China Princess

[MSSANDRA]

DH's cousin is adopting from China and we are invited to the shower on Sunday. Those with these precious little ones; any ideas for special gifts???

She will be an infant, home next month and will not want for anything!

 

[neatokimmo]

Photo albums, giftcards for Walgreens or CVS for photo printing. Maybe scrapbooking supplies. If they are anything like me, they won't stop taking pictures of her. And they've been collecting clothes and pretty-ees for the last 4 years while they've waited so I'd avoid that route.

Also, they'll be whipped from the trip. Food of any kind would probably be appreciated (when they are back).

 

[neatokimmo]

Oh and you could also give them a travel basket full of small travel sized items for the trip. They'll need luggage locks, luggage straps, duct tape (god bless duct tape), luggage tags, a good backpack, bath travel sized things, snack food, a converter set, a thermos, various medicines, extra memory cards for their camera or translation cards. That is just a little bit of all the junk I lugged to China lol

 

[livndisney]

I agree with pp. Picture frames and scrapbook stuff. Something else you may want to consider is gift cards. When I came home with my dd I was lucky to get in the shower-then alone cook a meal. A friend of mine got me a gift card to a local place that had drive up service. All I had to do was call and order and pick it up. And let me tell you how WONDERFUL it was to see (and smell) American food again LOL

Another suggestion is a gift certificate for a local photo place like Olan Mills. New parents will have LOTS of pictures taken.

 

[neatokimmo]

Oh I totally vote for Olan Mills if you have it nearby, that was one of my favorite gifts!

 

[livndisney]

Oh I totally vote for Olan Mills if you have it nearby, that was one of my favorite gifts!

That was one of the first stops I made when DD came home. The pics came out so cute the photographer wanted them for his portfolio.

 

[MSSANDRA]

great ideas!!

Anyone have any really good children's picture books dealing with international adoption??

 

[livndisney]

great ideas!!

Anyone have any really good children's picture books dealing with international adoption??

Oh YES!!!

I Love you like Crazycakes
Shaoey and Dot (And there is a 2nd book, I can't think of the name right now)

Adoption shopping site:
http://www.mandysmoon.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=007&DEPT=1028692743&BACK=A0007A1B01055181532B1

Adoption books:
http://www.comeunity.com/adoption/books/0children-adoption.html

http://www.amazon.com/Shaoey-Dot-Bug-Meets-Bundle/dp/1400304822

 

[wendylovesdisney]

I agree with the previous posters. I spent the looooong wait buying a zillion things because it was all I could do during the wait so I was pretty well stocked up with "stuff".

What made a difference was the help you get when you come back. We came home sick (even a hospitalization with my second one from China), tired and really needing a helping hand.
Add to that the attachment issues we had, and the MANY sleepless nights I endured. I even gave up driving for awhile as I was unsafe to be behind the wheel due to lack of sleep.
To me, people giving me a hand was what was really important.
I will never forget coming home from the airport and a subway-ish sandwhich tray waiting for us.. it was a lifesaver and a little slice of heaven. Just grab and eat.

 

[Mom2JPL]

I'm trying to think of the things I received and needed when we brought our daughter home (it's 6 years this November!). I loved anything with her name on it. My bff from high school gave me the "I love you like crazy cakes" hard book and wrote a special note in it for me and my daughter (and I love it, even though I'd already bought one myself months before).

Honestly, they probably could just use cash and a small little gift. The trip is expensive and I'm sure any extra cash they can take with them would really help (plus, there are so many places they take you in China to shop and it's really cheap there to get stuff...they'll be bringing home jewelry, squeaky shoes and silks galore, lol!).

What they're going to appreciate the most is any help you can give them after they arrive home. My whole family and so many friends were at the airport when we arrived home, holding up signs my brother made of our daughter's referral pic saying "welcome home Janet Barbara". It made me cry! We then all went to my parents house and my mom had a special dinner for us of homemade ravioli - our daughter loved them and still does! She was born to be Italian...lol!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane, sorry I wasn't too helpful!

 

[wendylovesdisney]

My whole family and so many friends were at the airport when we arrived home, holding up signs my brother made of our daughter's referral pic saying "welcome home Janet Barbara". It made me cry!

I had welcome home signs, etc too and although I thought I did not want a fuss made, I cried and was happy too!

The plane ride home is not fun and very exhausting on someone who is already stretched thin by emotion. I think we were traveling almost 23 hours by the time we got home. We were in economy class, squished in, and the plane was full. No place really to change a baby with diarrhea... ugh!

I changed my girls into outfits with American flags on them and it seemed like everyone at the airport knew what was going on. When we got to the area where my family was waiting with balloons etc, it was an "aw" moment.

 

[HLDisney]

Things from these websites might be appreciated:

www.chinasprout.com

www.asiaforkids.com

It may be a little early but a lot of China adoptive parents and kids like these Mei Mei videos for learning Chinese:

www.meimeiandme.com


One suggestion would be to hold off on getting things like stuffed animals. When my DD first came home from China, she wouldn't touch a stuffed animal or even a doll. She preferred hard plastic toys and books. It took her over a year to get to the point that she like stuffed animals.

Gift cards are very helpful, too. I would have to say that the 2-3 gift cards I got to Babies R Us and Gap were probably the most useful stuff I ever got.

Helen

 

[MrsJD]

We didn't do an international adoption but I was so touched when we got home from the court hearing and our friends had put up It's A Girl decorations all over.

I agree with the cash gift that was previously suggested. Adoption is so expensive and extra money is always helpful. I also agree with the picture/scrapbooking stuff and anything with the baby's name. I was obsessed with things with her name on it!

If they are Disney fans, maybe a Mulan themed basket?!

 

[Dancemom03]

Friends who adopted from China gave my DD8 a copy of the Shaoey and Dot book too when the girls were little. Years later, it's still one of our favorites.