Birth Announcements Good Idea or Bad

I only did them for my last child because I just wasn't that "together" for the first two and his baptism wasn't going to happen for several months due to Lent and other things, so I wasn't sending a Christening invite immediately. I always like to receive them and think they're charming. Who dislikes opening snail mail that isn't a bill or junk?

I personally love getting them. I did my kids announcements with a christmas theme and sent them instead of traditonal cards.
I disagree with Diane B, I have never thought that reciving a birth announcement is a solicitation for a gift.

I sent out announcements for people like Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, ect... It is also a nice keepsake for the babybook.

I love getting announcements! And I never feel "obligated" to give a gift, I think that's a little old fashioned. Most of your family and friends have probably already given gifts anyway. Congrats on your new baby girl :)

I love sending and receiving birth announcements!

I like photo birth announcements - I love it when we get one, we display it up on our fridge. We did it online and the company we used sent them out for us. It was easy for us. I forget what company we used now, but we have ALL our friends and family members addresses on the computer so that we don't have to type them in each year for xmas cards or whatever. We use Amazingmail a lot, but that is not what we used for the birth announcements.

I like getting the real thing in snail mail.. Especially if there is a picture. We made our own way back in 77. Really,, wrote out the words and put his foot print on paper, and made copies at my husbands office. We folded them and stuffed envelopes. What I liked was my husband surprised me by drawing a circle on the back and drawing a seal in the center. On the top of the circle he put our last name and around the bottom he wrote "home made kardz n kidz".. 6 years later when our daughter was born we put a photo of our son holding her 3 days after she was born. The seal said Kardz n Kidz 2nd addition"

Since my family is all over the country, within a week of our son being born we sent out a birth announcement with a picture of our son on the front, his name, birthdate/time weight, and length.
My husband put the card together all we had to do was print, fold, stuff/address envelopes and mail.
My family loves getting those because over long distances it was the only way to keep in touch.
I suppose the internet and Facebook makes these things easier, but the older members of my family refuse dealing with the internet so cards and letters are the only way.

I absolutely love getting them and I have never thought of a birth announcement as a solicitation for a gift. My friends and I keep the birth announcements on our refrigerators and some of them at 10 years old!

I don't think its very green or necessary in this day of Facebook and email.

If you want to, definitely do it! I love getting them. I regret not having done them with all of my babies.

Absolutely! Send those announcements!

I like getting picture cards....the plain ones I can do without! costco has really cute and really cheap ones.

Love making them, love sending them, love getting them!
Put a pic in or on the announcement. And it's a fun thing to put in their baby books.

If you've already let your friends know, a printed announcement will appear to be a request for a gift. Some people find them offensive for that reason. Good friends often like to see a photo of the baby but people tend to do that now via email and Facebook. Sometimes local newspapers let you put in a photo & announcement - that's usually something that's worth it if most of your friends are in the same town.

I love getting birth announcements especially if it has a photo of the new baby.

You don't have to send announcements to everyone--just your family and closest friends. Definitely with a picture--everyone wants a picture~ Last time I used Wal-Mart photo online. If you have a week or so to wait and you don't use the one-hour service, you can get them as cheap at 33 cents each. Pick them up at W-M for free shipping. Winkflash also has good sales if you happen to run into one (about the same price as WM, but you have to pay shipping and they take a bit longer--sometimes there's a sale that ends almost a month before a holiday.) I've used other companies, but you can't get them as cheap.

Another good reason to get them is for the baby book.

I love getting them! They go right up on our fridge. I plan on sending them out after our little girl arrives in July. I was thinking of using the same list of folks that were invited to our wedding.

If your going to send them with a picture of the baby then I would say go for it. I have a little collection of all the baby pictures we have received and my daughter loves going through them and trying to guess who they are.

I wouldn't say it's a solicitation for money. I usually think it's sweet that the proud parents thought of me.

I love getting birth announcements :)

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I love getting birth announcements :)

I sent them with both daughters. For some recipients I combined birth announcement with baptism invitation. Some may view it as an old-fashioned practice, but I think it's a good way to announce good tidings.
I also enjoy receiving the good tidings, as well. What better news can there possibly be?

I love receiving them and I love the pic of the baby! If you'd like to keep costs down (w/ an added benefit of being environmentally conscious, Meredith actually gave me this idea below...) you could try sending an announcement from Evite.com. I just checked their site and you can put a baby pic on it and everything. Check it out :)

I did announcements with both of my kids. My daughter is doing them for her new baby. I think people appreciate getting them.
When my dad died, I got some of his things along with things given to him when my grandmother passed away.
There were my kids' birth announcements, saved all these years.
It melted me.
It's just my opinion, but I say send them. Especially to grandmas, grandpas and relatives.

Congratulations on your baby!

They are a must in my world!!! :) I actually make announcements for friends and family. If you aren't too crafty and you are interested, I make them for a cost of about 19 cents a print. I would be willing to offer help.

Privite message me if you like. I can send you some examples. This is not my business, its just a hobby.

I love making and sending birth announcements, and I love getting birth announcements, and I would never interpret that as a request for a gift. It's not like it's a baby shower invitation, I don't understand why anyone would think that. In fact, I've never received a gift from anyone I sent an announcement to either so I'm pretty sure that the majority of people don't interpret them that way. It's just a wonderful fun way to share the news and a super cute picture of your baby.