Wooden Baby Announcement Ornament

A round piece of layered wood, cut and engraved, carrying two small footprints and a hand-painted Santa hat between two lines of text that announce a pregnancy.

You choose the year: the bottom line reads “See You In” and the arrival year you pick. The photo shows a 2026 piece; the wording and footprints are the same on every ornament.

The build

A laser cuts each element from its own piece of Baltic birch, separating the design into layers. The ornament body is a single round disc with a hanging hole cut at the top, sized for ribbon or a standard ornament hook.

The two baby footprints are where the layering shows up. We cut the footprint shape as its own layer and set it on top of the disc, raised just enough that it casts a small shadow. Each foot carries a small engraved heart, which sits flush against the raised foot.

Beside the footprints sits a small Santa hat, also cut as its own layer and set into the same raised assembly. This is the one part of the piece that gets hand-painted. Above the footprints and the hat, engraved directly into the disc in a rounded script, “Merry Christmas Mommy & Daddy” arcs across the top third of the ornament. Below them, in the same lettering, “See You In” and the arrival year you chose arc across the bottom. Both lines are engraved, so they read as dark burned lettering against the light wood.

The painting

Once the disc, the footprints, and the hat are all cut and the layered pieces are assembled, the Santa hat gets painted by hand. It’s a small area compared to a fully painted piece like our bear couple figurine, but the same rule applies: colors go on in an order that avoids one bleeding into the next, lightest first.

The body of the hat is painted a warm holiday red, and the brim and the pom at the tip are painted white over that red once it’s dry. Because we paint by hand, the exact edge where red meets white, and the shape of the brim’s curl, will vary slightly piece to piece.

The footprints and the two lines of engraved text stay in the natural wood tone, unpainted, so the hat is the one spot of color. We gave the piece one accent color so it stays uncluttered at this size.

Sizing and where it lives

We don’t have a stated diameter or depth on file for this ornament. If exact sizing matters, whether it needs to fit a specific spot on a crowded tree or you’re planning how to wrap it, message us before ordering and we’ll give you the real numbers rather than a guess.

What we can tell you without guessing: it’s built the same way our other layered ornaments and wall pieces are, cut from Baltic birch with a hanging hole through the top of the disc, sized to take a standard ornament hook or a loop of ribbon. It’s meant to hang, not stand, so if you’re picturing it upright on a shelf or a mantel, plan on a small stand or a way to lean it, because nothing about the build assumes it needs to stay vertical on its own.

What happens after you order

The only thing you choose is the year, picked from a list, so there’s no name or spelling to confirm the way there is on a name sign or a seating chart. What you’re ordering is the design shown here with your year on the bottom line, cut after you approve the proof.

Within 24 hours: proof. We start cutting the disc and the layered elements once you confirm the digital proof, which shows the year you picked on the bottom line. The year is the only custom detail, so the proof is quick to check.

Layer cutting and assembly. The disc, the two footprints, and the Santa hat are cut as separate pieces, then the raised layers are set and checked for fit before any paint goes on. Catching a layer that sits slightly off at this stage is far easier than after the piece is painted and packed.

Hand-painting. The Santa hat gets its red base coat, dries, then its white brim and pom. It’s a small painted area compared to some of our other work, but it still gets the same order-dependent, dry-between-passes process.

Packing and shipping. Once the paint has cured, we pack the ornament to protect the raised layers and the painted hat, and ship it with tracking. Orders ship 5 to 7 business days after you approve the proof.

If you need it by a specific date on the calendar, reach out before ordering and we’ll tell you whether the timeline works.

Giving it and displaying it

This ornament is built for one moment: the Christmas an expecting couple wants to tell people, rather than wait for a baby shower or a later announcement. It works two ways. Hang it on your own family tree the week you’re sharing the news, where anyone who looks closely enough to read the bottom line gets the announcement themselves. Or wrap it for the grandparents-to-be and let them find the year on the ornament as they unwrap it, rather than being told outright.

The engraved wording names no recipient, only the occasion, so it fits whichever way you use it.

Care

Dust it with a soft, dry cloth. Keep water off the painted hat and the engraved lettering both. Water can lift or dull hand-applied paint in a way it wouldn’t touch an engraved-only surface, and it can also darken or swell the wood around the engraving over time.

Store it out of direct sunlight when it’s not on the tree, and out of damp basements, attics, or garages between Decembers. UV exposure fades paint faster than it fades bare or stained wood.

If the raised footprint layer or the Santa hat ever feels loose, stop hanging it and reach out instead of re-gluing it yourself. It’s a small assembled object, not a solid block, so handle it gently.

This ornament exists for one moment: the Christmas an expecting couple tells the people they love. A round piece of wood, engraved top and bottom, with two small footprints and a Santa hat holding the middle.

Across the top, engraved in a rounded script, it reads "Merry Christmas Mommy & Daddy." Across the bottom, in the same lettering, "See You In" and the year you pick for the baby's arrival. The wording says what the ornament is for, and the year says when the baby is expected.

The Santa hat is the one part that gets paint instead of engraving: red for the body, white for the brim and the pom. We paint it by hand after the layers are cut and assembled. Each color goes on in order and dries before the next.