Finding out you are expecting is an exciting, thrilling time and you can’t wait to let everyone know about the little person who is about to join your family. Although you could simply call everyone or post the news on social media, it might be more fun to try some of these unique, fun ways to break the news to friends and family.

Personalized Fortune Cookie

Invite friends and family over for a Chinese take-out dinner. Instead of supplying the fortune cookies that come with the meal, replace them with personalized cookies with your “fortune” instead. You can use a play on words such as “New grandchildren will arrive in the spring,” or something similar. You can find personalized fortune cookies online or simply use tweezers to pull the original fortunes from pre-purchased cookies and replace with your own.

The Baby Meal

Plan a family picnic or meal with food items with the word “baby” in them. Serve baby back ribs, baby carrots, baby spinach salad, baby peas and other types of foods that are recognized by the word “baby.” Finish the meal with a cake shaped like a pacifier or baby bottle to see how long it takes for people to catch on to your secret.

Gather for a Family Photo

Plan a gathering for a family photo with parents, grandparents, children and extended family. When everyone is in place for the photo, instead of having the photographer tell everyone to say “cheese,” have them say something like “Joe and Jen are having a baby!” The reactions on the photo will be priceless and a keepsake for everyone.

Use the Electronic Age

In the modern age, it has become traditional to have a sonography expert take sonogram pictures of your little bundle of joy. Not only is this for the purpose of showing you what your baby looks like as it is progressing from fetus to baby, but it is to make sure that the baby is okay as well. Once you have your picture in hand, you can do several creative things. One thing that you can do is to write a poem about your to-be child and attach it, along with the photo, to a family email or an Instagram post. Another adorable idea is to utilize 3-D printing and have the face of your baby printed out in physical form. This can be given as a gift to a grandparent or kept for yourself—either way, it would be a special and unique thing to have.

Family Feet

One cute idea is to take photos of the shoes of each family member. You would need a photo of Dad’s shoes, a photo of Mom’s and of any siblings the child would have. Then add a photo of baby booties with the caption, “Our family will grow by two feet” with the due date.

Creative Photos

If your family is spread out and you connect more often on social media, consider taking a creative photo to announce your pregnancy. If you live near the beach, write the baby’s due date in the sand with a photo of mom and dad’s feet in flipflops with a tiny pair in between. You could also take a fall photo with mom and dad in hiking boots with a tiny pair between them for a fall birth. Have a four-legged baby or two at home? Hang a sign around their neck with the baby’s due date and the words, “Guard Dog Duty Begins…” There are almost as many creative photos to take as there are families, so use your imagination and then post on social media for everyone to see.

These are just a few ideas for creative ways to announce your new arrival. Although you can still do things the old-fashioned way with phone calls and announcements over the dinner table, these can be fun and exciting ways to alert everyone to your new bundle of joy.