Baby Announcements

There’s a growing trend among new mothers to save the baby shower until after the baby’s birth. This allows the mother to enjoy a final bit of me time before getting down to the serious and selfless business of raising a child. It’s also a great place to hand out your birth announcements.

If you were prepared enough to get the majority of your birth announcement design completed before your child was born, having them ready for the baby shower shouldn’t be too difficult. Use your favorite image from the hospital and upload to your online printer before you get your discharge papers. The first week or two of motherhood will race by you and before you know it your announcements will arrive.

For me, face to face distribution of birth announcements (or any card for that matter) is no reason to slack on the details. The individuals name should still be written on the front. A hand note on the back for close family and friends is sure to bring a smile (something to do while you are up half the night anyway). Never leave blank birth announcements in a pile on the gift table with the tacky sign: “Please Take One.”  Urgh.

Hand birth announcements to the recipient personally or, if you are still sore, place them next to place cards on the tables. If you go for the latter option, the hand written note becomes even more important. Be sure to remind older guests to pick up their announcement before they leave.

Distributing birth announcements at the post birth baby shower is an opportunity to give friends and family the ultimate party favor as well as save some money on postage. Like the post partum baby shower, distributing birth announcements at the party is a new idea. It only takes a few innovators to make it a tradition.

So go for it.

Filed under: baby shower, birth announcements, invitations, new parent life on June 30th, 2010