Announcing a baby is one of those moments people want to get right. There's no single correct way to do it — but a little thought turns a quick message into something the family keeps.
Here are ideas that work in practice, from the quietly personal to the properly photographed.
Start with the photo you'll actually keep
Most announcements live online for a day and then disappear. The ones that last are the ones with a physical object in the frame — a name, a date, something stitched rather than printed.
An embroidered cotton banner works well here because it does two jobs: it's the prop in the announcement photo, and afterwards it hangs in the nursery. You're not buying something disposable.
See our personalised banners — from £18.
Include the details that fade from memory
Weight, length, time of birth. Parents remember these clearly for about a month, then they blur. A birth stats piece keeps them somewhere better than a notes app.
Our birth stats banner is stitched with the full set of details — it's the piece people come back for when the first one was a gift.
Tell the siblings first, properly
If there's an older child, giving them something to hold makes the announcement theirs too. A personalised teddy with the new baby's name, handed to the sibling, turns an abstract idea into a specific person arriving.
Personalised teddy bears — from £18.
Announce to grandparents separately
Grandparents rarely want to find out from a group post. A small parcel that arrives before the public announcement — a hoop, a blanket, anything with the name on it — lands very differently to a text message.
Think about what happens after
The announcement is one day. The nursery is years. Choosing a piece that transitions between the two is the practical move: a hoop or banner reads as decoration once the announcement moment has passed.
The Star Explorer hoop is a good example — announcement prop first, nursery art afterwards.
Practical notes on timing
If you're planning an announcement around a due date, order early. Personalised pieces take 2–3 business days to stitch, plus 1–2 days for UK delivery. Babies are famously bad at keeping to schedules, so we'd suggest ordering a couple of weeks ahead and holding the parcel.
If you need to leave the name blank until the birth, that's fine — get in touch and we'll hold the order and stitch it the moment you know.
One small thing
Check the spelling twice. We stitch exactly what's entered, and personalised items can't be returned unless faulty. It sounds obvious, but names with alternative spellings catch people out more than you'd think.
Everything is made in our London studio, one piece at a time. If you have an idea that isn't in the shop, tell us — we like the unusual requests.