Homemade Easter Gift Ideas

Little Pinata, Big Surprise: A Pregnancy Announcement

I’m not an overly festive person, but I love good surprises. When my husband was applying to graduate schools, I already had the cute, mint green “Hip Hip Hooray” banner purchased and ready to hang should an acceptance letter arrive. I hovered doggedly over our mailbox only to find out that schools are sending e-mails these days. And not to spouse’s accounts.

When we were trying for our first baby, I dreamed up all sorts of announcement ideas. But the trying-to-get-pregnant process became such a combined effort that he knew my cycle better than I did, and asked for daily updates. I’m not a good liar, which pretty much tells you that the fun stopped there.

But with my current pregnancy, I finally had him where I wanted him. We got pregnant quicker and easier than before, and he didn’t see it coming quite yet. I wanted to celebrate and make a surprise both he and Oscar would enjoy, so I made a handful of mini pinatas following this guide on Ruffled .

I stocked up on ducky and stroller confetti, and also picked up a bag of those strange plastic babies. (I wanted to be clear, and also a little funny.) I threw in some pastel pom-poms and went as far as picking out all the yellow Skittles from a package of Easter candy. Then I made the pinatas (more time-intensive than I thought) and stuffed everything inside.

When my husband came home, I used the incessantly rainy weather as an excuse for getting my craft on. We sat together on the living room floor and swung at one little pinata with a Sigg bottle until our floor was showered with baby doo-dads, confetti and candy. My husband couldn’t quite wrap his head around what was happening, but the effect was awesome and super fun. I remember a lot of sun finally pouring through our windows, a lot of group hugging/pile-ons, and a lot of of Skittles in Oscar’s mouth. You can see some of the aftermath on my blog .

I saved two more pinatas for a visit from my mom and sister the following month, and got have fun all over again.

How did you announce your pregnancy to your partner? Did you keep it to yourself or shout it from the rooftops?

Image by Ali Smith / Ali Loves Curtis

My husband is overseas and when i found out i was pregnant, i wanted so bad to call him, but he’s 8 hours ahead… So i waited for him to get off work and back to the barracks… i told him i needed to tell him something, and reached and grabbed a sign i had made telling him i’m pregnant… i wish i had gotten a snapshot of his face, cause it was priceless.