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My husband and I recently found out I’m pregnant and would like to tell our families around Christmas. I think it would be fun to get cute Grandma and Grandpa gifts and see their reaction when they open them.My parents are really HIP though — like hippie cool, and would never want a necklace that says “Grandma’s Angels” or a sign that says “What happens at Grandpa’s stays at Grandpa’s.”
What gifts can we get them that will break the news but that they might still actually like? — Bex
When my sister told my parents she was pregnant, she gave them a sonogram in a Baby frame. Pictures are pretty much a win for everyone.
What do you envision them doing with your child? Maybe give them some child size gardening gloves or a How to Teach a Kid to Fish book and let them figure it out from there.
You could give them something useful, like a playpen for them to put the baby in when it comes to visit or jars of baby food.
If you want them to have something for them, I’d suggest cruising Etsy. Etsy is my go-to place for all presents. Even if you don’t buy off it, it can give you some awesome ideas. And if you have an awesome idea and you can’t find it on there, chances are good you can find someone who will be THRILLED to custom make it for you.
Good luck!
The activity supplies are a great idea! Not planning to procreate, but if I were, I might get my artist mom a set of finger paints or other child-friendly craft supplies, since I know she loved doing those things with me. Maybe take a cue from what they wanted to do with you when you were little?
My parents are big college football fans, so I plan on getting sweatshirts or jerseys made for their teams with “Grandma” (or, in my Dad’s case, “Big Papa”) on it somewhere. I’m guessing your parents might not be huge sports fans but maybe you can take that idea in a similar direction. Are they a part of a certain art community or music group or cycling group or community action team? I think anything that reflects their interest and is personalized towards their future grandparent-dom would be really nifty.
I also know that a lot of grandparents go by nicknames instead of “Grandma and Grandpa”. What do you think your kids might call them? Did you have a special nickname for your grandparents that your parents might enjoy being called? I have a Nana and Poppi and my parents decided a long time ago that they were going to be “Gemma” and “Big Papa”.
Congrats on your new baby!
We did something pretty similar. We’re not huge sports fans, but my MIL is Red Sox OBSESSED. We bought her a Red Sox onesie and hat set to let her know we were expecting. I totally don’t care if the kid wears it, but I already know it’s her favorite, LOL!
we made a crossword-puzzle for all family members, with the sentence “grandma charlotte has eight grandchildren” – our new baby being number eight- as the answer.
(a week later we had to call everyone telling them that we just found out she had in fact nine grandchildren..)
but still, the crossword puzzle was a big hit with everyone!
How about something like a baby afghan or a little hat? A “keep this, you’ll need it soon” type item?
we didnt get a gift, but we did get my whole family together for a group christmas photo, and right before he snapped the shot, my husband said “everybody say guess who’s pregnant!” The picture he took was awesome!
Ha! LOVE this!!
photo or it didn’t happen!!
That sounds like such an awesome idea 😀
I gave all of the grandparent to be books that they could read the baby.
My husband loves Photoshop so he made some “grandparent cards”.
On one side, the first ultrasound; on the other, grandparent photo, name, expected date of birth of the child, grandpa’s rights and duties. The same for uncles.
They adore the card and bring them in their wallet, together with their IDs and driving licences. Easy to show to all friends and other relatives!
So cute!
My dad is really into puns, so I put together a card for him with this punny message:
“We didn’t dream this up at the sperm of the moment. After all, we have a fertile imagination! It’s time to get egg-cited… because there’s always womb for one more!”
And a picture of the sonogram on the inside. The whole family was amused.
I like the books idea. I quite like a book called The Gifts of Being Grand. There’s also a book just called Grandparents (I think), with pictures from the animal kingdom. I can’t vouch for this as I’ve only seen the cover, but that might be lovely.
With the help of an Etsy artist, we made cards that said ‘Congratulations, you’re being promoted*!’ Then on the inside ‘*effective approximately [due date]’ and ‘Choose your new titles: [with a list of names/nicknames for grandmothers and grandfathers].’ This worked really well. We included the ultrasound (aka sonogram), but you wouldn’t need to if you don’t have one yet.
You can also get t-shirts custom made (eg. on Etsy) that say Grandad, Est. 2013. Obviously it’s more on the tacky side, but could be good for a laugh. This would only work if yours was their first grandchild and you were fairly confident in what they might want to call themselves as grandparents.
There’s also the old custom made fortune cookie idea…
I hope this gives you or someone else some food for thought. 🙂
I got this keychain for my dad:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/91824683/men-dad-custom-gift-key-chain-for-daddy
engraved with “Grandpa, est. 2012”
Subtle, but something he’ll use every day. He loved it!
I love the group picture idea
I spent so long trying to figure something out for my family too. I had just found out I was pregnant 2 weeks before Christmas and wanted to do a present announcement (I know, we jumped the gun a bit). Ultimately, we just put a little pair of baby socks in a gift bag, and had our parents open the present without an explanation. The socks weren’t really the gift anyway – it was the message the was the present present. 🙂
We had previously planned to go to dinner at a very nice restaurant when my husband’s parents visited from out of town. Right before we left to eat we told them that there was a special event going on in town and name tags were required to be worn. It was so fun, and touching, to watch their faces go from utter confusion to pure joy when they realized their tags said “grandma” and “grandpa”.
I just found out that I’m pregnant, and my mom’s birthday is today. We’re having a big family dinner on Sunday, and she mentioned she’d like a mug for work. So I got her a Grandmother mug. I can’t wait to see her face!
We got my husband’s grandparents (who are old Polish Holocaust survivors, not exactly hip, but still 🙂 a double-sided picture frame. In one of the sides, we put a picture of the two of us, and we left the other side blank. They opened the frame, smiled at the picture of us, looked confused at the other side… so then I told them that we’d have a picture for them to put there in about six months, but here’s something for now… and I handed them an ultrasound picture. The rest of our family lives far away from us, so we arranged a type to skype with all of them at once (on Passover seder night) and got to tell them live. Mazel tov!
Cake! I told my husband I was pregnant in frosting on a cake, and while “Will you be my baby daddy?” is probably a little TOO hip for even the hippest grandparents, a clever quip written on a cake might be just the thing. We’ve also learned the hard way that sentimental gifts pile up really, REALLY quickly with a new baby, so giving a fun memory (and taking photos to document their reactions) might be a nice alternative.
My husband and I are also telling family we’re expecting at Christmas time. I am going to make sharpie mugs! I’ve been collecting quotes about grandparents, then I will write them with sharpie onto plain mugs, and bake them at 350 for about 30 minutes. Cheap and easy, and you have complete control of the messages involved. 🙂
We are getting our parents grandparent journals to fill in about their lives and give to the baby.
my husband and i did this last year for our parents. it was a ton of fun too watch them open their gifts and the thought process of them figuring out what was happening! one gift was the book – the really useful grandparents’ book. the other was bibs that said ‘i love my grandma/pa.’ not exactly hip, mostly corny, but very fun!!
In Holland we celebrate Sinterklaas, on December 5th, with presents and poems for all the family. When my mum was newly pregnant with me, first grandchild to all four grandparents, she did the big reveal in a poem on Sinterklaas Eve. Six years later she simply used the same poem to announce my brother, also due at the end of July.
And now, with uncannily similar timing, my due date’s smack dab in the middle between my brother’s birthday and my own; of course I couldn’t resist going down the same route! I wrapped an alcohol free beer for my dad and a packet of the biscuits that I was almost exclusively raised on in utero (only thing she could stomach during morning sickness) for my mum, and the poem mentioned how I desperately needed these items back.
It went down a storm!