New Piñata Craze Born Thanks To Growing Popularity Of ‘Gender Reveal’ Parties

Jessica Jimenez was thrilled when she learned her first child was going to be a baby girl.

As she mulled over the options of how to reveal the news to her family and friends, simply showing off her sonogram seemed so passé.

“I wanted to do something kind of special,” the Miami mom told Fox News Latino.

While blue and pink cakes have been a popular way to reveal a baby’s gender to friends and family, Jimenez “wanted to do something different.”

Then suddenly a light bulb went off: what about a gender reveal piñata?

Jimenez said not only were her loved ones intrigued by the piñata, a must in most Latin American children's parties; they thought the idea was “fantastic.”

“It was a great way to show everyone at the same time this is it.”

Recently, there has been a growing number of requests among piñata makers to make these special occasion decorations.

“In the last year it’s really gotten out there to have a piñata to reveal the baby’s gender,” Monica Uribe, of Piñatas by Design in Miami, told Fox News Latino.

“Last year we got two to three requests a month and this year it’s up to 15.”

Thanks to the advent of sites like Pinterest and Etsy, the bombardment of creative ideas for these full-fledged “gender reveal” parties have increased their popularity.

The appeal of piñatas, as opposed to the traditional cake route, is that everyone can be more involved in the fun.

“Everyone opened it together,” Jimenez said, adding that the piñata offered a way for them "to stand back and see everyone’s reaction" while her husband videotaped the entire moment.

Filled with candy, confetti, or little notes in the appropriate gender color, these papier-mâché creations are popular with more than just Latino moms to be.

“One would assume it be Latino families," Uribe said. "But we get a mix from all over the country from all places.”

While most of the time the couples know the gender of the baby before they have the piñata made, some wait to find out the big news with their party guests.

“My husband gave the envelope with the ultrasound results to the candy shop preparing the piñata, so the shop owner really was the only person – aside from the ultrasound technician – who knew the sex of the baby,” Patrice Poltzer told Today Moms.

With this element of surprise, Poltzer said her “gender reveal party was everything and more than what I expected it to be.”