Holiday Pregnancy Announcements

My husband and I found out we were expecting on Halloween. As my family lives in another state, we wanted to wait to tell them of the new arrival until we could see them in person, which would be during the Christmas holidays, just in time to be through with the first trimester. Several years ago I gave both my mother and mother-in-law toll-painted heart frames with dowels running through the centers on which you could place little toll-painted dolls, personalized with the names of each of their grandchildren. To break the news, we ordered an (as yet) unpersonalized boy and girl doll for each grandmother and placed them in their stockings when we opened presents with my husband's family and then, two days later, with mine; it was fun to watch the wheels turn in their minds while they figured out just what we were telling them. Both cried, and we were grateful to share a wonderful personal experience with our families as we announced this new life.

Malisa