2018 was a trend filled year, with over the top and out of the ordinary events for life celebrations.

While “Gender Reveals” may have flooded your timelines in 2018, the idea of the antiquated “pink” and “blue” baby celebrations need to make room for a new contender. The increase in Gender Neutral baby showers will make a splash in 2019. Thankfully, we have experience with our past wedding clients now non-traditional set of parents who wanted the focus of their shower to be a celebration of life.  Rather than “pinks and blues”, nursery games, or not being able to say “baby” for two hours these parents opted out of the traditional baby shower business altogether.  

With all this in mind, we have compiled a few key items to keep in mind when planning a Gender Neutral Baby Shower.

1. Your Guest List: No more “ladies only” celebrations.  It takes two to make baby, so why not celebrate both parents? By inviting both men and women to attend, you are making it a “life celebration” versus a “mommies only” party. This also promotes flexibility in your activities and bringing together all your loved ones that want to celebrate your little bundle of joy. No one is left out, and it celebrates partnership for the parents to be. 

Pictured above: OneTouch Events past Brides pose with past Bride & Mommy-to-be!

2. Your Theme: A theme is crucial as it dictates your invitations, decor, and even the dessert design. Notice, we say “dessert design” versus cake? Gender Neutral showers allow us to break the mold of tradition. If you want variety, why settle for just cake?! Have an entire dessert station dedicated to baby! Baby deserves it, you deserve it, we all deserve a little variety.  A fun way to play with thematic elements is to think of focal points all will enjoy. Animals and greenery are a great play on design as there are so many variations to choose from that aren’t specific to a baby boy or baby girl. 

Rather than a traditional balloon arch, we chose an organic balloon garland accented with greenery accompanied by some furry friends.

3. The Location: Location is everything, this will never cease to have relevance. Finding and creating the ultimate space where guests of all ages, men and women alike feel a commonality and comfort. The following are key items to look for: an in house caterer, a bar, and activities. One of the most central elements we have seen guests look for is a space designated to a photographable moment. This space can work both as decor, and a way for guests to share memories from your event. Most importantly, we always like to have a space for mom & dad to take a breather and have a moment alone. The day can be overwhelming with guests, gifts and endless belly rubs so it’s nice to have somewhere to take a moment to themselves. 

4. The Activities: Breaking tradition can be tough, but when you get a little creative it can truly change the landscape of an event. While traditional baby shower games can be timeless and easy to print offline, to frequent shower goers, these can be pretty monotonous. We suggest if you truly CANNOT be torn from the standard games, simply pick one or two of your favorites to have in your back pocket. If you play them, great! If not, your guests will survive.

Bonus Tip! Location ties into the shower activities as your chosen venue could have built in activities that don’t require much set up or break down. Our client’s celebrated on the iconic Atlanta Rooftop at Ponce City Market’s Skyline Park. They were able to enjoy indoor and outdoor elements during the celebration utilizing the newly renovated Roebuck Room as the central gathering space. We provided wristbands for guests to enjoy the classic carnival games, and putt putt the Rooftop has to offer. Guests were also able to escape the heat by enjoying indoor activities such as Giant Jenga, Giant Checkers, and corn hole. 

5. It’s Your Shower, Don’t Mind the Opinions: While the idea of a gender neutral baby shower may be a foreign and modern concept to some in your circle, it is important to remember your event is what you choose to identify with and celebrate. There is no such thing as “have to, should, or need to”.  Tradition is what you make of it, and choosing not to identify the celebration of your baby’s life by gendering their sex is entirely up to you. 

In 2019, choose to make tradition, and break the mold with OneTouch Events.