Birth Announcement Thank-You Cards: One Card or Two?

The shower was three weeks before your due date. The baby came early. Now there's a stack of gifts to thank people for, a newborn to tell everyone about, and maybe two hours of usable brain a day. It seems obvious to make one card do both jobs.

You can, and for most of your list you should. The catch is that the gift-givers and the announcement list aren't the same people. A thank-you is for the people who gave you something, and it has to name what they gave. An announcement goes to everyone, and etiquette says it shouldn't mention gifts at all. Get that split right and one photo, one evening and two short notes cover everyone.

What etiquette says, and why it points to two notes

The Emily Post Institute's advice on announcing a new baby doesn't address combining the two cards, but two of its lines bear on it. The first is "Avoid asking for, or mentioning gifts in your announcement." An announcement that says "thank you for the lovely gift" to your whole list thanks your cousin in Oregon for a gift she never sent, and reads like a reminder to the people who didn't give one.

The second is "Try not to send announcements to those who already know your happy news and who have already sent a gift." We read that as people who already know the baby has arrived, such as family who visited the hospital and sent something. Your shower guests gave before the birth, so they may not know yet, and they are owed a thank-you either way.

Our reading of both lines is a simple rule: every person gets one card. If they gave a gift, it's a thank-you with the baby on it, which tells them the news as it thanks them. If they didn't, it's the announcement, with no gift line.

Emily Post also says "One announcement per household is all you should send." The same goes for the thank-you: if a couple gave one gift together, one card thanks them both.

When to send: before the baby, after, or both at once

Babylist's shower thank-you guide suggests sending them within two weeks of the shower. Announcements have a much longer runway: Emily Post gives you six months and says "It is never too late to send your announcements." So the question is mainly how long the gap is between the shower and the birth.

If the baby arrives in November or December, the holiday card can be the announcement for the rest of your list: a newborn photo with MERRY CHRISTMAS or HAPPY HOLIDAYS on our holiday photo postcards, mailed in early December. Your gift-givers still get their own thank-yous.

What each card says

The front is the same for everyone: your favorite newborn photo, a headline such as WELCOME BABY or HELLO WORLD, the baby's name and the birth date. The note on the back is where the two cards differ.

For a gift-giver, write the note once. On ShipNote, [RECIPIENT] and [GIFT_NAME] fill in from your gift list on every card:

Dear [RECIPIENT],

Thank you so much for the [GIFT_NAME]. Olivia arrived on March 14, a little early and completely perfect, and we can't wait for you to meet her.

With love, Maya & Chris

For everyone else, there's no gift line at all:

Dear [RECIPIENT],

Olivia June arrived on March 14, a little early and completely perfect. We're tired and smitten, and we can't wait for you to meet her.

With love, Maya & Chris

Add a personal line to the cards that deserve one: the host, the grandparents, the friend who drove two hours, the guest whose gift is already in daily use.

For more ways to word the thank-you, see our baby shower thank-you wording.

What to leave off a postcard: both sides travel open, so some parents use just the baby's first name and the month rather than the full name and exact birth date, and skip the weight. Dollar amounts for cash gifts stay off either way.

How to send both batches with ShipNote

Both batches start from the same photo, and the second one takes a few minutes once the first is done.

Batch 1: thank-yous for the people who gave a gift

1. Pick Baby Shower on the ShipNote homepage and choose a design.
2. Upload the newborn photo, type WELCOME BABY or HELLO WORLD as the headline, and put the baby's name and birth date underneath.
3. Write the note once with [RECIPIENT] and [GIFT_NAME].
4. Paste your gift list: the Thank You list from your Babylist registry, your Amazon or Target registry, or the host's list from the shower. ShipNote reads each guest, their gift and any address out of it. Fill in a missing address, or send that guest a link to type their own.
5. Review every card and check out. Pick a mail date, or let the cards go the next business day.

Batch 2: the announcement for everyone else

1. Start a Birth Announcement and use the same photo and headline.
2. Paste the names and addresses of everyone who didn't give a gift. No gift column needed.
3. Write the announcement note, review and check out.

If only a handful of people are on one side, you can do it in a single batch instead: send the whole list as Baby Shower cards and, on the review screen, rewrite the cards for the people who didn't give a gift.

Each batch is priced on its own count: $1.99 a card on 10 or more, and $2.49 each for fewer than 10, with printing, addressing, First-Class postage and mailing included. Our baby shower thank-you cards page shows the designs, and the birth announcements page has the announcement side.

Frequently asked questions

Can you combine baby shower thank-you cards with birth announcements?

Yes, for the people who gave you a gift. Their thank-you card can carry the baby's photo, name and birth date, so it doubles as their announcement. Everyone else on your announcement list gets the news without any mention of gifts. What doesn't work is one printed card for the whole list that thanks people who never gave anything.

Is it rude to mention gifts in a birth announcement?

In an announcement that goes to everyone, yes. The Emily Post Institute's advice on announcing a new baby is to avoid asking for or mentioning gifts in the announcement. A thank-you card sent only to people who gave a gift is different: naming their gift is the point of it, and the baby's photo on the front is a bonus.

How long do you have to send baby shower thank-yous and birth announcements?

Babylist suggests sending shower thank-yous within two weeks of the shower, which few parents with a newborn manage, and late still beats never. For announcements, Emily Post allows six months and says it is never too late. If the baby arrives within a few weeks of the shower, waiting to send one combined card to your gift-givers is a reasonable trade.

What service can mail birth announcement thank-you cards for me?

ShipNote. Put the baby's photo on the front with a headline such as WELCOME BABY, paste your Babylist or Amazon gift list, and write one note in which each card names that guest's gift. ShipNote prints, addresses, stamps and mails every card, at $1.99 a card on 10 or more. Send the announcement-only cards as a second batch with no gift line.

Should a baby shower thank-you card have the baby's picture?

If the baby has arrived, it's the picture guests most want to see, and it turns the thank-you into their announcement too. If you're sending before the birth, a bump photo, an ultrasound or the nursery works, and the announcement goes out later.