How To Celebrate Gotcha Day

Jennifer Smith — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 17:31:58 +0000

Second best to having your child placed in your arms is Gotcha Day, the day where it all becomes legal, final, sealed, and official. Many families celebrate this day year after year, as a way to mark how special and wanted their child is, and how important that day was to becoming a family. Here are some ways to mark this momentous occasion:

First, call it something other than Gotcha Day

It may be my own preference, but “Gotcha Day” is a phrase which I often associate with adopting a new pet. Many of my friends who have adopted have named this day something unique to their family, or when the child has gotten old enough, let them name their special day. My husband and I were so excited for our first Mother’s and Father’s days. So in our family, we felt that there should be a ‘Daughter’s Day’ to designate how special she is to us. The day our adoption was finalized in the courts is now ‘Daughter’s Day’ in our house. I have friends who celebrate ‘Sunshine Day’ and others, ‘Family Day.’ I’ve also heard ‘Family Birthday’ and ‘Our Anniversary Day.’

Make a special tradition

Our daughter is three now, and ice cream is her favorite food on the planet. On Daughter’s Day, we get to have ice cream for dinner. She also gets to pick what we will do for the day. On the first anniversary, we went to the local children’s museum and played for hours. Last year, we attended a strawberry festival at our local farm, where she could have a hayride, pick strawberries, and pet animals.

I have a friend who celebrates their special day by doing service in their community with their child in the name of the birth family, to honor them. Another family I know celebrates their day by going away for a night to a hotel with a pool (what little kid doesn’t love to swim?.). I have family that makes or goes out to dinner with their now 22-year-old daughter, watches family videos, and looks at pictures still to this day. Your celebration of this day doesn’t have to be something elaborate. The point is to make this tradition something special to your family that you can return to each year, and build upon as your child grows up and helps to shape the day.

Let friends and family know

Whatever you decide to name your day, it’s special. This day is one that only families built by adoption have. I’ve found that letting your closest friends and family–your ‘village’–know about this special day and the choice to celebrate it, helps my daughter know that this is a part of her story; it’s important and real. Family and friends have sent cards, presents, or called to wish her a happy day. Their love and recognition on this day envelopes her in a deeper love.

Remember how it all started

Every family has a different relationship and story as it pertains to the birth family. Some families, for one reason or another, do not have an existing relationship with the birth family. This is all about what makes each story so special and unique. No one experience is better than another. But on Daughter’s Day, I make sure to tell my daughter her story again. Holding her on my lap, I’m able to describe the flight out to the state she was born in, how she was born the very next morning, on her due date (!!) I love to watch her face as she listens to the sentimental and sometimes silly details of our journey. On Daughter’s Day, I like to sit with my daughter and thank her birth mother for the extremely difficult choice she made, and conversely, the immense blessing she bestowed upon us. I thank her and talk about her with my daughter. My daughter. Our daughter.

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7 Gotcha Day Party Ideas

Kristina Frazier — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 17:25:45 +0000

Your child is home; the honeymoon period is over. You’ve dealt with the introductory medical appointments, and your “First Year Home!” anniversary is quickly approaching. Whether you’ve been home for 11 months or for 11 years, Gotcha Day may be a significant celebration to your family. It can represent so many things depending on what and how you choose to celebrate it. Here are seven Gotcha Day party ideas that will help boost your spirit and spice up your day.

1. Precious Cargo

A “Precious Cargo” theme is so adorable I could scream. While it does come off a little more international than domestic, I think you could spin it and make it work for your own story fairly easy. Including super cute suitcases and a ton of vintage elements, this party would be Pinterest ready in no time. Including globes, “baby’s breath” to represent a new addition to your family, maps, and the sweetest treats you can find will make a Gotcha Day party celebration one you would never forget.

2. It’s O-FISH-AL

Whether you celebrate the day you passed court or the day your domestic adoption is finalized, running with an “O-FISH-AL” party idea, it would be well worth the dive. A fish family would be the perfect party, incorporating orange and blue touches everywhere. It would be especially adorable if you adopted a little one—they love things that swim.

3. We Found the Missing Piece

We did a puzzle fundraiser for our own adoption, and I’m sure many of you did, too. If you did, this would be a perfect way to celebrate your Gotcha Day. Having puzzle piece details everywhere really helped tie in the goal of completing the puzzle you chose during your adoption journey. Displaying the puzzle at the party would be a perfect touch showing how many people prayed, loved, and helped bring your baby home.

4. Born in Our Hearts

Around adoption circles, the quote “Born not from our flesh, but born in our hearts; you were longed for and wanted and loved from the start” was most likely something that followed you throughout your journey. Having a “Born in Our Hearts” themed Gotcha Day celebration would be an adorable way to celebrate your new family being together forever. Plus, shopping for decorations would be easy if you were able to stock up around Valentine’s Day.

5. We’re Wild About You

The theme would be especially perfect if you added your new child into an already large family. “We’re Wild About You” theme, with lots of zoos and animal details would make any child feel celebrated and adored. What a fun way to commemorate your big day as a family.

6. Country Celebration Day

If you want a way to keep your child’s birth country and culture alive, this could be a great way to incorporate that into your yearly celebrations, especially when you adopted an older child internationally, he may still feel very connected to his birthplace. Finding a local restaurant that cooks food from his birth country or even learning and cooking a recipe as a family could be a great way to celebrate together. Food often unites families, so why not use food as your celebratory agent that day, too?

7. Staycation Day

If everyone has busy lives, maybe your family’s perfect Gotcha Day celebration is a day at home, hanging out together. Cooking food, playing games, and watching movies all day together as a family may be your perfect way of celebrating the day you became a forever family. Big parties aren’t for every family, so a small “family party” day, where everyone stays at home, with their phones and computers off, and enjoys each other’s company, may be just what you needed.

Celebrating Gotcha Day isn’t for every family, but if you do choose to, it can be a super fun way to commemorate the day you became a forever family. Keep it fun, keep it light, and make sure good food is involved. Your family will surely love some of these ideas. Happy Gotcha Day!