The birth of a new baby is a wonderful experience and as a parent you will want the world to celebrate with you. The last thing you want to worry about after the birth of your child is how to organize you’re birth announcements.

To reduce the stress of sending out birth announcements on time it is best to plan ahead. I thought I would go over a brief timeline so if anyone has any questions of when they should get started or what to do this will hopefully cover the main points.

3 months before your delivery date: - The first thing that you should always consider is, who are you going to send the announcements to. Start compiling a list of the name and addresses of the people you would like to include.

2 month Before you delivery date: - In the last month of your pregnancy you should start to organize what you are going to send. You will need to choose the design, wording, paper, and ink for your birth announcements, If you would like to see samples please bear in mind that this can take a little time because of the post so you should plan a few weeks ahead to avoid any disappointment. Please bear in mind that as all our invitations are engraved printed it normally takes between 7-10 working days to complete an order after we have received approval of the Proof so you will have to factor this in when it comes to ordering your announcements.

When to send: - Ideally, birth announcements should be sent to family and friends as soon after the birth as possible. However, with the added demand on the parents’ time, remembering to send birth announcements on time can be easily forgotten, because of this it is now acceptable to send out birth announcements within the baby’s first six months. If your newborn arrives around holidays, combining the birth announcement with a holiday greeting is acceptable and quite popular. Please remember that it is most important to send the news to your loved ones and colleagues to show them you care – after all, for many this will be the first communication with your newborn baby.

Etiquette: - Most birth announcements include standard information, like the parent(s)’ names, bab(ies)’ name(s), birth date, birth weight, and length.

It is not necessary to hand sign the announcement or include a personal note in each card. Receivers understand that the parents are extremely busy, and they will appreciate just hearing from you and you sharing the news with them. Time and energy provided, you can include a short note to certain close relatives, but again, it is not necessary. It is proper for receivers of birth announcements to call you or send you a note in thanks.

Typically, it is not proper to explicitly state a no gift policy or direct recipients to a gift registry. Leave the decision in the receiver’s hands, and let them contact you at their discretion. When you do receive a gift or thoughtful note, send a thank you card as soon as possible to convey your gratitude we offers a unique selection of thank you cards and personal baby stationery. For a coordinated look, you can choose a birth announcement with a matching thank you card.

For those of you who do not have the time or inclination to design your own, Capital of London has come up with a range of pre printed birth announcements. All of these announcements are engraved printed on the highest quality card and include envelopes. These announcements are available to order straight away without any delays, and they will be put in the post the same day you have ordered them if your order is placed before 15:00 or the next day if you order is placed after. There are several different options for you to choose from.

1) Single card announcements with motif: - These are unisex cards perfect for all the parents who do not know the gender of the baby yet. They are printed on one side, a motif is located on the top centre of the card followed by space to include the parent(s) name(s), the bab(ies) name(s), the date and place of birth and the time and weight of the baby. They come pre packed in packs of 5 card with envelopes and each pack retails at £5.00

2) Single card announcements with bow: - The general layout for these are similar to the card above but these include a hand tied bow at the top centre instead of a motif, these card are gender specific, the baby blue cards for boys and the baby pink for the girls. Again the card come pre packed in packs of 5 and they include envelopes. Each pack retails at £7.50 per pack

3) Folded card announcements with motif: - These card come landscape and will include a motif on the top centre. The space on the inside can be used for either a personal message or for a picture of your newborn. These announcements are gender specific, so the baby blue for boys and the baby pink for girls. They come pre-packed in packs of 5 card and envelopes and each pack retails at £6.70

4) Folded card announcements with bow: - these cards are the same as the above folded cards but in place of the motif there is a hand tied bow in the top centre. They come in packs of 5 including envelopes and each pack retails at £10.00

Let me finish off this week by saying if you are expecting a baby, I would like to send you my heartfelt congratulations and wish you the best of luck for the future.

To place an orer with Capital of London please click here