Baby Shower for Adopted Baby

I'm going to disagree with a few of the moms. I think playing a game or two is GREAT! I think games CAN be a lot of fun.

I've been to showers that played a diaper the doll game. In groups of like 5, everyone is blindfolded and then you have to diaper a doll. The winner of each "group" will challenge at the end for the winner. Unless you just want to give you a few prizes and give each of the group winners one.

The dirty diaper game is quite funny as well. Watching all the ladies sniff diapers that look bad. LOL. If you have good sports coming, this can be a blast.

If you want sit down games you could do a word scramble. Or What do you call a baby? You pick 15 to 20 different animals and then the ladies have to write down what their baby is called. Ex: COW (they would write calf next to it.) Whoever gets the most right wins.

Or if you just wanted to do one big game where you would give away 8 to 10 (or more) prizes at once and be done is the DICE GAME! Very fun. You put all the prizes in the middle and have 2 or 3 pie plates with 2 dice in each one. Set the timer for 5 minutes (or whatever) and let them go. If they shake a pair, they get a prize out of the middle. When all the prizes are gone, they can steal a prize from another person when they shake a double. When times up, everyone can open their prizes and it's over.

I highly suggest letting everyone eat while the mom is opening presents. It gets VERY LONG if you give 30 minutes to eat, then play games and THEN finally open the presents. I know the mom either has to eat BEFORE or AFTER the presents but it's much nicer for all the guests if you can combine eating and present opening at the same time. Just have the tables or chairs set up so everyone can see the mom opening the gifts.

We adopted our son as a newborn. As an adoptive parent, I have noticed that some handle showers different for children who are adopted. Just giving them a shower, and making it as exciting as if they gave birth, means SO much. Games are fine, but I think just celebrating and acknowleging their joy says so much more. If guests want to give something special, just as with any other baby, offering to take meals or help with household duties means so much. I think some people can minimize the fatigue and adjustments that adoptive parents can go through, since she didn't experience a pregnancy but the adjustment is just as great. The one thing I would be aware of is anything that refers to any "firsts" that they may have missed out on. Since they are adopting a baby, they may have been there from the very beginning. If not, just don't draw attention to that. Thank you for being so thoughtful to plan this. They will feel very encouraged and supported!

I've never been to a baby shower with games. However, I have been to a few where everyone submitted a recipe and they gave the parents a homemade cookbook. You could do babyfood, or treats, someone even gave a recipe for playdough! You could use pictures, too, and have it done relatively cheaply on Snapfish or Shutterfly. It would be a nice keepsake.

Also if you need invitations and/or thank-you notes for the event, we could help you out with some really cute ones at PJ Greetings (www.pjgreetings.com). We do personalized, custom invitations, so we could make one especially for adoption. I give a discount to mamapedia moms - I have a mamapedia business listing and a perk, too.

Good luck and have fun!!

I did a baby bingo game and it was a blast. You can get free bingo cards on line, but I made mine. Keep in mind, it is cold & flu season, so mom may not want to pass around the baby. You might keep hand sanitizer out for guests who do want to hold the baby. Mom will appreciate it.

Good luck!

Could you put together a photo display board or a video montage about the adoption, i'm assuming international here so maybe it wouldn't work if it was otherwise, I'm just thinking about our friends second adoption this time from vietman, and they had a blog about their plane trip to get him and had shared info about the foster home he was in over there, It was nice to be able to talk about it.

Some people like games, and some people don't. Personal preference. I love games (except for the diaper/candy bar one) and so does everyone I know. Have the games. If your SIL likes games, that's all that matters. The celebration is for her and her new bundle of joy, after all!

As an adoptive mom myself, I was lucky enough to have two baby showers (my mom and my mother-in-law each threw one). It meant SO much!!! My son was there, and he was passed around during the food, visiting, games, present opening. The food was set out at the beginning, and people ate and visited, played games and ate, I opened presents and they ate, and then we had dessert.

Some of the games we played:
• a baby word scramble
• the baby food game (number them #1 through ____, and tear off the labels– after making sure to write down what kinds they are on an answer sheet for yourself. Then people have to look at the jars and guess what kind of food is in each one)
• Round Robin– A cute baby story, with the little kid being the adoptive child :-), and some of the words left blank. Guest are asked to pick a favorite color, a place to take a vacation, an animal, food, etc., and the blanks filled in. It makes for one hilarious story once it is read aloud!
• A question sheet, with questions about the baby, the adoption, the selection of the name– etc., etc. This is a great way for people to test their knowledge, and for the wonderful story to be told about the child's arrival into the family!

All gifts that one would normally get with their own biological child are welcome and appreciated by an adoptive parent! She may not have gone through the birth, but the joy, stress, exhaustion, and adjustment to a new baby is the same.

My utmost heartfelt congratulations to your sister-in-law!!! :-) And my praise to you for planning a celebration for her!!!

Our son is now 1 year and 5 months, and it has been such a wonderful, joyous time! Your SIL is going to be so blessed.

God bless!
M.

Most people will probably just want to hold/pass around the baby. Just make sure there's plenty of cake and snacks and most people will probably be happy.

Dirty Diapers-Buy a package of diapers, and a bunch of candy bars. Melt the candy bars in the diapers...it looks disgusting, but I did it at my SIL's shower and everyone had so much fun. Then everyone has to guess what kind of candy bar it is. I also added stuff like pickle juice and mustard. Give the rest of the package of diapers as a gift to the mommy.
Baby Food-Buy jars of baby food. Mark the jars with #1 through ???. Make everyone guess what kind of baby food it is without opening the jars. Then give the jars to your SIL to feed the baby.
Good luck and have fun!!

I also vote to skip the games. Put O. sticker on the bottom of O. plate or saucer per table for the centerpieces as prizes....everyone will be wanting to see the new baby!

Nobody likes to play games! We all play them and we're polite, but I don't know anybody who likes to play them. Just enjoy each other's company and the baby if he is there.

Since the baby is already here, I'm assuming he'll be at the shower too. If this is the case, you might want to forgo the games and keep everything low-key. Life with a newborn baby is exhausting, and your brother and SIL might be overwhelmed as it is. I'm sure everyone will want to fawn over the baby, and if he is napping, it will be better if the noise level in the house is lower. I would imagine that people won't be bored, and that they'll want to socialize, offer their congratulations to the new parents, and hold the baby. Just put on a nice spread, and everyone will enjoy themselves. Good luck!

I have the PERFECT adoption book for you to give them. It's called Motherbridge of Love, and it is the sweetest, most tender adoption book I have ever found. I cry every time I read it (as do most people) because it just explains so well the sweet story of adoption. You can get it here- http://store.barefootbooks.com/motherbridge-of-love.html/... I think EVERY family should have a copy of this book- regardless if they have adopted or not. It's so touching.

Have a great time planning the shower!
T.