One of our church friends had a baby just about a week ago and she apparently sent out paper birth announcements to several people, who tagged her in pictures of them on Facebook (that’s how I found out lol). They were very adorable and simple: a picture of the baby, her name, and her birth stats. I was surprised to see them, though.
Is this still a thing? I remember my mom telling me that people used to send out things like that, but is that still the case these days? Is it “proper” to do? I mean, I can’t imagine what the recipients would do with them, unless they were relatives who had reason to keep them, but I guess it is still nice to do. I don’t know. This has me thinking about whether or not I’d bother doing this, in the future.
Did or will you guys send them out? [name_m]Just[/name_m] curious
I haven’t seen one since my baby cousin was born 18 years ago actually.
However, I love them and wish they were more common! I intend to do one up to send to my elderly relatives who won’t see or receive the news on social media, that way they get a photo and the name and details in a personal way. Especially for my only remaining set of grandparents!
Edit to add: I just remembered seeing one on my brothers fridge a few weeks ago that they received from a friend, so people do still do them!
I’d say it’s pretty common. We sent them out for both our of kids (who are 5 and 2) and we’ve received several of them from family and friends over the years. We did ours through Shutterfly but you can order them through several different sites (tinyprints, etsy, etc). As for what people do with them, we hang up the ones we receive on the fridge for awhile before throwing it away or, if it’s a relative or a really close friend, I put it in a photo album.
We didn’t. I live in Australia so postage to my family in the US would have cost a fortune, and they all would have found out on Facebook anyway weeks before the announcements would have gotten there – kind of pointless, at least in my case. I did make an announcement (picture of baby laying on a chalkboard with her name and birth stats) which we e-mailed to immediate family and then posted on Facebook. Kind of the same idea I guess, just more immediate and cheaper too! And like you said, I wouldn’t know what to do with a birth announcement if I got one. I would think it was cute, but it would probably end up in the bin eventually.
That said, I think it’s all down to personal choice. If you want to send them out, send them out. I haven’t personally received any from any friends who have had babies though, it all seems to be online.
I remember our family getting one when my mum’s brother’s last daughter was born. I thought it was odd - by the time it arrives, the baby is like two weeks old already. And then, it just sits on the fridge for a few months, then goes in the bin. I don’t get that. Why spend the money on printing and postage (which nowadays is stupidly expensive!) for something most people will toss. We didn’t send out wedding thank you notes for the same reason.
It was the one and only printed baby announcement I’ve seen. Most people text, call, and FB.
If I did them, it would only be a handful for people that really wanted the keepsake - like parents and grandparents. And even then, it’s a big maybe.
We sent them out when [name_f]Alice[/name_f] was born and we plan to do so for this baby as well. I want to say we only sent 20 or so though to close friends and family. We have a lot of family living far away and it’s a nice way to send a cute pic or two. Most of the people who received them still have them on the fridge too! I think it’s a little nicer than just seeing photos on Facebook. It’s also not all that expensive either. Check out Shutterfly.
We’ve only received a few birth announcements although we only kept them for a short while since we weren’t all that close to them. I do love seeing new babies though!
We’ve gotten several [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] card/birth announcements the last few years. That seems like a nice way of doing it, and I’ve always thought I’d do that (especially since right now my thought is that I want to keep pictures of future kid on social media to a minimum and my husband doesn’t do social media at all, so it would be the only way lots of his family would know we even had a kid, ha). “[name_f]Merry[/name_f] [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] + here’s our new kid”
I remember my aunt and uncle sending one out for my cousin when she was born in 2012, and my mom got one from a work friend around 2015. Other than that, most people just do it with their [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] cards. My mom gets a few cards from previous grad students or coworkers of hers that feature just pictures of little babies.
I had a distant cousin born about 4 years ago and they sent one to my parents, despite not really being close family. I also remember having one of my cousin whose now 10. That one was sent from her older brother’s point of view, which was sweet (as in 'Introducing my baby sister…etc)
There’s been a couple of babies born recently on DP’s side and they never sent them, but then they also don’t send [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] cards or birthday cards, so I guess it could be down to the parents.
I’ve always wanted to send one, I think they’re a sweet keepsake I also think it’s nicer than doing everything online/by picture message.
I’ve gotten two in the last year out of maybe 15 family and friends who had babies. So they’re definitely still a thing, but perhaps not as common as they once were.
I love sticking them on my fridge! Especially the ones that are magnets—those have a good chance of staying up for years because we are always short on magnets at our house.
I think the advent of social media has reduced the “need” for paper announcements, but they’re still nice, if you’re into that sort of thing.
[name_f]Edit[/name_f]: I also wonder if these things are regional—I’m from the American South, if that makes any difference.
I have known a few people to do it. I think it’s a cute idea. My sister is pregnant and I recently took her to the birthing center for her check up and they had a wall of people that have sent in birth announcements, I loved it especially seeing what everyone named their little ones.
We’ve gotten a few in the last few years from family, sometimes they include it with the [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] card. I personally prefer it to posting things online. I’m not a big fan of social media and prefer things to be more personal, so I like the idea and will probably do them when I become a mother someday.
I’ve never received one, nor has any of my immediate family, and I never considered sending any either when I have kids. Honestly, it never crossed my mind. It’s a sweet idea in theory but I don’t see the point if people will just bin them anyway!
I think they’re sweet and especially like receiving them from friends/relatives who live too far away for me to visit when their babies are newborns. Since neither my partner nor I have facebook or instagram, and have chosen not to share photos of our kid/kids online until he/they can choose that publicity for himself/themselves, sending printed photos is a good way to share with our wider community. That being said, we were so overwhelmed by new parenthood that we never got around to sending one for our son, and now that he’s fifteen months old, it feels too belated! I like the idea, anyway.
We sent them for all of our children. I love them as a keepsake. They are framed in each of their rooms. As many have said most online printing sights have entire sections setup with templates. I think Walmart and Costco also do.
Yes, it is still a thing! My cousin did them and I did them as well! It is a dying tradition though as many just announce on Facebook. I honestly love getting the announcements in the mail. It seems more personal and then I can scrapbook them.
A lot of things like birthday invites, [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] cards, and even wedding invites are becoming digital. I had 1 cousin actually just use Facebook to invite people to her wedding and another cousin who used an online invite system.
I also think it’s nicer than doing everything online/by picture message.