Opinions Wanted:

[FONT="Verdana"]My husband and I are scheduled for our adoption ceremony on National Adoption Day 11/23. YAY! :love:

We are adopting though Foster Care, with that being said we have had our LO since he was released from the NICU at 3 weeks. I really want to have an adoption shower or something, as I did not get a baby shower or any of that, but is it to late. He will be 21 months by time this all happens. If we just have an adoption party, what normally happens. What have you all done? I would be grateful for any positive respectful advice!! :grouphug: [/FONT]

Congratulations! IMO throwing yourself a shower is a no no (regardless of birth or adoption). Someone close to you could throw one, but I personally wouldn't feel great about being invited to a shower 21 months after a child was born/placed. Throw a big adoption celebration instead. It will be much more fun than a shower. Just my honest opinion, no offense intended.

Lol. I wouldn't be throwing it for myself, my family has offered but I think it is to far in the game. Any idea's on the celebration, that I what I was thinking, so no hard feelings. Thanks! :) I am super stoked!

Aha well that makes more sense! Well, do you feel like you're missing out on an important mom experience by not having a shower? If so, go for it. If you don't feel like you're missing out, I'd say go with an adoption party. We had an "open house" party the weekend after the event and had a great turnout. Some people just dropped in, and some stayed for hours. I would say about 1/4 of the people brought gifts, ranging from small and thoughtful to over-the-top. (But my DS is a older...since your LO is so young, I would guess that most people will bring a gift.)

What's an LO?

It is very common for adoption showers to be held AFTER a child comes into his/her new family. Generally, they are held by family or friends, but if you want to give a party, that's fine; just let the invitation show that it's for folks to meet the new child, now that the adoption is official.In my case, I adopted my daughter from China when she was 18.5 months old. I told family and friends that we would want to "cocoon" for two weeks or so, without any formal visits or parties, so that we could both rest up from jet lag, get over minor bugs, do some shopping for clothes (as what I had bought turned out to be way too big), and so on.As a result, a few weeks after I returned from China with my daughter, some folks from my synagogue threw a huge baby shower for us. Luckily, Becca was easygoing and wasn't freaked out by all the attendees; in fact, she worked the crowd like a politician. We really didn't need any basics -- I'd taken care of all that ahead of time -- so most of the attendees brought things like clothes, books and toys.We also gave a small party at our synagogue in honor of Becca's conversion to Judaism and her naming ceremony. We sponsored the reception after a Friday night service -- called an Oneg Shabbat, meaning Joy of the Sabbath -- and invited family and friends to join us. We asked for "no gifts" on that occasion, as we knew that many people there had either been at the baby shower or had already given us things, and because it was really a religious occasion, but a lot of folks brought presents anyway, to the point where I had to get some trash bags from the synagogue kitchen to haul all of them out to my car.Personally, I like the idea of having an adoption shower a few weeks after the child comes home, so that the attendees can meet him/her. By that point, also, many families will have a better idea of what they need. Newborn needs may be fairly similar, but if you are adopting an infant, toddler, or older child, you may not know until he/she comes home about things like sizes and abilities. And I hate to say it, but a lot of relatives and friends are a little leery about adoption; either they think an adoption will fall through, or they fear that the child will be horribly ill or delayed. Once the child is home, and they see that the adoption has happened and the child is just like any other child, they may be quite eager to celebrate.Sharon