Baby Announcements

There are two types of birth announcement: the ones you design yourself and the kind that automatically appear in the newspaper. When the new mom is still in the hospital they are asked to fill out a form for the official newspaper announcement. This is a very generic type of announcement. Most parents place a second announcement in the paper that includes a photograph. Here are a few ways to add a little creative flair to the newspaper birth announcement.

Begin by choosing a fun photograph of your newborn baby. Forget the sleeping babe shot and go for a smiling image, one that includes a toy or favorite blankie or a fun hat. If you live in a large city, there will be plenty of other announcement photos on the same page so be sure the picture of your little one sticks out by being a little more creative in your image choices.

Include nicknames if you’re child has a rather pretentious name or the type of name they will “grow into.” It’s okay to write out the full name and then write an alias underneath. For example: “Timothy Andrew Maximus Smith a.k.a. baby Timmy.” If you have a cute nickname for your new child such as “pickle” “pebbles” “boo” or “shorty” be sure to include it. I promise you’ll hear it next time you are in the grocery store.

Use descriptive language and more than one adjective to describe your feelings about the new baby. “Mr and Mrs Smith are happy, delighted, ecstatic and unbelievably proud to announce…” sounds so much better than “proud to announce.” Play around with your wording in advance of submitting it to the newspaper.

Most of all don’t forget that you want to include the names of other family members such as grandparents. Be sure to find a suitable place for them and use every word you are allowed by the newspaper for your announcement. Have fun, be creative and make people smile when they see your baby’s first official announcement to the world.

Filed under: birth announcements on April 30th, 2010