by Victoria Tiegert

Created on: August 25, 2008   Last Updated: May 09, 2011

Becoming a parent is an amazing adventure, but becoming a grandparent is a world-class vacation. While parenting holds in store a lifetime of joy and love, it is also accompanied by additional expenses and hard work. Grandparenting differs from this because you can choose your special times shared with your grandchild as it fits in with your life. There are many fun and creative ways to tell your parents that you are expecting and they are going to enter this exciting time in their own lives. Here are just a few to get your own creative juices flowing!

The Balloon Bouquet-Go to your local florist and have a balloon bouquet made up with one large balloon that is for grandparents. Or, you can pick up a balloon filled with baby items such as rattles and booties. If this is their first grandchild, they should get the idea pretty quickly. Attach a card announcing your pregnancy for good measure.

Advertise It-Digital photography is great! Take a photo of your parents and photo edit in a baby in their arms. Send this to their local paper with verbage announcing the upcoming arrival. Be sure they get the paper! This is also a great memento to add to your baby book!

Dinner Date-Take your parents to dinner someplace they enjoy and drop a few hints throughout the meal, such as leaving often to use the ladies' room and cooing over babies that come in the restaurant. Between dinner and dessert, have the waiters come out and sing your announcement. Have a camera ready to catch their reaction!

Care Package-Box up a bunch of baby items and mail them to your parents with a letter explaining that they will need these supplies on hand when your new arrival comes to visit. Good itemsto add are diapers, rattles, bottles, and baby clothes. Put the letter at the bottom of the package to give them a couple of minutes to wonder why someone is sending them these unnecessaries.

A brand new baby is exciting and a blessing for an entire family and there are literally hundreds of different ways to let everyone in on your secret. These are just a few ideas of how to make your big announcement. You can use these or vary them or come up with something completely your own. Your little bundle of joy will be with you soon but while you are waiting, get creative in announcing it. Make it fun, make it festive and plan a celebration of new life.

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