How to Announce a Pregnancy to Family and Friends

So you just found out that you are going to be a parent. How exciting! How should you inform your family and friends? Here are some suggestions.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• List of family and friends.
• Camera
• Mobile Phone
• Camcorder (optional)

1. One idea is to have a huge gathering of family and friends and tell everybody at once, but the problem with that is that you don't get to see everyone's reaction. I prefer a more personal visit with each person so that you can share a conversation with each one and see the joy on their faces when you share your good news. Save the big parties for the baby showers or just have a big gathering after everybody knows.
2. To begin, take a piece of paper and write a list of your closest family and friends. You will want to arrange these names in order by when they will receive the good news. In my opinion the parents of the expecting mother and father, if they're still around, should be the first ones to know the good news, since they will be your child's grandparents.
3. Decide who lives close enough to visit and who will need to receive a call instead. Plan this carefully because good news travels fast. You don't want someone very close to you to receive a phone call from someone else before you are able to tell them. Plan your visits so that you can make phone calls to the out-of-town friends and family while you are on the road from one in-person visit to the other. This is the most efficient way of reaching more people in a shorter amount of time.
4. For your parents and grandparents, it is a good idea to present them with a gift; something with a significant reference to grandkids or great-grandkids. This gives an element of surprise so that you can watch the look on their face change as they realize what you're telling them. It is very exciting for everyone involved. A book about how to spoil grandkids or a picture frame or flip book with "grandkids" engraved on it are some suggestions.
5. Take pictures while you are visiting with your friends and family and then write about the experience, including the date and time that you told them. These will make interesting entries into your baby's book and you'll be glad that you took the time to do it when you read them years from now.

Tips & Warnings

• Enjoy this time. It goes by fast!
• Be sure to tell everyone who is close to you.
• Make notes about each visit.