Gifts for Foster Family????

We had brought some good perfume to the foster mom, just something that might be expensive to buy for them and that would be a personal gift.

We have visited twice now, and each time (and for pick up we also plan to) bring 2 large suitcases to donate to our family. They are full of extra clothes (all sizes and kinds) for the family, powdered milk, jackets, and blankets, candy,etc. We also gave her a stocking full of cholcate for Christmas and each visit I hand her a card written in spanish telling her how much I appreciate her and how hard we are trying to bring our baby home, (with $10 cash) inside. Many of the foster families are poor, just like 90% of the folks in Guatemala. Our foster mother has no teeth, and she really looks forward to our "donations" . She has a 6 year old, and we provided her Christmas this year, (I always bring her several dolls). I think they appreciate anything, our foster mom seemed delighted with our umbrella stroller our last visit, (we left the one we brought with her). I'm sure she will use it for the next foster child! We also leave any soaps, powders, dipers, etc. we may have left over from our visits. Hope to meet up with you in Guatemala. We stay at the Marriott. oh well.

I brought the foster mom a necklace and earring set and a set of nice towels (4 ea) of two different colors. I also sent baby clothes and toys for her to keep. I gave her adult daughters necklaces, and her granddaughter a Brat doll and grandsons Barney toys. In case there was a man in her life (which I wasn't sure), I sent a clock radio, a pocket watch, and cologne.

We're taking down a snapbook (photo album) of all the pictures we've received of our little one since the day she was born. I included pictures of her room, and even had a picture or two of her with her foster mom in it. I ordered it off of Shutterfly and they had a cute pink check baground, with pink bows at the top of each message message box. It looked really cute. They had lots of other designs/backgrounds to choose from. Not sure what we'll do for our pick up trip yet..... I like some of the ideas I've seen on here so far....Thanks!! :)

We had sent several small gifts for her over the months and then when we went down to get our daughter, we took her a cross necklace with a small diamond in the center (she is very religious) and tucked in the necklace box we put money. She cried when she opened it and told us (threw an interupter) that we had just given her the best gift of her life.....little did she know that she had just did the same for us. These threads have been excellent; these foster mother have very, very little and appreciate anything we give them. Congrats on your angel......enjoy your trip too. Nancy Mommy to Mercedes born 2/22/03 Home Forever on 10/28/03

We visited Guatemala a total of 4 times, and brought down many of the gifts already listed... there were other very good ideas I wish I'd have seen earlier. On our pick up trip, we gave our foster mom a gift of money equal to about 1/2 her month's salary. My husband told her it was a small token of our gratitude, as we could never really repay her for the amazing care she gave to our daughter for nine months. Through tears, our foster mom asked us to please send her photos of Ana at least once a year. She said that others have promised, but no other family has actually done it. She was obviously broken hearted-- wondering how her 12 previous foster kids were doing. So I guess I just want to encourage everybody here to try to send pictures to your children's foster moms. My hubby and I have promised to do this at least three times a year-- on our daughter's b-day, the foster mom's b-day and on Christmas. PS - On each visit , we also always provided our foster mom with enough money to cover her cab fare

Please forgive what could be an obnoxious question. Do you think it would be ok if instead of giving the foster family gifts we just gave them money? Would that be a good gift, or a tacky gift? All the ideas listed here have been wonderful, but I thought it would be easier to pack, and then they could spend it on whatever they want. I would love to hear what people think of this.

I get uncomfortable when the subject of giving money comes up as there has been so much negative publicity about "buying" babies. Reading here though, it seems pretty common among parents to present the foster mother with a cash "gift". I just wanted to make sure that this didn't get in the way of any legalities.

Hi, I just had to post again regarding the money since I was one who mentioned it as a gift. I'm not talking thousands of dollars here, I'm talking money so that the foster mother could buy herself a new dress or a new pair of shoes or maybe groceries or a small item for her home. I can't tell you about anyone else's foster mother, but I can tell you about mine.....she was extremely poor! But my daughter was loved, feed, healthly and clean. She took pictures on disposable cameras that we sent down and tho clean, the house had only the bearest necessities. I think everyone has to decide for themselves, but the appreciation on the foster mother's face, the tears of joy and the hugs she gave us let us know how much that small amount of money meant to her and as someone else said ~ what a tiny gift compared to what she had done for us for the last 8 months. Nancy Mommy to Mercedes born 2/22/03 Home Forever 10/28/03

I understand that the amount is not a large one to us and that it would make a great difference for the foster mother. I would be more than willing to give the foster mother much needed cash for taking care of my child for so many months. My concerns are in the repercussions for adoptions down the road if this is of an "illegal" nature. Giving money before an adoption can result in losing your referral, but after the adoption is complete are there any rules or laws? Jwood

A couple of items a friend of mine from Central America thought would be good gift ideas that tend to be expensive in Central America are watches (like a timex), tennis shoes (especially for the children, these are supposedly very expensive there) and she said anything that is "cool" here in the states for young adolescents/teens is great for young kids there as well. :)

I wanted to give the foster mother cash instead of all of the presents she might neither want nor need but my agency said absolutely no cash gifts.

Just wanted to clarify - we DID NOT give cash before the adoption was final. This was a final parting gift ~ and my agency said this was a perfectly acceptable thing to do. But as in this whole situation, everyones agency has different opinions. Nancy

Here are some ideas from a gringa living in Guatemala who has no where to shop! I think if you know the Foster Mother's size you should get her clothes. All of the clothing stores here in Guatemala are either overpriced, not nice, or out of fashion. The same thing goes for shoes, books, children's toys (especially stuffed animals), and stationary. Soaps, candles, bath salts, costume jewelry, and perfumes are plentiful. Another idea is to put together a gourmet food basket, with yummy chocolates, cheeses, summer sausage, jellies, and nuts. You could also buy gift certificates for the supermarket (Paiz or el Torredor), movie theatres, restaurants (cheap--Pollo Campero, McDonalds, more expensively priced-- Los Cebollines, La Estancia, these are all chains throughout Guatemala City). Hope that helps! Mically

Having gone to visit 6 times and our 7th trip being our pick up trip we brought down gifts every time. We brought perfume, nice soaps, bath gels & Lotions, chocolates, bath towels, pictures in a frame and in an album, a Christmas snowglobe that played Jingle Bells and something else but I cannot remember. We also gave her money on our last trip since it was right before Christmas and we wanted her to be able to buy herself or her family something special. We also always brought things for our daughter develpmental toys, a tape recording of us talking to her, clothes, etc. We would always ask the foster mother before we went down what is it that you need for yourself or the baby. She would always say she did not need anything for herself but there was no way I was not bringing her something. We were truly blessed with a wondeful foster mother who loves our daughter like she is her own. We still keep in touch with her and call her. She has already sent us 3 cards and we have been home since December 19, 2003. I think that whatever you do is a matter of personal opinion and what you feel comfortable doing. There is no right or wrong answer to this question. It is your way of thanking them for taking wonderful care of your child.