Birth Announcement Etiquette

It is said that a baby is an angel, whose wings shorten as the legs grow. Having a new born is an amazing experience for a parent. There is love, happiness and care all over. Amidst such revelry, it is natural for parents to share the new-found happiness with their close ones. For this purpose, birth announcements have been evolved. These can be sent to close members of the family and friends, conveying your happiness and feelings. However, birth announcements need to have a particular format for you to put across your feelings in the right way. There are certain etiquettes that should be followed, while sending a birth announcement, as this is first time you are introducing your baby to the world outside and you, certainly, don’t want to make any mistakes. This article will provide you with few tips on etiquette for birth announcement, so that you don’t end up offending your loved ones.

Etiquette Tips For Birth Announcement

The first step towards sending birth announcements is to choose the format in which you want to send these announcements. A right birth announcement depends totally on the taste, style and knowledge of the parents. You can use different colors or style the card in a single color. If you are sending the announcement, a few months after the baby’s birth, sending a photo announcement card is also good option for you to introduce the new member to your family and friends.
Once you decide about the format of your baby’s birth announcements cards, the next question that might creep up is that whom to send the announcement. Remember, the purpose of this is to inform all your friends and family of the new member of the family. Therefore, the announcements should be sent to all the people, whom you want to share the information with.
Another common question that bothers parents is what is the right time to order the birth announcements cards and how many to order. A baby’s birth is a celebrated event and therefore, you need not wait for long after the baby’s birth. This will call in for a preparation on your side well in advance, before the birth of the baby. Make a mailing list of the people to whom you wish to send the announcements; this will give you an exact count of the announcements to be ordered. The format, subject, size and design of the announcements are other few decisions that one should make well in advance to save time and avoid complications.
Make sure that you send the birth announcements as soon as possible, after the child is born. Sending the announcements long after the birth of the baby does not make much sense, as your family and friends would already know that a new member has come in to your family. Sending birth announcements right after the birth of the new born baby would require prior preparation on your part. If the color, design and verse, addressing envelops are all ready before the baby is born, it will help you send these announcements, within a couple of days, after the birth of your baby.
The verse you choose for your announcement prints should convey all your happiness as well as the details of the new member. The announcement should contain the baby’s full name and details like the birth date, weight, length, time of birth and place of birth. The opening sentences of the verse can be something like “we welcome with love”, “our home has grown by two feet”. You can even choose a small poem to convey your emotions. The announcement should end with parent’s names, followed by the name of the baby’s siblings, if any.
Few parents think that recipients will see a birth announcement as a need to send across a gift. Gifts are not at all compulsory and recipients are under no obligation to send any gifts. Birth announcements are just a way to share good news of a new born baby and it needs no marking with a gift in return. Parents’ can even get “No Gifts” printed in small font in one corner to make it clear to the recipients that they are not expecting any return gifts. All that they meant was to share their happiness with their loved ones.

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