Doopsuiker

In Belgium it is the tradition to give all family & friends visiting a newborn baby some "doopsuiker" / suikerbonen which are sugar coated chocolate beans or almonds. You can get them in specialised stores in all kinds of fun wrappings, gift boxes...if you wish in the theme of your birth announcement card. Or alternatively you can also amuse yourself crafting them yourself .  More and more there are many innovations as giving little soaps with the baby's name or Pringle boxes or ...or...or... Anything goes really as long  you can put off a little display with the sugar beans and let your visitors pick out their little souvenir. 

Jan and I opted to create Kabouter's birth announcement ourselves and elected some materials, gadgets & beans in the same colors and theme. In the last week before giving birth I had just enough "comfortable" time to craft an initial set of gifts for the number of people we expected to visit us in the hospital and the first weeks at home. It was work in secrecy as they had to be surprise. Then after a few weeks, crafting the last batch was a family activity with Kabouter in the position of critical quality control ;).  It was fun not to have bought them ready to go in the store. I hope our visitors enjoyed them as well.