Memorable Bows or Arrows Gender Reveal Theme: Food, Decor, and More

Party food, decoration ideas, and a memorable reveal for a super sweet party with a Bows or Arrows Gender Reveal Theme.

My sister is having her first baby! I am so excited for her because this baby has been a dream for many years. When she asked if I would throw her a Gender Reveal Party, I felt truly honored. I love planning parties and this one was extra special. My sister and her husband decided on a Bows or Arrows theme.

As the party planner, I also had the special privilege of being the only one to know the baby’s gender. I went with my sister to her ultrasound appointment. It was so amazing the see the beautiful baby moving around inside her. I’ve obviously been to my own ultrasounds with my girls, but it was so special to share this with my sister. After the ultrasound, the tech handed me a sealed envelope containing THE CARD with the gender.

Party Decorations

Health Ads by

When I’m planning a party, I like to do a few special decorations that really help set the theme. Then, the rest of the decor comes from stuff I have or borrow, or from the dollar store. My parents hosted the party at their house. The theme was Bows and Arrows (obviously) with baby blue and baby pink. Simple and so sweet. In the entryway, we had the reveal canvas, balloons in the party colors, and a pink vase (which I already owned) filled with blue flowers. I made the Old Wives Tales poster to really get the guests in the mood to guess the baby’s gender (get the how-to’s here).

As guests moved further into the house, they found the dessert station. The desserts included cake, brownies, and candies in the perfect colors. My mom contributed a blue candle. The pink and blue plates and spoons also added to the decor.

The kitchen table displayed a voting sheet for the guests to sign and necklaces for them to wear, so everyone would know their guess. I decorated the chalkboard with my kids’ sidewalk chalk. We also had a Guess Who? game for everyone to play and a picture frame for guests to sign (Tutorial and Free Printables).

Health Ads by

The other decorations around the living room were mostly special baby blankets. Some were mine and some were my sister’s or my kids’, but most of them were made by my sweet grandma. A fun and special way to decorate with all things baby!

Easy and Delicious Themed Party Food

Party food should be fun and easy. I love to use recipes that you can make ahead of time so that the actual party day is a fun, stress-free day. My sister and I had fun coming up with a couple of foods to carry on the Bows or Arrows theme. I made Arrow Fruit Kabobs — so fun and easy. I also cooked up some colored bow-tie pasta for my sister to use in her pasta salad. Another easy way to include the party colors was with the drinks: blue Hawaiian punch lemonade and pink strawberry lemonade.

To finish out the lunch, we had sandwiches with pulled pork from the slow-cooker, meatballs in the Instant Pot, and a vegetable tray. I made the cake and frosted it in a blue and pink marble pattern to match the party invitations. The brownies were easy to decorate with blue and pink candy melts swirled in a marble pattern (add 1/2 – 1 tsp coconut oil to the candy melts to thin them out).

Keepsake Canvas Gender Reveal

After lunch and a game of Guess Who?, it was time for the moment everyone was waiting for — the Gender Reveal. For this, we headed outside with the reveal canvas. I handed my sister, her husband, and her (step) daughter each a water gun filled with paint. On the count of 3, they started spraying and the paint color revealed the baby’s gender. (You can see the full how-to’s here.)

This was my first Gender Reveal Party, and it was so much fun!!! Isn’t the look on everyone’s faces just awesome? And now my new niece will have this sweet picture hanging above her crib in the nursery.

Want more? Check out the DIY Gender Reveal Decorations and the Keepsake Canvas Tutorial.

Health Ads by