What to do with a birth announcement card? 5 ideas

A birth announcement card is often one of the first tangible memories of your child. You thought about the name, colors, wording, illustrations, and maybe even a symbol that fits your family. Then the card sits on a cabinet, hangs from a garland for a while, or stands among the newborn gifts.

But after a few weeks, the same question almost always appears: what do you do with the birth announcement card? Throwing it away feels wrong, but keeping it in a drawer does not really do it justice either.

Looking for ideas? These are five ways to give a birth announcement a lasting place:

Turn it into a personal read-aloud book (our favorite)
Keep the birth announcement in a memory box
Frame the birth announcement for the baby room
Use the birth announcement in a photo book
Bring the card back in a growth chart

Why birth announcement cards are so hard to let go of

A birth announcement is not just paper. It marks the beginning of a new life and often a period your family looks back on with a lot of feeling. It carries the name, birth date, sometimes a small poem, and often an illustration style chosen with care.

That is why the card feels more personal than many other baby keepsakes. It is small, but it holds a lot of memory. That is exactly where the doubt begins: keep it, hang it, turn it into something new, or store it somewhere safe?

1. Our favorite: turn it into a personal read-aloud book

Our favorite way: turn the birth announcement into a personal read-aloud book where the style, colors, and illustrations of the card return and your child plays the lead role. That way the card no longer sits in a drawer, but actually gets used.

At BoekjesAtelier, you upload the birth announcement as inspiration. The atmosphere and illustration style become the foundation for a book where your child lives the story. Add a photo of your child and share a few story elements, and a story appears that feels like it belongs to your family.

For example, we made a book for Yara inspired by her jungle birth announcement. The animals and warm colors of the card returned in her own adventure.

Looking for something else? Below you will find four more ideas.

See how a birth announcement becomes a children's book

Mother reading the personal read-aloud book made from the birth announcement together with her child

2. Keep the birth announcement in a memory box

The simplest option is also one of the loveliest: place the birth announcement in a memory box. Add the first hat, hospital bracelet, an ultrasound photo, a card from the maternity week, or a small note from you.

Choose a small, clear selection rather than a box that slowly fills with everything. That way it stays truly special to open later. On a birthday, for example, you can take the box out together again and look back on those first weeks.

Wooden memory box with Yara's jungle birth announcement design on the lid

3. Frame the birth announcement for the baby room

If the birth announcement matches the baby room, you can frame it. This works especially well for cards with a clear illustration, calm typography, or a color that returns in the room.

You can frame the card by itself, or combine it with a photo of your baby. That turns it from a loose card into a small personal artwork.

4. Make a photo book with the birth announcement

A birth announcement can make a beautiful first page for a photo book about the newborn period. After that, you can add photos of the first meeting, visitors, tiny everyday moments, and the first weeks at home.

Do you have a newborn guest book or baby memory book? You can use the card there too, with short notes from visitors and small memories from that period. That way the card gets context: later you remember what it looked like and exactly which first weeks it belonged to.

See our ideas for personalized newborn gifts

Photo book of Yara's first year in the style of her jungle birth announcement

5. Bring the birth announcement back in a growth chart

Many birth announcements have a clear style: animals, flowers, hot air balloons, soft colors, or graphic shapes. You can bring that style back later in a growth chart for the child's room.

This works especially well when you want to hold on to the atmosphere of the card and let it grow visibly with your child. That way the birth announcement becomes the starting point for something that stays in the room for years.

A read-aloud book that keeps growing with your child

A box, frame, or poster mainly preserves the birth announcement as an object. That is already worth a lot. A read-aloud book adds something on top: it turns the memory into a moment that keeps returning.

You pick up the book at bedtime, read the same sentences together, point out details, and watch your child recognize themselves in the story. That way the birth announcement is no longer a one-off from the birth; it becomes part of your family as they grow.

That also makes a personal read-aloud book a lovely newborn gift. It stays personal on the day you give it, and just as much in the years after.

Cover of the personal read-aloud book "Yara's Spannende Jungletocht", made from her birth announcement

What is the best way to keep a birth announcement?

The best choice depends on what you want the card to do. If you mainly want to protect the original, make a good scan or photo first, then store the card dry, dark, and flat, ideally in an acid-free sleeve or box. Avoid tape or glue on the original; use a copy for framing, a growth chart, or craft projects.

If you want to keep seeing or using the birth announcement, framing it, adding it to a photo book, or turning it into a personal read-aloud book may fit better. What matters most is that the card stays part of your family's story: safely stored as a keepsake, visible in the room, or reused in something you can enjoy together.

Example: Yara's birth announcement as a book

Below you can see the birth announcement and photo we used for Yara's personal book. After that, you can flip through the example book and see how the atmosphere of the card returns in the story.

Upload your birth announcement card and discover how we turn it into a personal read-aloud story.