Be creative in welcoming a newborn.

A brand new person has joined your family and it’s time to let everyone know. Somehow, just sending out a plain postcard doesn’t seem quite enough for this wonderful event. Here are some creative ideas for birth announcements.

Unique Mail

Why settle for simple stationary? Make your baby announcement special with these unique ideas for birth announcements:

• embossed foldnotes with matching envelopes
• cheerful embossed napkins
• personalized stationary

Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers

In the past, proud fathers passed out cigars. Not in today’s workplace where smoking has been banned and as many colleagues are likely to be women as men. One dad came up with a great alternative – passing out candy bars that had an extra wrapper announcing ‘It’s a Boy!’ A quick hunt through a gift catalog and he was in business, as proud as any cigar-smoker has ever been – and more popular.

Personalized Balloons

In many households, a bunch of balloons on or near the front door signals the arrival of a new baby. Consider tying balloons to the front doors of neighboring houses as well. Either before or after they are inflated you can write your new baby’s name and birthdate on this airborne announcement.

Ask your local balloon emporium if it provides the service of mailing filled helium balloons to your friends. If not, consider packaging and mailing them yourself. Because of the helium, there is little or no charge for postage – only a minor wrestling match to get the balloons into the boxes!

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Involve Siblings

Involving older siblings in the announcement process can be very important as they wrestle with the appearance of the new baby. Photographs help. Some siblings enjoy helping to mail a picture of themselves cuddling or holding the baby.

Others may like to be even more involved by drawing a picture for the front of the announcement or printing the news about the latest family member in lots of crayon colors, suitable for color-copying. For a child not completely certain about the new arrival, creating a birth announcement with his or her picture on the front and the baby’s picture inside is likely to produce a reassuring flurry of attention for the new big brother or sister, as well as the baby.

The Handprint Announcement

One of the most creative ideas for birth announcements is the handprint announcement.

1. Get sheets of craft paper in as many colors as you have family members, ribbon, a single-hole punch and envelopes large enough to hold Dad’s handprint.
2. Trace the handprint of every family member once on poster-weight paper and cut the handprints out. This way, you have patterns to trace as many times as you want onto the craft paper.
3. Assemble your cut-out handprints with the largest handprint on the bottom and the smallest on the top.
4. Punch two holes at the wrist and tie the handprints together, securing the stack with a bow.

Children may enjoy decorating their hands with stickers or marker-drawn manicures and jewelry and, of course, their names. The baby’s handprint will have just enough room for his or her name. Use the Mom and Dad handprint pages for birthdate, height, weight and any other details you want to add to your announcement. Slide your announcements into envelopes and you’ve got a birth announcement like no other.

The handprint-stack appealed so much to one family that they have incorporated it into their celebration of the New Year. Each January 1st, they and their four children trace their handprints, label with names and the year, stack and tie. Mom and Dad’s hands just haven’t gotten bigger over the years, but the kids – oh, my! The collection of several years now forms a garland over the fireplace.

Whether you are celebrating a new year or a new baby, congratulations to your family!