Congratulations on your awesome news! Pregnancy is an exciting time, made even more exciting when you get to break the news to others. Now you have the special opportunity to tell your parents they will be first-time grandparents! It’s perfect timing too – Grandparents Day is around the corner, it falls on the first Sunday after Labor Day every year. I’ve compiled a few fun pregnancy reveal ideas perfect for breaking the news to first-time grandparents any time of year.
I’m the oldest in my family and had the honor telling my parents that they would be grandparents for the very first time. It was so much fun. My husband’s family lives in another state than we and my parents do, but since we found out we were pregnant a few weeks before Easter we conspired to get both families together to share the news with everyone at once. Although it was a little difficult convincing them to hop on a plane for Easter (which is not a big family holiday for us — we typically save travel for Thanksgiving and Christmas) my husband’s insistence paid off and we had both sets of parents together for Easter.
I love DIY crafts so I made fridge magnets using pretty paper and glass pebbles and wrote things like “New Grandma 12-2014” on them. I put the magnets in plastic Easter eggs and had everyone open them at the same time while my husband recorded video. The reactions were wonderful and I’m so glad to have the video footage to remember the day as well.
Below are 6 ways to surprise your family with the good news in a memorable way, plus 12 fun reveal presents for the new grandparents. Even if they’re not first-time grandparents, plenty of these ideas on this list still fit with some tweaking!
Have your significant other pretend to take a group photo of the family but secretly record –this way you’ll have tons of photo options from the video footage later. Have him count down “One, two” and then you jump in and finish, “We’re pregnant!” or “[NAME’s] pregnant!” You could do the same with a timer and one or both of you doing the countdown.
Similarly, have him take one photo while saying “Say cheese!” and then hold everyone for one more, “Okay one more. Say [wife’s name] is pregnant!”
Show up at a family gathering wearing a t-shirt that says “Mom to Be” and either wait for it to be noticed or prompt them, “What do you think of my new shirt?”
If you have a family dinner on the calendar, tell them you’ll bring dessert & bring a cake/brownie/cookie cake that says “Congrats Grandparents!” or even “Happy Grandparents Day!,” if it’s in early September..
Or if you want them to have a memento of the occasion, use one of the reveal present ideas below. No matter what you do, try to record their reaction! Either set up a video camera in the background or have your partner record while you hand out the present or make the announcement.
These are great ideas if you want to give your parents a little gift to either break the news or commemorate the occasion. Even if your big reveal doesn’t fall on Grandparents Day, these are great gift ideas for anytime of year.
Note that I’ve written “Grandma” and “Grandpa” in all of these just because it’s easier. Obviously fill that in with whatever grandparent names you or your parents want!
“New Grandma/Grandpa” fridge magnets — These are the magnets I gave to my parents for our reveal. Here’s a great tutorial to follow. A few tips: be sure to find big glass pebbles that give you space to write (unless you plan to print or are really good at writing teeny). Also, when choosing the paper for the background, make sure your writing will be legible—you don’t want anyone to have to squint to interpret the special message! I also found two types of glass pebbles at the craft store – some that were perfectly clear and some that were iridescent. The iridescent make for really pretty magnets that don’t have writing on them but were really hard to read through. So I opted for the clear ones for these magnets.
Mini sonogram polaroids — Change up the standard sonogram-in-a-frame idea and make some mini polaroid-like magnets of your first baby picture. Here’s how to make mini polaroid magnets. Trick: scan or take a photo of your sonogram and use picmonkey.com (it’s free) to shrink your photo to the size you want. You can even make a collage with 4 or more of the same image to print a few at once.
Folding frame with sonogram — Give the new grandparents a frame with room for multiple baby pictures. For Mother’s Day I gave my mom a folding frame with space for 4 photos. I added the first sonogram to one, made a couple of designs for two of the spaces (so it wasn’t super empty), and left the last one open so we could add a real, non-sonogram picture after baby arrives.
Decorate a mug, frame, or t-shirt — Possible sayings include, “Best Grandma/Grandpa,” “New Grandma/Grandpa,” “Grandpa, est. 2014,” or find a quote about being a grandparent that resonates with you or your parents.
Blank scrapbook or photo album — Give them a blank scrapbook with either a note, “For adding future memories and photos with your first grandchild” or a title page, “Grandbaby #1”
Save the Date invites — Make a “Save the Date” party invite with the due date, listing the hospital as the party location.
Children’s books — Give them some of your favorite children’s books (to read to baby later) with a nice note inside.
Grandparenting books — Break the news with a book! Wrap up a copy of one of these books and wait ‘til they get the message. You can choose from books for the grandparents themselves or cute children’s books about grandparents.
Baby clothes — Find or DIY a baby bib or onesie with “I love Grandma” etc. on it. Alternately, baby booties are an obvious hint!
Favorite team gifts — If mom or dad is a big sports fan, get them a onesie of their favorite sports team or adult-size jerseys with “Grandma” and “Grandpa” on them.
Family tree — If your family loves genealogy, create a family tree with your due date under your and your partner’s names. For an artsy family tree, use a free template and leave space for fingerprints!
Tie into mom or dad’s favorite hobby — Do your parents have a hobby you think they’d want to share with their grandchild? If so, get them child-friendly supplies to kick-start that new adventure, such as an LP of children’s music for a record collector or a mini shovel for an avid gardener.
For more creative pregnancy announcement ideas, check out these links:
