Expectant and new parents often spend a lot of time searching for clever and unique ways to announce their baby's arrival. Announcement or photo cards are the typical choice, and while they serve the purpose, they often lack personality and don't truly reflect the celebratory nature of the event. Personalized candy bar wrappers offer a fun alternative to the standard birth announcement, and will bring a smile to the friends and family fortunate enough to receive them.

Candy bar birth announcements are a sweet way to spread word of your little one's arrival. They have recently gained popularity as birth announcements after their use as wedding reception favors became more widespread. The candy wrappers are wrapped over the existing chocolate bar's packaging, creating a seamless look that gives all appearances of a totally custom candy bar. The wrappers are available with many images, colors and styles, making it easy to find a design that reflect's either your family's -- or your baby's -- personality. The ability to customize the wrapper to your specifications means that you can personalize your announcement, revealing your baby's birth statistics, name, including a short poem or sentiment, and perhaps also adding a photo of your newborn so family and friends that live in far away places can get that all-important first peek at your new arrival. In addition to receiving the sweetest news, friends and family will receive news that's sweet!

What makes a great birth announcement?

• Personality. The candy bar birth announcement wrapper design that you choose should be reflective of your family. Designs can range from traditional and sentimental, to whimsical and light-hearted. Find a design that suits you best.
• Information. The people you are sharing your news with will want as many relevant details as possible. It's a good idea to include the baby's first, middle and last name, as well as their birth statistics -- date and time of birth, length, and weight. The back of the wrapper is a great place to include your names, as well as those of any siblings.
• Pictures. Include a photo of your baby to make the wrapper extra-special. The inclusion of a photo as part of your customized wrapper is an especially thoughtful touch when sending the wrapper announcements to family and friends who may live far away.
• Sentiment. Include a short poem or verse, something that expresses your joy in words. A couple of examples are:

  • "A brand new life has just begun! We proudly announce the birth of our son!"
  • "Our precious one is here, making every moment dear"

When should we send our birth announcements?

Traditionally, most parents send out birth announcements within a few weeks of the baby's birth. However, this is obviously a very hectic time for new parents -- don't worry if time gets away from you. Even announcements received months after the baby's arrival will still be appreciated by family and friends -- and the sweet candy bar inside will be enjoyed, too!

One way to eliminate the hassle and stay on top of sending out your birth announcement wrappers is to pre-order them. We encourage all expectant parents to select their birth announcement design and pre-order -- this eliminates the task of sorting through designs and trying to make a selection when your time is needed elsewhere. You select the wrapper design you like, and when the baby arrives all you're required to do is provide the details (name, date of birth, time and place of birth, etc.) to complete the customization of your wrapper. We then proceed with the printing and shipping of your order as promptly as possible, ensuring that your announcements arrive quickly. Having the announcements arranged in advanced is just one small way of making those precious first few weeks a little easier for new parents.

Are candy wrapper birth announcements affordable?

Candy wrapper birth announcements are very affordable -- in fact, in most cases they cost much less than traditional printed card announcements (even including the cost of the chocolate bar). It is possible to reduce your costs further by ordering your announcements as "wrappers only" -- you receive the printed candy bar wrappers, pre-cut foil sheets, and instructions for wrapping the bars yourself. Candy bars may be purchased from your local warehouse store, and the do-it-yourself assembly is really quite simple once you get the hang of it. Bars can be wrapped while you watch TV, or in other quiet moments as you find them. Better yet -- enlist the help of family and friends to get the bars wrapped and distributed!

Personalized candy wrapper birth announcements are just that little bit more thoughtful, and a lot more unique, than traditional card announcements. They are just the kind of sweet treat delivering sweet news that your friends and family will be delighted to receive.

Jenni Kowalczyk is a member of the creative candy wrapper design team at http://www.whimsywraps.com. Discover our unique collection of birth announcement candy wrappers and baby shower favors.