One of our favorite modern pregnancy traditions is the gender reveal. Whether you throw a party, announce it online, or with some old-fashioned “snail mail,” people are coming up with all kinds creative ways to say “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” We’ve collected some of our favorite gender reveal ideas here for your perusal and pilfering—so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it’s time to tell the world what your bundle of joy will be!

1. The Colored Cake Cut

By now, you’ve almost surely seen the colored cake cut gender reveal. It’s a gender reveal party favorite—and with good reason. It’s a cute, clever (and delicious) way to let all your loved ones know what you’re expecting. For even more sweet suspense, some parents-to-be are even keeping the secret from themselves until they cut the cake! At the bottom of this blog post, you’ll find a PDF called “Shhh ... It’s A Sweet Little Secret!” which you can print and give to your nurse. Ask the nurse to fill out the baby’s gender and seal it in an envelope for you to give to your baker, who will then choose the appropriate color cake for your reveal. That way, you get to be surprised along with everyone else!

2. The He-R-She Bar

Another mouth-watering confectionary reveal. (Hey, pregnancy cravings are no joke!) Just take some classic Hershey’s candy bars and, using pink and blue markers, color in “She” on one wrapper and “He” on another. Display the two bars prominently for the setup, and then when it’s time for the big reveal, you treat the room to a box full of the gender-graffitied goodies.

3. The Curious Cupcake

It’s like the colored cake cut, but the whole party gets in on the gender reveal surprise action. Get your cupcakes baked with a pink or blue-colored center, pass them out to everyone and then, on the count of three—everybody munch! Bonus: you don’t have to spend all night cutting cake for hungry party-goers. ; )

4. Baby Balloons

When you were a kid, there was almost nothing sadder than seeing a balloon racing heavenward—because that meant you had either absentmindedly released it or it had come untied from your wrist. But now, releasing balloons can be a thing of pure joy. Just fill a box with blue or pink helium balloons, and when you’re ready to tell the world—open the box and let ‘em fly!

5. Unwrap A Surprise

For a more understated—but still adorable—reveal, take a little baby boy or baby girl outfit and wrap it up like a present. Then, with your friends and family gathered around, open the outfit and show everyone what your little bundle of joy will be wearing!

6. Fun-fetti

More balloon-based gender reveal fun, and it couldn’t be simpler. Fill up a great big balloon with confetti (and air, of course), and when you’re ready to spill the beans—pop the balloon and spill that confetti!

7. Tiny Shoes To Fill

Baby clothes are stinking adorable—even when they’re empty! That’s why the image of Dad’s shoes, Mom’s shoes and baby’s shoes is such a popular and powerful gender reveal announcement. Choose gender-specific shoes (even if you don’t plan on dressing your baby super girly or super boyish), line up the shot and watch the magic happen. See? So adorable.

8. I’m Going To Be A Big Brother! Or Sister!

Here’s another fun photo reveal idea. Dress up your kids (or pets) in a t-shirt that says “I’m going to be a big brother/sister!”, throw it up on your favorite social networks and voila! Cute kids and pets—gets ‘em every time. Okay, so there’s some of our favorites. But there’s NO WAY we covered them all, right? Comment below to let us know your favorite gender reveal trick!

'Sweet Little Secret' Gender Reveal Form