For much of the last century, the milestones were fairly easy to recognize. Weddings had receptions, babies had showers, teenagers went to prom, graduates received diplomas, and retirement might bring a cake at the office. Smaller transitions certainly mattered, but many passed with a phone call, a family dinner, a card in the mail, or perhaps no ceremony at all. That distinction has become much less clear. A baby’s six-month mark can now inspire decorations, asking someone to prom can require weeks of preparation, and even the end of a marriage may come with friends, dinner, and a toast to what comes next. Social media has helped many of these customs travel quickly, but it is not the whole explanation. Families have also become more interested in photographing stages that disappear quickly, couples increasingly value experiences, and people seem more willing to acknowledge transitions that older generations often handled privately.
#1: Gender Reveals That Resemble Special Effects Productions
The celebration that eventually gave us smoke cannons and fireworks began with something much more familiar: a cake. In 2008, Jenna Karvunidis wrote about cutting into a cake with pink filling to reveal that she was expecting a girl, helping popularize the modern gender-reveal party. Families soon began looking for increasingly visual ways to share the news, and colored balloons, confetti, smoke, pyrotechnics, elaborate props, and staged surprises followed.
