There is nothing proud parents love to do more than show off their new little bundle of joy. However, the early days should be spent getting to know the new baby, not calling everyone to announce the birth. There are many retailers that will take advantage of this by charging high prices for cute little birth announcements. While some parents have the disposable income to pour into these, many parents find that their money would be better spent elsewhere. There are many ways to announce your baby’s birth for free.
The old fashioned free way to get the word out is by telephone. Especially with the onset of free long distance with most cellular plans, this is an efficient and personal way to announce your child’s birth. This task is best delegated to someone close enough to the new family to know the facts, yet not immediately involved with the care of the newborn. Grandparents are great for this. Compile a list of the names and phone numbers of the people you want called after the birth. Make sure the delegated person has the list, but keep an extra copy just in case. Once the little one is born, make the call to Grandma so she can call everyone else.
If you are giving birth in a hospital or birth center, you may have a photographer come around and offer to take newborn pictures. While you are not obligated to buy the prints, many hospitals have the option of displaying the baby’s picture and statistics on their website free of charge. Once you have that link, you can e-mail it to your family and friends.
If you are looking for a more personalized approach to sharing your news, you could create a free birth announcement online. BabiesOnline is a very popular site for this. You begin the process by registering your email. You are sent a pin number that you use to log in. Next you fill out demographic information. You can save email addresses to the account so they can be notified of updates to your baby’s page. Then your baby will have his or her own website full of announcements and updates. You can even begin this process during pregnancy!
Although keeping an up to date website can be fun, sometimes you just want a quick and easy free birth announcement. In this case, I recommend going to a site like HappyGreetings. You can create an e-card to send to friends and family in just minutes. There are fields for name, birth date and time, weight, height and additional comments. You can either use their service to send the greeting to your email list, or you can send the link in an email.
No matter which way to choose to share your baby’s birth with the world, there is no reason shell out any money at all. Perfectly adorable and practical free birth announcements are right at your fingertips.
