that things almost got dangerous for a moment. Her assistant orchestrated a Power Rangers fight between two actors playing the Pink and Blue Power Rangers. At one point, though, the actors jumped in the pool and realized that they couldn't breathe under their masks. Fortunately everyone was okay, and Shay eventually learned she was having a girl.
Ashley Darby
The Real Housewives of Potomac star's gender reveal came via sky. For the special announcement, Ashley's husband, Michael Darby, went skydiving with a bag of powder. Midway down, he ripped it open to reveal a cloud of blue. They were having a baby boy! This was serious dedication to being creative.
Nikki Bella
When Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev revealed the gender of their first child, they cracked open a piñata. Sure, the eventual spray of blue confetti was pretty basic and standard, but the way they got to the confetti was at least a little bit interesting. Don't just buy a confetti cannon, buy a confetti piñata.
Daphne Oz
Dr. Oz's daughter Daphne skipped the traditional cut-the-cake gender reveal to go for a cut-the-lasagna reveal. When she dove into the pasta dish, her slice came up a pastel pink, indicating that she was expecting a daughter. Such an original idea — and tasty too! Assuming they ate the pink pasta, of course.
Jessica Alba
For her third baby, Jessica got some help from her two daughters (and her company) to reveal that she was having a boy. Like Nikki Bella, Jessica opted for a piñata situation — only hers was a giant Honest Co. box. A gender reveal and an ad all in one? Genius.
Jenna Cooper
When it came time for Jenna Cooper to announce that her first child would be a girl, the Bachelor in Paradise star kept things super simple. She just wrote in the sand on a beach vacay, "It's a girl!" It's basic, but in the best way. Sometimes you don't need confetti or smoke bombs, you just need to tell the news in a fun way.
Ryan Lochte & Kayla Rae Reid
For Christmas in 2018, the former Olympic swimmer and his wife got the best gift — the gender reveal news about their second child. To announce that they were expecting a little girl, they opened a giant box filled with pink balloons. Again, simple, but still creative since it wasn't a standard "pop the balloon to see pink confetti" situation.
Johnny Galecki & Alaina Meyer
Big Bang Theory star Johnny Galecki and Alaina Meyer have since split up, but not before completing a super cute gender reveal ahead of the birth of their son. The two had a painting party, where everyone got creative (and messy) with the color blue. Happier times for the couple, for sure.
Dane DeHaan & Anna Wood
Actor Dane DeHaan and his wife, Anna Wood, incorporated their daughter, Bowie, into the gender reveal for their soon-to-be-born son. For Christmas, one of Bowie's presents was a onesie that read "little brother." Sure, not really a gift for her, but a fun way for her to find out that she'd have a sibling soon.
Jamie Otis
Jamie and her husband, Doug Hehner, also got their daughter involved in the gender reveal for their newborn. Henley helped crack blue and pink eggs on her parents' heads until she found the non-hard boiled one. That's how Jamie and Doug discovered they were expecting a baby boy. And poor Doug got covered in egg.
Desiree Hartsock
Cutting into a pink or blue cake is so overdone now, but we love this sweet (pun intended) reveal that former Bachelorette Desiree Hartsock did with her husband, Chris Siegfried. They asked their son, Asher, to bite into a gender reveal cupcake. That's how they all learned that he would be getting a little brother.
Dylan Dreyer
The Today host also got her first child involved in the gender reveal for her second child. Little Calvin drove onto the set of the morning show in a blue car to represent that his mother was expecting another boy. In 2020, Dylan then gave birth to her second son, Oliver, whose gender reveal will forever be part of TV history.
Snooki
It's really just the popular thing to do to have your already born children reveal the gender of your unborn child. That's what Snooki also did when she had her son Lorenzo hit a baseball filled with powder at her gender reveal party. The powder was blue, and Snooki gave birth to little Angelo in 2019.
Loren & Alexei Brovarnik
The 90 Day Fiancé stars followed in Snooki's sports-themed gender reveal footsteps — they just switched the sport in question. For the big announcement, they kicked a soccer ball that was filled with blue powder, revealing that they were expecting a boy. Their second son, Asher, was then born in September 2021.
