Every country handles adoptions a little differently, and every adoption is different. That's a nice thing, really. It means we all have our own unique adoption stories to tell our children!
One of the customs in the country we're adopting from is that the adoptive family brings gifts to certain people involved in the adoption. This is certainly not required, but is kind of expected. You know, kind of like showing up to a dinner party, you often bring a gift to the host.
There have only been a few children adopted out of foster care from this country, Axel being one of them. We're planning on bringing a gift to his foster parents, and something for his foster sister who I know is going to miss him very much, but I need ideas!!! Really, I am not very creative in the gift-giving department.
If I remember correctly, the foster sister is 10 or 11. We live right by the Mall of America, so I was thinking of getting her something a tween girl would like from the USA store, but I'm really drawing a blank on the foster parents. Do any of you who have gone before me have any thoughts?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
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What about a photo book? Or a ornament that is a picture of Axel. They have really nice ones on shutterfly and if you enter the code ornamentfs it will give you 20% off plus free shipping. We bought one for our son's birthparents and foster parents.
ReplyDeleteI also bought a puzzle of our son for his foster sisters. They are 11, 15, and 17.
Be blessed
Ashlee
http://ourjourneytoadoption.beckfamily143.com/
Put together a photo album of your family/home so they will know where Axel is going. You could also send updated pictures for them to add if you are planning on keeping in contact at all.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I would suggest a few "Minnesota" Christmas ornaments - maybe one with a picture of Axel in it.
abby
(we were only allowed to bring 2 pictures so that's why I keep thinking of pictures.)
Thanks for the ideas. @Linnea: I took a look at the shutterfly site tonight, but I leave in 10 days, but there are only 4 business days, so there isn't enough time to get here. HOWEVER...what I did see gave me another idea. THANKS!
ReplyDelete@Abby: I wonder about a really nice frame with the one nice picture I have of Axel? I'm headed to the mall on Monday so hopefully I can find something. Now if only I could find my camera battery charger that I just bought a couple months ago! Grrrrr
Well, in Armenia they prefered things that were meaningful and practical. They were nice and accepting of the Israel gifts and the photo album but were a lot more happier with the cheap digital camera (for the whole foster family that cost about $55, and doubles as a webcam, so my daughter gets pics and gets to see her previous family) and pen drives (that staff got, with actual pictures Kevin took of them) that cost around $6 each - about the same as some of the magnets at the Shuk would have cost! When visiting the children's home our Hungarian son had lived at, we took the keychain digital albums, which were awesome.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 10 I liked lip gloss and gel pens. Perhaps a little silver locket with Axel's picture in it or something?
ReplyDeleteWe always bring stuff from Bath and Body with on every adoption trip as gifts..good to cover any woman/girl, any background, any age and they have all those cute little bottles. Would could resist the unique pictures and smells? :)
ReplyDeleteWe bought gift bags and put in a selection of chocolates (the miniature ones wrapped in Christmas foil like Hershey's - we also traveled right after Thanksgiving) and some small bottles of things like hand cream. The American chocolates were a big hit. I wish I would have also brought something that was directly connected to the area of the US that we are from.
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