When a brand new baby comes home, there are countless v. important things to occupy new moms and dads with. But somehow, even precious sleep gets put on the back burner once it’s time to consider cute birth announcements. (Rest when the baby rests — or scroll through infinite designs that are sure to make your sweetie shine? #ISurrendertotheScroll.)
These days, shouting the news of your son’s or daughter’s arrival from the rooftop is as easy as posting a pic of them swaddled in blue and red stripes or baby footprints — you know those archaic, yet über-recognizable hospital blankets we’re talking about — and captioning it with some creative detailing of their name, birth date, measurements, etc. But this birth announcement is your beautiful bundle’s first impression, so you’ll want to follow up on your social share with an equally-perfect, off-the-Gram introduction in their honor.
Gone are the days when parents only had one or two options for welcoming their babes to the world. In fact, today there are so many ways to say “HEY! Baby is here!” and wait for all the heart eyes ? to ensue, that it can almost become a challenge to choose a look that feels worthy of your little. Accept the challenge, because it means that there are no rules anymore, and you can announce your new addition however you’d like! Perhaps you’ve been nursing a nursery theme for months and want to continue carrying out that motif. Maybe you want to get a little cheeky with the wording and allude to (or outright ask about) all the diapers you’d happily accept. Or, more simply, maybe you’re on the hunt for a design that highlights your baby’s dotingly curated name. You can absolutely bring your ideas to a brick-and-mortar store, but fortunately enough, there are countless online paper people out there to bring your dream baby debut to life.
On top of all of their stunning templates, almost every site we list here offers examples of how to wordsmith your baby bulletin and options to include more photos and details about your newborn, should you want to brag just a bit more. The announcements aren’t just for sharing newborn news, either! Any timely addition to the family via a singleton or multiples birth or adoption is a major cause for celebration, and thankfully there are so many inclusive cards to herald every child’s own, unique origin story.
Your family and friends know that you have your hands full in the beginning, so there’s no need to rush getting these announcements out, especially if you’d like to include photos from a hospital newborn shoot or a whole family portrait session at home (which might not be scheduled for some time yet). It is helpful to have them out within the first three or four months, though, before life gets even more hectic than usual! Convenient, email-ready varieties are also available through sites like Greenvelope and Paperless Post for when you still want to send something beautiful (the animation and luxe liners guarantee an experience just as magical as opening a real envelope!) but don’t feel like new-momming it to the post office for stamps and drop off. Even a trip around the corner can feel like a lot when you’re getting used to your new normal.
In any case, swipe through for 15 of the sweetest, customizable birth announcements we’ve seen lately. A word of warning, though: These cute cards may cause intense and serious baby fever. Proceed with caution!
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Extra Cheer in the New Year
Remember when we said that these announcements may “bring on the baby fever”? Yeah, well, Minted does the most with that. The site has pages and pages of beautiful baby welcomes, especially timely options like this one’s “New Year, new baby” take. The black-and-white photo is timeless and the excited, hopeful and heartfelt sentiment shines through like the glow of the new decade.
My Alphabet
When you decide on your baby’s name, the first letter of said name will quickly become your favorite letter of the alphabet. Celebrate that letter with something simple, yet striking, and coordinate with matching stamps (because you’ll never get tired of seeing that reminder of your little love).
Meet My Brother
If you’re feeling elated about your tiny new family member, just imagine how your first born is feeling about his or her new big brother/sister status: ALL THE PRIDE. For an added per-card cost, almost all Minted announcements come with multiple back-of-card options for customization, and we love the idea of having your oldest contribute some favorite things about new baby bro or sis.
Measures of Love
Infographics have just the right kind of whimsy for birth announcements. We’re so into the iconography of this Measures of Love template, sharing baby’s birth date and time, weight and height in a sweet and visually impactful way opposite real-life family photos.
Name Plate Booklette Card
This isn’t Minted’s first time around the block; these guys come to play with a plethora of smart and chic announcement formats that include classic card styles, postcards and petites. But if you’ve got more to say (and really, who doesn’t with a newborn who changes every day?), the new booklette cards are perfect for all the bonus space to brag! Fill up eight pretty pages with text and photos to tell the best story ever — no extra postage necessary!
Snuggles
Too cute, right? If you’re struggling to find the perfect announcement for your peanut, Minted will help you plan it all out. You can text your favorite photo to their expert design team, and they’ll get back to you with five design choices styled with your photo, greeting and family name. So, before you get overwhelmed with hundreds of tabs open, let Minted make some magic first! Like this little guy, who’s totally here for the snuggles!
Hickory Dickory, Twinkle Twinkle
Photos are worth a thousand words, but you can use words too. There are so many cards in the sea over at Snapfish, and a bunch that don’t need photos to be splashy, like this “Twinkle, Twinkle” iteration.
Please Send Diapers
Can’t really argue with this plea, especially when it’s embossed in metallic gold, silver, or rose gold foil. The cute kids help ?
Welcoming Home
Smiling parents, happy kid, nothing else matters! However his or her arrival came to be, it was a great day in history, and everyone should know about it. We’re head over heels for this inscription, which includes the child’s birthdate, along with the day he or she officially became a part of the family.
Sweet Dreams
Gender neutral announcements aren’t hard to come by on Zazzle. In fact, lots of them can switch from a blue/green to a pink/purple wash with a simple toggle in “design theme.” If you have a whimsical, cloudy, sleepytime vibe happening in your nursery already, something like this would be a darling match.
Peter Rabbit
Even before our babies get here, we hold out hope that they’ll cherish some of our own favorite books from childhood. So, if your son or daughter is destined to love Peter Rabbit, maybe the bunny should show up on this special piece of snailmail. Zazzle carries a great selection of designs using licensed characters sure to make your loved ones smile each time they steal a glimpse of the card on the fridge.
Rainbow Baby
After every storm there is a rainbow. Truer words have never been spoken! Celebrate the birth of your rainbow babe and biggest blessing with this precious black-and-white portrait card, punctuated with colorful rainbow text. This design can be transferred to a number of other products, as well, from flexible photo magnets to a folded announcement greeting card.
Sweet Signature Foil
Not sure you can get more “basic” than this announcement from Basic Invite, but that’s exactly what we love about it. Straightforward, clean, modern. The epitome of “birth announcement, but make it fashion,” right down to the adorable nickname calligraphed in rose gold foil.
Frilly Fairgrounds
You can still include your baby in your announcement without including your baby. Something graphic like this is quirky and cute with a touch of vintage fanfare. There are 100 hand-picked fonts to choose from for your baby’s name and birth details. Free peel-and-stick envelopes are included in almost all of their card orders, so when you’re ready to send these out, you don’t even have to worry about licking envelopes! (What parents have time for that?)
Exploding Love
We weren’t lying when we said your hearts (and ovaries) would be exploding by the end of this! Just how much love has this new little munchkin added to your family? SOOO MUCH! Basic Invite allows you to customize text colors in up to 180 kaleidoscopic shades, and for 35 cents extra (per card), you can even have the company send your cards out for you. With their elective mailing add-on service, all you need to do is upload your address list, and they’ll take care of the rest — addressing, stamping, and mailing. It’s amazing!
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