The Craziest Gender Reveal Ideas, from Relay Races to Alligator Wrangling

For some people, finding out the biological sex of one’s unborn child might be as simple as hearing it from the doctor. But for an increasing amount of others, the rising popularity of gender reveal parties has parents dreaming up extravagant new ways to share the big news with loved ones. The level of surprise may vary (some parents may prefer to be informed of the sex before the party, while others might want to be surprised alongside their guests), and the level of commitment varies even more: some parents shoot blue or pink confetti into the air to celebrate, while others shoot rifles that release a cloud of colored powder, and still others feed a pink or blue watermelon to an alligator (yep).

Whether you’re looking for inspiration to host your own next-level gender reveal party or you’re just curious about the phenomenon, we’ve got you covered. Scroll down for our round up of some of the most creative, outrageous, and frankly, dangerous gender reveal ideas that celebs and the web have to offer.

1. THE RELAY RACE

Participation at gender reveals used to mean taking a bite of the pink-or-blue-colored cake the parents-to-be sliced into. Not anymore: those present at Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo’s celebration were encouraged to race their way to the big reveal. Guests were split into two teams (pink vs. blue) and kicked off the relay by digging in to a single-serve carton of ice cream before navigating an obstacle course. The captain of the winning team literally brought the big reveal to light by switching on a neon sign that spelled out “Baby” in pink.

2. THE “SURPRISE!-I-HAD-A-BABY” VIDEO MONTAGE

After months of near radio-silence on social media amid pregnancy rumors, Kylie Jenner almost broke the internet when she confirmed not only her pregnancy, but that she’d given birth to a healthy baby girl – a “gender reveal” that was a surprise to all but her close friends and family. The “To Our Daughter” montage offered fans a glimpse of her relationship with rapper boyfriend and baby daddy Travis Scott, as well as a teasing shot of daughter Stormi Webster, who has since made her Instagram debut.

3. THE JAW DROPPER

Gender reveals are an exciting moment for expecting parents, and while gathering a group of family and friends together may be enough for some, this Louisiana family amped up the excitement by wrangling an alligator into the mix. The Kliebert family has been handling gators for generations, but that didn’t stop Sally, the family’s 60-year-old gator, from snapping at “T-Mike, the Gator King” (also the baby daddy) as he repeatedly tried to pry open her jaws and toss a hollowed-out watermelon inside. Eventually she did clamp down on the fruit, producing an explosion of blue jello that signaled they were having a baby boy. As the happy couple celebrated in the video that soon went viral on Facebook, Sally took off toward the guests, but was subdued by the handlers before she could reach the crowd.

4. THE LEAP OF FAITH

Most people learn their baby’s gender and then jump for joy; this father-to-be took the opposite approach. Strapped to a professional skydiver, he jumped out of a plane to reveal a plume of colored smoke that signaled the gender to his family below. While pink smoke probably would have been too light to see, the choice of purple smoke for a girl and blue for a boy caused a bit of confusion on the ground, as the family couldn’t agree at first on which color they were seeing (spoiler: it’s a girl!).

5. THE DOMINO EFFECT

Freeing pink or blue balloons from a cardboard box or cutting into a Pinterest-inspired cake was never an option for this inventor dad, who was determined to make his second baby’s gender reveal “epic” for his family, he told TODAY Parents. With the help of friends, he orchestrated an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine throughout his entire house, which is a contraption made up of everyday objects that are strategically organized to trigger a complex series of actions. After his son kicks off the device by reaching for a sippy cup, the video follows as kids’ toys are sent whizzing down ramps and stairs and books topple into each other. The contraption ends by showering the family in colored confetti, revealing their baby’s gender.

6. THE DANCE PARTY

This mama-to-be wowed the crowd with her impressive dance moves and playful song choices. Surrounded by a backup crew of male and female friends, she led them in a choreographed dance that would be hard enough to manage even without being pregnant. She teased the audience with songs like “My Girl” by The Temptations and Lady Gaga’s “Boys Boys Boys” that kept everyone guessing throughout the performance until she was showered in pink confetti after dancing to Starrkeisha’s viral sensation “Baby Momma.”

7. THE BALL DROP

This couple set the bar sky-high for their baby gender reveal. Surrounded by loved ones near a snowy tarmac, they stood in anticipation as a rented plane circled over head before showering them with 1,500 tiny blue balls. That cleanup sounds pretty daunting, but also like good practice for parenthood!

8. THE EXPLOSION

This father-to-be is a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, and he and his wife decided to put his marksman skills to work to make their baby’s gender reveal extra-personalized. The couple had a friend pack a cardboard box with Tannerite (an explosive) and colored chalk, which billowed down the dirt road to reveal they were having a boy after the father hit the target on his first try.

9. THE LIVE BROADCAST

Savannah Guthrie of the TODAY Show had more than just family and friends around for her big reveal—fans tuned in and showed their support from outside Studio 1A as she announced her baby’s gender on live TV! After polling her co-workers and the crowds (where one fan suggested Guthrie was definitely carrying a boy, because she looked “beautiful, and girls steal your beauty when you’re pregnant”), she announced the gender by accepting a blue milkshake just as a plane flew a banner outside that read, “It’s a boy!”