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One question adoptive parents frequently ask me is for gift suggestions for birthmothers for holidays and birthdays. With Christmas right around the corner, I thought now would be a perfect time to share a couple of suggestions of gift ideas for birthmothers.
I sometimes get the impression from these questions that adoptive parents are looking for that perfect gift for their child’s birthmother. As a birthmother, I can assure you that almost anything you give your child’s birthmother is going to be appreciated and well received. We love that you just thought of us and took the time to buy us a gift. As cliché as it sounds, it’s not about money you spent or how fancy the gift is but about the thought behind it.
Photos of Our Child - If you already send photos on a regular basis, you may be thinking that pictures would be overkill as a gift, but I promise you we can never have too many photos of our child. Pictures of our child holding or wearing something we gave them are especially meaningful. Don’t want to just hand your child’s birthmother a stack of photos as a gift? Get creative and make them into a photo book, or make a collage of photos and frame it. Videos and slideshows are awesome and also welcome!
Christmas Ornaments - Christmas ornaments can be a great and meaningful gift for birthmoms. Depending on the age of the child, he or she can help choose the ornament. You could also choose an ornament that relates to something that happened to your child that year. For example, if your child started school, choose a school bus ornament and include a note from you or your child explaining why you chose that particular ornament. Make this a tradition and give your child’s birthmother an ornament each Christmas. She will cherish them and remember when and why you gave her each ornament as she pulls them out and carefully tucks them away each holiday season.
Something Our Child Made - I can’t express to you how much we treasure things our children made! You could get crafty and make something special with your child for his or her birthmom. But even if it’s just a simple picture our child drew and colored, we will adore it. For younger children, try searching online, especially on Pinterest, for projects that incorporate handprints or footprints – there are tons of cute and easy projects out there!
Jewelry - Jewelry is always a popular choice for gift giving. Nowadays, meaningful jewelry can be found pretty inexpensively. I love the idea of giving a birthmom a charm bracelet, as you can keep adding to it over the years by giving her more charms. There’s also a jewelry shop run by a couple of adoptive mothers called Charmed Collections, which has an affordable customizable birthmother necklace as well as other inspirational and encouraging jewelry perfect for birthmothers.
Again, I just want to reiterate that it’s not so much about the actual gift but about the love and thought behind the gift. Happy holidays!