5 Fun Birth Announcement Ideas

At long last, your baby’s here! Time to share the big news with the world. Creating birth announcements is a way to to celebrating your baby’s arrival and make a memento that you’ll keep forever, so they have to be right. We talked to Dove Thistleton, a Chicago children’s photographer who also designs birth announcements, about how to do it.

The Classic: Sleeping Pose
“The most popular theme that parents use for the announcement is the image of their little one in the curled up, perfectly positioned sleeping pose,” says Thiselton. “It’s a such a super sweet choice for a boy or a girl, works great with multiples, and is a rather classic choice that will stand the test of time.”

She suggests tying a bow around the baby’s tummy or positioning props such as flowers or balls nearby. “I just remind everyone that the objects ideally are lightweight, soft, and warmed on a heating pad so that their placement doesn’t startle the little one into waking up,” she says.

The Trendy: Handwritten Letter Board
Weddings, graduations, first days of school: chalkboard signs seem to be present at most big events these days. Include one of these cute signs in your birth announcement to include pertinent information like the baby’s full name, birthdate, weight and astrological sign.

Use graphic design to make the announcement itself look like a chalkboard, or prop a board next to your baby during the photo shoot. For parents who want to create their own chalkboard, Thiselton suggests doing it at home before the photo shoot and spray it with sealant. “Then they can use it as nursery décor afterward,” she says.

The Quirky: Incorporated Hobbies
Your announcements are going out to the people who know you best, so make them laugh by nodding to your personalities. If you’re comic book nerds, hire a graphic artist to create a one-page comic book portraying your labor process and the baby’s arrival. Sports lovers might dress the baby in a jersey and include a caption like “Yankees starting pitcher, 2038 season.” If you’re big readers, mock up the front cover of a book with your baby’s name as the title, your names as the authors and a shot of the little one as the illustration.

The Sweet: Sibling Shot
“For families that have one or more older children, I encourage them to include their bigger one(s) in at least one of the announcement’s pictures,” Thiselton says. “I do this because this is the first official photo shoot of all their little ones together.” If the older siblings are preschool age or younger, she suggests placing the newborn on an ottoman with the older kid(s) standing behind it. “If the siblings are older, they can support the newborn in the crook of their arm by sitting up or lying down. Or they can lie to the side of the baby, and kiss his/her little cheek.”

The Playful: Use the Seasons
Drawing on the time of year is a simple way to get inspiration for a cute announcement. Try creating an entire scene around the theme. For instance, with a baby born in December you might arrange a red velvet bag so it looks like the sleeping baby is crawling out of Santa’s sack, surrounded by fake snow.



Kathryn Walsh is a freelance writer specializing in parenting and travel topics. Her work has appeared on mom.me, TheBump.com, and USAToday.com.