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Huh, I never would think bad on the idea of a gender reveal party?
We had a small dinner/ reveal with a cake with family and a few close friends

As for gifts I would have never expected a thing at ours nor would I expect to bring one

Now if the parents to be registered I might frown on that.....

I think gender reveal party is fine! Didn't have one for my kiddos (I don't like being the center of attention) and I certainly would make sure gifts weren't involved, but don't see the big deal otherwise. It's exciting and if you want to share the excitement with friends and family, go ahead.

@ChelseaRose: I always think the same thing...but then I guess "sex reveal" sounds like a very different kind of party

You asked for an honest opinion... I think they're a little self-indulgent. Also, I feel like most people don't really know that they're a "thing" and won't really know if they should bring a gift or what... ETA I've been to a gender-reveal "get-together" with literally 6 people who were super super curious about the gender of the baby. It was a lot of fun! And not so self-indulgent.

Small events with just close friends and family are fun. No gifts or invitations. I hear a lot about them, but only know one person who has done it. Very informal--show up wearing pink or blue, eat some food, hang out for the reveal.

Agree with @ms.line: completely. Definitely not my style. We told people the sex of the baby when we saw them or when they asked, but there was no party. If you have family locally and want to invite them over or whatever that's great, but the staged FB/pinterest stuff drives me crazy. Apparently a girl I went to high school with just did one (and they're pretty rare where I'm from), and when she found out she was having a girl, she jumped up and down screaming with joy, saying "it was SO easy, it didn't take us long at all! I am SO glad it's not a boy, I don't know what I would have done if it was!" Now I know her reaction isn't normal, but I feel like it's a bit odd to put that much importance on the sex of the baby. I feel like it's putting the cart before the horse, I guess.

I think it's cute and fun to celebrate exciting news like gender, and share the moment with loved ones! I've never heard of these kinds of parties including gifts.

I'm not really a fan. I agree that it just seems attention seeking. To me having a baby is what needs to be celebrated. Why do we want to place so much emphasis on boy or girl? Plus I'm impatient. I basically mass texted my family as soon as we found out.

@ChiCalGoBee: Oh wow. That girl sounds like a peach. Although I did hear of one where the mom had a huge preference for a girl and cried when she found out it was a boy. I just don't think that's a good idea to find out for yourself in front of all your friends and family if you really have a known preference!!

@youboots: I had the same situation. They really, really wanted a little girl and found out they were having boy #2. The mother spent the party barely holding it together and the father outright talked for the rest of the party about how this now meant they had to have a #3.

To make matters more awkward I was pregnant with DD at the time and she knew (we told a few, close friends only). She started saying how it's not fair that I and her pregnant sister in law (standing next to me) got girls, when she only got boys. Awkward all around.

The reality is that he's almost a year old now and they wouldn't change him for any girl. They needed to be able to process their disappointment in private though, and having a giant party didn't allow them to do that.

I like the idea of a gender/sex reveal moment. Having family over for a normal dinner and announcing/revealing at dessert etc. Or doing an announcement/reveal at the shower. A themed party is way over the top for me.

My Skype gender reveal with my parents went really horriblely so maybe I'm just bitter.

@birdofafeather: Yep. Definitely not a friend of mine even though I've known her since 1st grade. How tacky!
@farawayyama: Yeah....this is such an issue with these parties. Many people claim "we don't care! We just want healthy!" and then if they don't know beforehand, it's hard to mask true feelings. Another friend of mine posted pics of when she and her husband opened the box to reveal pink balloons. She's clapping and smiling and her husband looks pissed. I personally know/have talked to a lot of people who admit to having to digest the news themselves before sharing (including me!), and it makes it sooooo awkward to be in public.

@Corduroy: So you mind sharing how your Skype gender reveal went horribly?

So the more I think about it, how can it really be gift grabby if you haven't told anyone the sex yet? Like, sure people are likely to get you cute pink or blue clothes, but it's not like they can bring them to the party anyway. So attention grabby, sure, maybe, but not really gift grabby.

@MrsSCB: lol at "sex reveal" party!

@ChiCalGoBee: we had a friend who would say things like "ugh I'll kill myself if this is a boy. I only want girls!" When she was pregnant with her first. Really. And, she then found out it was a boy. It was so weird. But I'm happy to say she chilled out a LOT and is really happy with her now two sons and never says things like that anymore, at least in public.

@Astro Bee: My mom had a completely irrational meltdown because we were (in her mind) forcing her to know the sex of the baby and she wanted to be surprised. She cried for 45 minutes before we were able to tell her the sex. She's not normally crazy or dramatic so this was totally unexpected.

@Corduroy: Wow!!

I'm not really into making a huge deal about the sex and I think it's a little silly to do so, but I've also never known anyone who did a huge party with gifts and invitations to do this. I'm wondering if that phenomenon is a myth that only exists on Pinterest. We had our anatomy scan and then that same afternoon I sent out an email to a handful of friends inviting them to our place the following evening. We had about six people and I made a plate of cupcakes stuffed inside with pink frosting. We already knew, obviously. Then I opened a bottle of rose champagne and we watched a movie. It was laid back and a lot of fun to hang out. We attended a reveal last week that was similar, but with a lot more people. Just some snacks and beer and dessert, no gifts. I enjoyed it, and I liked getting excited about the sex with the couple.

[ETA] I also put the DVD with the scan photos in so everyone could see them blown up huge on the TV, which was entertaining since I have some friends who work in medicine. They got excited.

@PawPrints: they definitely exist. I've seen the photos from FB acquaintances (big party, mailed invites, lots of cutesy decor, etc).