“Baby Shore” parties with exorbitant sums to announce the sex of the fetus

“Baby Shore” are family parties held by pregnant mothers, upon completing the fifth month of pregnancy, to announce the sex of the fetus. This type of party is usually full of extravagance and boasting, as pregnant mothers hire specialized companies to decorate the party hall with flowers and lighting, photograph the event, provide meals to the invitees, and distribute gifts to them. As for those invited, they must carry gifts to children who are still in their mothers’ bellies.

A citizen, who did not wish to have his name published, said that he was surprised by the arrangements made by his employee wife to organize a party to announce the sex of the fetus, after she told him that she had to borrow from the bank, because the cost of the party was high, adding that she showed more interest in the party than in their wedding. He continued that she told him that this type of party spreads positive energy in their marital life, while he hopes that she will be able to pay the loan installments on time.

Citizen Abdulaziz Jassim Al Hammadi confirmed that his wife had a party to determine the sex of the fetus, and it was fun for the family, adding that “some women do not intend to imitate, but rather to change and have fun,” pointing out that he opposes exaggeration in such occasions.

Maryam Hassan Obaid, from the Emirate of Fujairah, said that she was surprised by an invitation from one of her friends to attend a party that she was going to hold to announce the sex of her fetus. She expressed her astonishment at the method of the announcement, which she could not find an explanation for, as she says, other than bragging and showing off among her friends.

Citizen Hasna Mohammed, from the Emirate of Fujairah, said that “sex announcement” parties have spread among citizens recently, wondering why many Emirati women are interested in this type of artificial occasions, as she put it, pointing out that they are “keen to buy distributions and cakes.” For this occasion, they spend large sums of money on meaningless parties, to show off by posting pictures on their social media accounts.”

She considered that “society is acquiring alien customs, as bouquets are allocated in the party hall in blue for males and pink for females, and gifts and chocolates are distributed. The invitees are also keen to give gifts to the fetus before its birth.”

She pointed out that “some female citizens invent occasions in order to show off and brag among their friends and relatives,” noting the possibility of announcing the sex of the fetus at a baby shower, without the hassle of holding a celebration, but many women compete with each other in extravagance and extravagance.

For her part, an official in a flower shop in the Emirate of Fujairah, Marwa Muhammad, confirmed that she had begun receiving unconventional requests from mothers, including preparing wedding halls, or decorating halls in their homes to hold a sex determination party. She added that requests include preparing small cakes with blue frosting if the fetus is male, and pink if it is female.

She said that the popularity of this type of party motivated her to create festive items, such as presenting a large plaque on which the fetus’s sex was written “in English” after decorating it with small papers, pink or blue, depending on the sex of the fetus. During the ceremony, the painting is presented to the mother, and she gives it a few light blows, causing the leaves to fall.

She continued: “The strangest request I received was to prepare blue and pink sandwiches.”

She pointed out that the cost of equipment for celebrations of finding out the fetus’s sex exceeds 50,000 dirhams, and includes using specialized shops to decorate the hall and linens with flowers, distributing gifts to the invitees, and preparing cups for drinks and food plates bearing an indication of the fetus’s sex, in addition to clothes designed for the mother, renting the hall, and photography services. Preparing a photo album for the occasion, and requesting services from private companies to provide female workers to distribute sweets and drinks to visitors.

The owner of an online store specializing in preparing events, Noura Abdullah, confirmed that requests for newborns were limited to their reception parties, but today the matter is completely different.

She added that her store is keen to keep up with customers’ desires and provide everything new and innovative for such occasions, pointing out that many customers ask for strange types of gifts, such as white chocolate on the outside that contains blue or pink cream inside. She continued that many mothers request that a wedding hall or the courtyard of their homes be prepared, and that they request a buffet from the best restaurants, in addition to printing the invitation for this occasion as electronic or paper cards.

The budget for the small party was estimated at 10,000 dirhams, the medium one was 50,000 dirhams, and the large one was 70,000 dirhams.

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Thousands of dirhams cost a small party, 50 thousand dirhams for a medium party, and 70 thousand dirhams for a large party.