Baby Announcements

I came across the cutest set of recipe cards the other day that were specifically designed for a baby shower. They were recipe card size but printed with “advice for the new mom” and were for the shower guests to write down their best parenting advice. What a wonderful way to let everyone give you the advice you can’t avoid in an orderly fashion? And what about getting that advice card as an insert for your birth announcement?

The moment you give birth, the phone starts ringing, the door knocks and everyone you pass on the street has advice for you on how to cope with your new “situation.” Some advice is actually quite helpful. Most of it doesn’t actually apply to your child (they are all so different) but regardless, it keeps coming and coming for about the first year of life. The advice card announcement insert is a sure way to receive the information without getting upset or defensive (which I’m afraid will happen).

For a new parent advice card, I would go with a 5 x 7 postcard style card. This should fit into any standard birth announcement and give friends and family plenty of room for scribbling. You could include postage (a sign you really want to get this advice thing out of the way) on the postcards which is cheaper than a standard greeting card.

Include a picture of your little one or the nursery on the front of the parent advice postcard to give it a bit of personality. I would order four different lots of postcards so I could use four different images. Be sure to use a variety of colors, facial expressions and backgrounds in your baby photo choices.

Think about the title for your advice card. Here are a few ideas off the top of my head (much room for improvement):

“Recipe for Parenthood”

“Just add Children”

“Advising the New Mommy”

“Ingredients for a Happy Parenthood”

The advice card as baby announcement insert is a great way to let people express their first thoughts on your child’s birth. It’s also a great first memory box piece. Choose a cute acid free recipe box to keep the replies safe.

Filed under: birth announcements on August 13th, 2010