Baby Announcements
When you have a new bundle of joy, you just want to tell the world about it. What's the best way to let everyone know? With a baby announcement, of course! Baby announcements are your way of conveying all the important information concerning your baby's birth, like the date and baby's weight to your family, friends and co-workers. There are a wide variety of birth announcements to be found to suit every taste, including photo birth announcements and lawn sign birth announcements. Not sure what to get? Then consider this to be your guide to baby birth announcements.
Ready Made
Just like baby shower invitations and christening invitations, the baby announcement is a staple item at any reputable card or stationary store. Available in many different designs and colors, there is bound to be at least one style of announcements that catches your eye. However, because these cards are mass produced, some people find that they just aren't personal enough. For these people, there are custom baby announcements.
Numerous stationary stores as well as websites will customize your baby announcements for you. Choose from already existing templates and have the company print in all the pertinent information or you can decide on your own design and the wording of the announcement.
While there are the standard designs, like teddy bears and rattles, many companies also offer more whimsical and fun templates. Perhaps your baby announcements will look like a Time magazine cover with your baby gracing the front. If you really want to make your baby announcements personal, though, then consider creating them yourself.
DIY
If you're feeling crafty and creative, then why not design your baby's birth announcement yourself? This is a great activity to do when you've already started your maternity leave and are just waiting for your labor to begin. Just decide on a theme and then get to it. You can use ribbons, dried flowers, stamps or anything else you'd like to dress the card up.
But don't just stop at the decorations. Put in the main wording of your announcements and address the envelopes. Once baby has arrived, your partner can fill in all the blanks on the announcements, put them in their envelopes and send them on their way while you get some rest.
Maybe arts and crafts aren't quite your thing. Then sit yourself down at your computer and whip up a batch of baby announcements in less than an hour. If you have a digital camera or a scanner, you can leave space on the announcement to easily add a photo of baby once she is born.
Things to Consider
Before you rush down to your local craft store and stock up on glitter and glue or head over to your local stationary store, there are two important details you need to consider before you decide on what type of birth announcements to send out.
First of all, think about just how soon you would like to get these announcements out. If you're hoping to include a picture but don't have a digital camera, you will have to wait to get the photos developed before anything goes in the mail, which may delay the announcements by as much as a week. Also, if you would like to make your own announcements, don't assume you'll have time to do them once the baby is born -- those first few weeks after birth are pretty hectic and chaotic. If you don't have time to write them before the birth, then you may just have to resign yourself to buying some announcements.
Another element you should concern yourself with is the cost. Of course, everyone's budget is different and just how much you want to spend is up to you. Generally, making your own is the cheapest option, although the type of paper you use and the supplies you decide on can drive the price up. Also, the number of people you are sending the invitations to will directly effect the cost.
If you have chosen to get your announcements customized by a store or a website, then sending out a large number of invitations may actually be to your advantage. Usually, the minimum order for customized cards is 25 cards with prices ranging anywhere from $40 to $80 or more. However, if you decide to get 100 cards, you probably won't pay more than double the cost of the 25 cards despite the fact that you're actually getting four times as many cards.
Making it Special
Here are some other unique ways to commemorate and announce your baby's birth:
