Opening your home and heart to a child in need of a family may be the most exciting and life changing decision you make in your lifetime. Once you’ve decided to embark on this journey, spread the news of your upcoming adoption in the following creative and joyful ways.
Online Diary
An online adoption diary journals your daily experiences along the special path of adopting. Sign up for a free blogging site and write an entry for each day, new milestone or challenge — use it as an outlet for expression. Blog posts could include:
•Fears, hopes and plans
•Photos of friends, family and the little one
•Obstacles encountered along the way
•Images of the newly decorated nursery or bedroom
•Helpful links or interesting facts you uncovered while researching adoption
Make your blog adoption diary private or public, depending upon how personal you want to keep it. Share blog posts on your Facebook or Twitter to keep loved ones and other adoption connections informed and updated on your progress. Friends and family can follow along on your day-to-day trials and tribulations and offer support.
Adoption Party
Traditionally, Gotcha Day celebrates the date your adopted child becomes an official member of your family. If that day still seems worlds away, throw your own variation of a Gotcha Day and plan a party to share your excitement over adopting a new member of your family. Customize the party to include adoption-themed decor and treats.
•Decorate with puzzle pieces. Scatter pieces among your party decor. Glue or stencil pieces to invitations or toss pieces as confetti on your party table. Tell guests puzzle pieces symbolize your baby who’s the single missing puzzle piece meant to complete your family.
•Set up an adoption table. Fill the child’s craft table with small stuffed animals and baby dolls. Print an adoption certificate for each toy and let each child have a turn at adopting a toy to take home with them. The toy adoption process helps kids understand the adoption process in real life.
•Wear family and adoption-themed apparel. Design matching T-shirts for family members, even if it’s only for you and your partner. Choose themes such as, “Adoption is a Loving Option” or “Love Makes a Family.”
Custom-Designed Announcements
Cards that you custom-design and have printed are more personal than any traditional announcements you’d buy at the store. For a celebration this monumental, create a custom postcard with images and quotes that personally reflect what adoption means to you.
•Use a photograph of yourself, your spouse and the rest of your immediate family holding a large, empty picture frame that represents the newest addition. If your new child is already part of your family, pop the little one’s picture in the frame.
•Use a state shape, U.S. map or map of the country from where your baby came as the backdrop.
•Use a catchy title on your announcement — “Oh, Yes We Did!” or “Guess Who’s The Newest Member of the Williams Family?”
