Father's Day Surprise - Grandparents-to-Be Edition

June 10, 2015 12:17 AM

Anonymous as it's too early to officially announce - but I'm pregnant with a VERY wanted baby. Help me figure out a creative way to tell my parents over Father's day weekend!

My parents are coming up to stay with me and my husband over Father's Day weekend so my mom can visit her father, and I can spend time with my Dad. By the time the weekend rolls around, I will be six weeks pregnant. I would LOVE a creative way to tell them the good news! This is our first baby (but will be the fourth grandchild for my parents).

Traditionally, my mom has embroidered a blanket for a new baby, but it feels kind of weird to buy her a gift on Father's day (particularly a gift that says "get to work!").

My Dad asked for something sentimental for Father's Day this year. I have an appt with my OB/GYN in the next week to get confirmation of the pregnancy & maybe a sonogram/ultrasound?

What would be a fun and creative way to tell my parents that we're having a baby?

Helpful pieces of information that can be factored in:

My mom LOVES puns
We have cats and a large dog
We live near a huge park/wooded area
We lie near a major city

Thanks Creative MeFites!

posted by anonymous to Human Relations (22 answers total)

A friend of the family brought out a dish of pickles and ice cream to her mother.
posted by brujita at 12:38 AM on June 10, 2015

My husband is a huge football fan. When I was pregnant with our first, I had a teeny tiny newborn football jumper in his team's colours made up and presented it to him. He put two and two together pretty quickly. It was lots of fun.
posted by Jubey at 2:53 AM on June 10, 2015

Line up your partner's shoes, your shoes, your pets' feet and a pair of baby booties, and take a picture of this line up. Hand them a copy of photo and ask them what they think of your family portrait.
posted by travellingincognito at 2:55 AM on June 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

Wrap up a pair of onsies that say "I have the #1 grandpa" AND a separate package "I have the #1 grandma" and then address appropriately to mom and dad and wrap up in a box for dad. He opens and then distributes to mom and they open together. Hugs all around.


Congrats BTW.
posted by chasles at 3:19 AM on June 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'd send this to you privately but you're posting anonymously: I think it's too early to make the announcement. There's a reason why most people wait for the first three months to be over before they talk about the pregnancy. I know you're thrilled and you want to share, I've been there and then had to announce to everyone that the pregnancy was ectopic. :-/
posted by Dragonness at 5:00 AM on June 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

Mod note: From the OP:

This is not a formal, official announcement. I am looking for creative ways to tell my parents who I am very close with. If this pregnancy does not go to term, I would want the support of my parents during that time. Grand announcements to friends, extended family, and the general public will wait until three months.

posted by taz (staff) at 5:16 AM on June 10, 2015 [7 favorites]

Is it your first and are you seeing them on the day? I would suggest giving your husband a father's day card to open with your parents!
posted by Wysawyg at 5:18 AM on June 10, 2015 [5 favorites]

When you hand out father's day presents give one to you hubby in front of your parents. Well ok unless you are like my hubby who gives mothers day presents to me from the dogs.

There are a lot of great videos on YouTube if you want to get some ideas.
posted by wwax at 5:52 AM on June 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

I always like the subtle route, because the moment of confusion and then "wait" and then "omg aaaaaahhhh!!!!" is pure comedy gold.

So for that reason, I think it would be kind of fun to do it with via the Father's Day card. They make ones that say, "Happy Father's Day, Grandpa!" Most people open the card first anyway, so you can also do fun mom and dad presents.
posted by phunniemee at 6:33 AM on June 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

I vote for a Happy Father's Day, Grandpa! card, and if you are feeling ambitious, baby sized gear for an activity your dad loves. (Even if it's a mockup.)
posted by telepanda at 6:41 AM on June 10, 2015

I recently saw a video somewhere of a woman telling her father by giving him a pacifier in a gift box. It was super cute.
posted by bluloo at 6:49 AM on June 10, 2015

Or, do a Father's Day card and sign it "Love, The Three of Us."
posted by AugustWest at 7:11 AM on June 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

Congratulations.

If I remember correctly, with my first child I put the sonogram inside a greeting card. It was that very early, blob with a dot picture. My father-in-law had no idea what it was, but mother-in-law did. If you are unable to get the sonogram, the "Happy Father's Day, Grandpa" would be very cute as well.

Make sure you have your camera ready whatever you decide to do.
posted by Talia Devane at 7:11 AM on June 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

We did a card (birthday card, in this case) and signed it, "Love Eyebrows, Mr. McGee, and Grandchild #1" and pasted the sonogram picture inside. My dad was totally unsuspicious until he opened the card and then there were like two solid minutes of shocked silence when he was too overwhelmed to speak until my mother snatched it out of his hands to see what we'd done to shock him into immobility and she was like, "WAIT, IS THIS TRUE? IS THIS YOURS? RIGHT NOW?" and much delighted freaking out ensued.

With #2 we put #1 in a shirt that said "I'm going to be a big brother!" and just waited for someone to notice. You could get a T-shirt that says "eating for two" or "Loading ..." and see how long it takes for your parents to notice. :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:35 AM on June 10, 2015

I said, "We met someone new this week," and handed them my phone showing the ultrasound pic.
posted by St. Hubbins at 9:53 AM on June 10, 2015

I bought a cute picture frame that had traditional baby decorations on it (teddy bears) and placed in it a paper I'd printed in a nice font that said "picture to follow in 7 months..."
posted by vignettist at 1:04 PM on June 10, 2015

1. Put cat in a bag with note tied to tail.
2. Let cat out of bag.
posted by advicepig at 1:35 PM on June 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

Note: our cats love bags and may not come out on command.
posted by advicepig at 1:36 PM on June 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

When I told my parents I was pregnant, I found a new copy of a book I had loved as a little kid. I wrote a note inside like "I loved reading this with you as a child, I hope you enjoy reading it just as much with your new grandchild." It was a big hit.
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
posted by killy willy at 5:19 PM on June 10, 2015

Check out Pinterest
posted by BoscosMom at 5:46 PM on June 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

You can steal this idea I never got to use for myself. I made a photo book entitled "[Treehorn] Family Photos" and put tons of cute photos of us and our cats (our "babies" up til that point). The very last photo in the book was the ultrasound photo. It was kind of a joke because we were always talking about and sharing pictures of our cat children, and so we figured it would be a hilarious transition from "oh boy, they're being crazy cat parents again..." To "OMG they're real parents!"
posted by treehorn+bunny at 6:56 PM on June 10, 2015

by 6 weeks you should have an ultrasound done. They should give you a print of the images to take home. Frame the image (see if they'll give it to you as a digital file you can blow up a bit larger than the typical printout which is tiny); wrap it nicely and hand it to them. And congratulations! It is a precious time.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:20 PM on June 10, 2015