Baby Announcement Ornament Ideas for Christmas Pregnancy Reveals

By Jan Bay

A baby announcement ornament turns the Christmas tree into part of the pregnancy reveal. You can use an ultrasound photo, due date, baby-on-the-way message or simple keepsake ornament to tell grandparents and family that a new baby is coming, then save the ornament as the first Christmas keepsake from that pregnancy.

Plan the Christmas Reveal Before You Design the Ornament

Start with the person who is supposed to understand the surprise. An ornament for grandparents can be personal and specific. One you're hanging on the tree for several relatives to discover needs to make sense without a long explanation. An ornament you're photographing for an announcement needs to read clearly in one picture.

I'd decide that before choosing the ornament itself.

If you're handing it directly to someone, a small keepsake ornament tucked into a gift box works beautifully because the recipient gets to open the surprise. If you're revealing the pregnancy during a family Christmas gathering, hanging the ornament where someone will notice it can make the discovery feel more spontaneous.

For a photograph, keep the ornament simpler. The ultrasound image, baby-on-the-way symbol or one short announcement detail should be obvious even when the picture is viewed on a phone.

Don't make the recipient solve a riddle unless that's genuinely part of the fun. The ornament can be clever without being confusing.

Baby Announcement Ornament Ideas That Actually Work as a Reveal

A baby announcement ornament can carry the news in several different ways, and they don't all need wording on the front.

An ultrasound photo ornament makes the pregnancy itself the focal point. A small frame-style ornament works especially well because the picture can be replaced if you want to preserve the original scan separately.

A tiny booties ornament can suggest a baby on the way without needing a photograph. I'd keep the rest simple so the meaning doesn't get buried under extra Christmas decoration.

A clear fillable ornament can hold a small ribbon, miniature knitted baby item or another lightweight symbol of the pregnancy. It works nicely when you want the recipient to look closely before the surprise clicks.

A locket-style ornament gives you two surfaces to work with. Put the visual surprise inside and use the back or second panel for the due month, family name or short message.

A grandparent ornament can make the relationship the reveal. Instead of announcing the pregnancy generally, the ornament tells someone that a new grandchild is coming.

A twins announcement ornament should make the number obvious. Two small matching symbols or two ultrasound images are clearer than trying to work a complicated rhyme into a tiny ornament.

I would choose one reveal idea and give it room. An ultrasound photo, booties, due-date message and four Christmas decorations do not all need to compete on the same ornament.

Use an Ultrasound Photo Without Sacrificing the Original

If you already have an ultrasound image you want to use, I'd make a copy for the ornament and keep the original with the pregnancy keepsakes. That also gives you freedom to crop the copy to fit a small frame without cutting the original print.

Before you trim anything, place the ornament opening over a paper copy and decide what actually needs to show. The baby should be easy to find in the image. You usually don't need every border, measurement and piece of printed information surrounding the scan.

If the ornament will appear in a photograph or online announcement, look closely at the edges of the ultrasound image before sharing it. Crop out your full name, birth date, clinic information or other medical details you don't want visible.

And don't arrange extra ultrasound exposure simply to get a prettier keepsake picture. The FDA's guidance on ultrasound imaging discourages fetal ultrasound used solely for non-medical keepsake images. The FDA says keepsake images are reasonable when they come from a medically indicated examination and no additional exposure is required.

Use an ultrasound image you already received as part of your medical care. You don't need to schedule or extend an ultrasound just to create a keepsake image for the ornament.

Grandparent Baby Announcement Ornaments

A grandparent reveal works differently from a general pregnancy announcement because you're telling one person something about their new relationship to the baby.

If you're giving the ornament in a box, let the ornament deliver the news rather than adding a gift tag that gives it away first. I like the idea of opening an ordinary-looking Christmas gift and realizing that the ornament inside changes the meaning of the whole holiday.

You can use an ultrasound photo, a pair of tiny booties, a family surname or a short grandparent message. Keep enough identifying information on the ornament that it will still make sense later, especially if there may eventually be several grandchildren represented on the tree.

If both sets of grandparents are receiving ornaments, you don't have to make them identical. The keepsakes can share the same ultrasound image or overall design while using different ribbons, shapes or relationship wording.

And make one for yourself.

If you're already creating the announcement keepsakes, it's very easy to think only about the people receiving the surprise. The ornament marking the Christmas you announced the pregnancy belongs in your own box too.

Baby on the Way and Expecting Baby Christmas Ornaments

You don't need an ultrasound photo for the ornament to announce the pregnancy. A baby-on-the-way ornament can work with a simple symbol and one useful detail.

If the baby's name hasn't been chosen, use the family surname, “Baby” with an initial if you have one, or the expected arrival month or season. If you don't want to share the due date, don't put it there just because personalized ornaments often include one.

A pair of tiny knitted booties, a small cradle shape or another clearly baby-related detail can carry the idea without giving away information you aren't ready to share.

If you're announcing very early in pregnancy, I'd be especially careful about adding permanent details you may later wish you had kept private. The ornament can simply mark that a baby is coming.

That's enough.

For the broader Christmas keepsake collection, including ornaments for babies who have already arrived, see my baby Christmas ornament ideas.

What Should a Baby Announcement Ornament Include?

The smallest useful version needs only two things: enough information to reveal the pregnancy now and enough information to identify the keepsake later.

You might use the baby's family name, expected arrival month, due season, “baby on the way,” “promoted to grandma,” or another short relationship message. If the ornament uses an ultrasound photo, the picture may already carry most of the announcement.

I would put longer information on the back.

A Christmas ornament is small. Once the front starts carrying an ultrasound photo, due date, baby name, relationship message, holiday phrase and decorative lettering, none of it gets the attention it deserves.

Pick the one detail that delivers the surprise. Save everything else for the back, the gift card or the announcement caption.

If the baby's sex, name or exact due date isn't known, don't invent a placeholder simply to make the ornament look finished. The ornament will mean more later if every detail on it was actually true at the time of the reveal.

Photograph the Ornament Without Losing the Surprise

If you're using the ornament for a Christmas pregnancy announcement photo, make the ornament the obvious subject. You don't need an entire decorated room competing with a two-inch ultrasound picture.

Place it where the light reaches the front, then check the photo at phone size. Can you still tell what you're looking at? Can you find the ultrasound image or baby detail immediately?

If not, move closer.

A tree branch, ribbon, wrapped gift or a few Christmas details can establish the holiday setting without taking over the photograph. I'd rather show one clear ornament beautifully than surround it with so many props that the announcement disappears.

Check the ultrasound image again for personal information before posting the photograph publicly. Cropping the medical details from the shared version doesn't change the keepsake itself.

If you want a completely different seasonal pregnancy announcement rather than an ornament reveal, my Valentines Day baby announcement ideas show another way to build the reveal around the occasion.

Save the Announcement Ornament After Christmas

Once the pregnancy has been announced, the ornament has already done its first job. Then it becomes part of the baby's story.

Add identifying information on the back if the front doesn't already include it. The family name, announcement Christmas and expected arrival detail can be enough to remind you what the ornament marked without covering the front with extra lettering.

If there's an ultrasound photo inside, make sure it can be removed without damaging it. Keep another copy with the pregnancy papers or baby keepsakes rather than treating the ornament as the only surviving version.

Wrap the finished ornament separately when Christmas comes down. Photo windows can scratch, ribbons can catch on other decorations and small attached pieces can bend in a crowded ornament box.

The pregnancy announcement lasted a few minutes. The ornament can stay in the family much longer.

If you want handmade Christmas projects to go with the keepsake, browse my baby Christmas crafts. For Christmas gifts that can be personalized for the new baby or family, see my personalized baby gifts for Christmas.

Baby Announcement Ornament FAQ

Can a Christmas ornament be used to announce a pregnancy?

Yes. The ornament can be the actual reveal, especially when it contains an ultrasound photo, tiny baby item, due-date detail or grandparent message. It can be hung on the tree, placed inside a gift box or photographed for a Christmas pregnancy announcement.

What should I put on a baby-on-the-way ornament?

Keep it short. A family name, expected arrival month or season, baby-on-the-way message or simple pregnancy symbol is usually enough. Put longer details on the back if you want them preserved with the keepsake.

Should I put my original ultrasound photo inside the ornament?

I'd use a copy rather than cutting or permanently attaching the original. That lets you size and crop the image for the ornament while keeping the original ultrasound print with the pregnancy keepsakes.

What if we don't know the baby's name yet?

You don't need one. Use the family surname, an initial if you have one, the expected arrival month or simply a baby-on-the-way design. The ornament doesn't need information that hasn't been decided yet.

How can I announce twins with a Christmas ornament?

Make the number easy to understand. Two small matching baby symbols, two ultrasound images or a short twins message are clearer than a complicated design that makes the recipient guess what the ornament means.

Can I use the same ornament for a family reveal and a social media announcement?

Yes. Photograph the ornament after the family reveal if you want to use it for a wider announcement. Before sharing the image publicly, check any ultrasound photo closely and crop out personal or medical information you don't want visible.

After the Announcement, Start the Christmas Keepsake Collection

The nice thing about an announcement ornament is that it starts the collection before the baby is even here.

Later, you can add a first Christmas ornament, a tiny handprint or footprint, a photo ornament or another keepsake from the baby's first holiday season. They don't need to match perfectly. They're marking different moments.

If you want to see those next-step ideas, start with my baby Christmas ornament ideas. The baby handprint Christmas ornament and baby footprint Christmas ornament pages are there when the baby has arrived and you have those tiny hands and feet to preserve.