To announce our babies name over Christmas dinner

[BJacks86]

Just is it unreasonable/disrespectful feel it will be a fun way to tell a lot of the family when they are together.

People are less likely to slag off a name they dislike when it's attached to a baby.
You WILL get someone who feels able to criticise, then they will ruin it for you.

I think a few of us can see the potential for disaster if the name choice is, to quote Sir Humphrey, 'courageous'!

If someone asks you about names then yes, you can mention your choice but it doesn't come across as a good conversation starter over the dinner table otherwise.

Also, another friend announced the name before the birth and it felt a bit meh when she actually had the baby as it felt like he'd been around for ages as she used to use his name all the time. I'd save it for the birth announcement.

Nah, keep it under wraps. If you announce it at large you run the risk of a random cousin shouting "But I have already put DIBS on that name!!!! It belongs to meeeee!!".

I'd wait until baby was born.

@Stickerrock reminds me of when we rescued our guinea pig, on the rescue website her name was Stuart. I'm all for unisex names, but William and Stuart don't come across as very unisex 😂 did you go with Willow instead?

Some of you seem quite miserable. I think it would be a nice annoucement to make at Christmas. FWIW I am childfree through choice but was really excited about all my sister's babies and would have loved to find out a future name over dinner.

Literally no one is as excited about your baby's name as you are, OP. That's fine, that's how it should be. But making a big announcement of it at a family dinner might well backfire, if you're hoping for lots of excitement.

We told everyone names beforehand. I wanted to get the shitty comments out of the way before there was an actual baby. I’m happy to deflect comments about my name choices but once the baby is born there’s a risk you’ll take it as a criticism of the child and hate the perpetrators forever.

We didn’t announce it as such, just when we were asked at family get togethers, we said. And ‘opened the floor’ for comments at the same time haha.

Don’t see the issue with telling people on Christmas Day. Seems odd to accuse people of being self centred for thinking a few-times-in-a-lifetime-event (having a baby) is more significant than an annual event (Christmas). Babies are more significant than Christmas IMO so I wouldn’t think it was spoiling the meal or me me me.

Surely nobody other than you cares about the name that much? To announce it over and distract from Christmas dinner is odd..

I think its stealing the thunder from the dinner, no one is interested in your baby apart from you and your partner.

Surely you don’t need to “announce” a name! Wait til the baby is born. You might decide it doesn’t suit.

I’m really a bit meh all about the pregnancy/baby fads. Gender reveals, baby showers etc. Having a baby is an amazing thing... to you and immediate family. In reality no one else is really bothered

Wait until the baby's born.
Apart from anything else if people don't like the name they'll feel they still have time to influence you. If you present them with a baby called Robin, or whatever, they'll say they love the name. Which is what you want.

What's the name?
Why not do a dry run ' announcement' here to gauge reaction?

no one is interested in your baby apart from you and your partner extremely sad if this was the case for you but of course other people in my family are excited about the baby....

If I’m close enough to have dinner with someone at Christmas I’m close enough to care about them having a baby.

I don’t get all the competitive ‘no one gives a shit about babies’ stuff. Surely in most families, someone having a baby is a nice exciting thing and likely to be a talking point at dinner?

Tbh, family get togethers in our family aren’t that exciting. No one has climbed Everest or been nominated Pope, normally we’re all just sat around chatting crap. There’s not much thunder to steal!

Well I think that sounds lovely, we announced name prior to baby being born, it started out as a simple case of ‘we were thinking of x if it’s a girl or y if it’s a boy’ then we found out the sex so it was x, there wasn’t an announcement per say, just conversations with people who enquired. Maybe just play it by ear as it might be something that comes up in conversation naturally.
I don’t beleive in superstitious stuff and hadn’t chosen anything unconventional that might provoke opinions.

I think it would be best to wait until your baby arrives. Have a lovely Christmas.

Thank you to everyone with the well wishes to the birth, my first c-section so hoping all goes smoothly :)

God that is fucking embarrassing.

It's not all about you.

How many people are going to the dinner? If it was any more than me, dH and parents I wouldn’t bother if I was you OP. As you may well just get a ‘meh’ response, and the conversation would move on quickly. An announcement would strike me as trying to make the day about you.
If it’s just you & a set of parents I don’t see the harm in it though.

No one is interested in your baby other than you and your partner

Not even slightly true, I’m the sort of person who will gleefully study scan pictures and enquire about potential names even for casual aqantances let alone close relatives.
What a cynical view of the world, it borders on nasty and spiteful.

sharke Obviously you haven't read my previous comments, and thankful no one in my family is as nasty as you. Christmas is a time for family, or is it a time for you to get annoyed with your family???

Tbh if a relative announced their unborn baby's name at Christmas Dinner I'd think it was attention-seeking behaviour. Mentioning it at table, in a conversation about the forthcoming baby is perfectly acceptable though.

Wait until the baby is born. Working on labour wards I saw a number of people be set on their baby's name. As soon as they were born it just didn't go.

Keep it as a special announcement once baby is here.