Adoption Holiday Traditions | Kinship Center Birth Parents

All families have holiday traditions.? Maybe you decorate your home right after Thanksgiving so that you can have Christmas cheer for the entire month.? Maybe you wait until Christmas Eve to trim the tree with friends and family.? Maybe you celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanzaa.? Whatever you do during the holidays in your family, the tradition has been passed down for many years and you know what to expect and you look forward to the customs that define your family.?

?

Consider children who come into a home through adoption or foster care.? These children may have grown up with the tradition that was part of their family of origin.? Or maybe the home environment was too chaotic and the holidays were not formally celebrated.? Maybe the child was raised in a family that was of a different religion than yours and celebrated their beliefs differently.? Maybe this is the child?s first holiday with you.

?

As families move forward to adopt a child, please take some time to think about the holidays in a meaningful way for the child placed in your home.? Children who are older that have been placed for adoption through the foster care system carry with them all the past holiday celebrations in which they have participated.? Take some time to discuss what was important to them before you plan your new family holiday.? Including some of the past into your celebration will make them feel more included and at ease. Many family celebrations would not be complete without a certain food, a smell or a song.? Learn how to make these foods, sing these songs and honor the past traditions for your child.

?

Younger children also deserve to learn the traditions of their culture.? Even if this is the first time they are celebrating the holiday, an adoptive family should take the time to discover how the holidays are celebrated in the child?s culture. Incorporating parts of these new customs with the past traditions of the family, creates a new way to honor all members of the family.

Source: http://www.pregnantwhatdoido.com/adoption-holiday-traditions/

pat summitt real housewives of atlanta colton bo ryan the last waltz earth day activities mel gibson