Adopting a child is a great thing to celebrate. You want to eagerly share the great news with family and friends. A good adoption announcement is a great way to do that. What exactly is an adoption announcement? An adoption announcement is like a baby announcement, but instead of announcing a baby’s birth, you’d announce that you’re planning to adopt a child to grow your family. It should be noted, the majority of adoption announcements are distributed after your child’s adoption is finalized, celebrating the day you’ve officially adopted your child. There are many creative and fun ways to announce an adoption too. You can announce the adoption by using cards, photos, party invitations, or having it published in your local newspaper. But before we get to the fun ways to create an adoption announcement, here’s what else you should really consider keeping in mind while making a good adoption announcement.
Should You Announce That You’re Planning on Adopting?
You can let family and friends know you’ve begun the adoption process, just let the major and private adoption details to yourselves, such as the paperwork, why the birth parents chose not to parent, what your adopted child’s background story is, etc. Announcing that you’re planning to adopt is a cause for celebration, and there are many ways to announce your adoption adventure. Matching announcements are a cute way to announce an adoption, but most times, people who haven’t adopted won’t quite understand it. In addition, if the birth mother changes her mind, you’ll have to sadly explain you’ve been unmatched. Be cautious to not say every part of your adoption process, because sometimes, the adoption plans fall apart. It also should be noted about matching adoption announcements. I’ll explain why you should wait to share about adopting.
Why You Should Wait to Share Your Adoption News
If you’re planning on sharing your adoption news publicly, keep a few things in mind. You wouldn’t want to offend the birth parents or the family by announcing the news, say, on social media, before the baby’s even born. Yes, you’re planning on adopting the child, but make sure you keep the birth parent’s feelings in mind before you announce. The birth parents might be going through some heavy feelings about placing a child for adoption, so asking the birth mother or father if he or she would be okay or not with the adoption announcements would be a very thoughtful gesture.
If you’re adopting an older child, consider the child’s feelings on the adoption announcement. Some kids might have mixed feelings on the announcement or would want the birth information private. You shouldn’t share about why the older child’s birth parent chose not to parent, and where the older child is from. Also, don’t boast or brag about your announcement to the birth parents–your older child might feel like you don’t care about how the birth parents feel.
In some instances, if you get matched with an expectant mother, the feeling of excitement would understandably be so hard for you to keep to yourself, that you want to shout to the world that you’re adopting a baby. But that excitement does have the sad possibility of being taken from you as the birth mother tells you she’s keeping the baby, or choosing another family or option. If that were to happen, you’d have to tell the devastating news to your family and friends.
You should give your feelings on the adoption time to progress. For example, if you’re more excited about the adoption than your spouse or partner is, take time to talk things out with him or her and consider those feelings. Or, if your children are worried and feeling like you won’t love your other children as much anymore, assure those children that adopting another child doesn’t make your love ever go away. And if you’re feeling excited one day and anxious the next, take time to evaluate those feelings and don’t be afraid to talk to an adoption counselor or close friend.
If you’re going through domestic adoption, you’re asked to wait 30-60 days before sending out adoption announcements. That 30-60 day period, known as the “honeymoon period,” is the time when the birth mother can change her mind on placing the child for adoption. Although it’s rare that the birth parent will change his or her mind about the adoption, it does happen, so be cautious.
That’s a few reasons why most adoptive parents wait until the adoption is finalized, and the adoptive parents know that the celebration can officially happen now that the child is finally adopted.
Asking Other Adoptive Parents How And When The Couple Announced
A great option is to ask other adoptive parents about how the couple shared the adoption announcement. Adoptive parents have been through what you’re going through now, and will gladly give you advice and tips on announcing the adoption.
You can look at the Adoption.com forums to see how adoptive parents shared adoption announcements, how adoptive parents announced an older child’s adoption, or when adoptive parents announced a match.
Who Should You Tell First About The Adoption?
It’s very crucial to tell the following family members first that you’re adopting. After all, these are the ones that are closest to you and would like to be the first to know before you announce your news to everyone else.
Your Biological Children or Other Adopted Children
You should definitely let your children know you plan to adopt. Ask those children about possible feelings about having a new sibling. Perhaps, you’ll find out that your other children would love to have a new brother or sister. Maybe others won’t be too excited at first about having another child in the home. Or you’ll hear about a million questions children will ask about adoption. You can prepare your children by talking openly about adoption by:
- Showing books on adoption.
- Teaching the proper adoption language.
- Teaching about the child’s race and culture, whether the child’s international or not.
- Telling your children how much you love them, and that love will never change once the adopted sibling comes to live with all of you.
- Including your children in the adoption process by letting him or her pick out items for the new sibling’s room, choosing what toys the new sibling would like to play with once the new sibling comes to live with you.
Here’s a great article on how to talk to your kids about adoption.
Your Family
Your parents, and brothers, and sisters would also love to be some of the first people that know about your plans for adopting. Your siblings can ask questions on being aunts and uncles to your potential adoptive child, and your parents would likely have many questions on becoming grandparents. If you’re adopting a child of different races and cultures, your family might become hesitant about the idea of you wanting to adopt. Be prepared to face prejudices, and don’t be afraid to confront family members on it. Also, give siblings and parents time to think about your choice to adopt. Giving people time to prepare will help excitement grow, and hopefully, concerns about your adoption decision will fade. The prospect of you adding a new child into your home should be a joyous occasion and definitely one you’ll need your family’s support when you go through the ups and downs of your adoption journey.
Your Closest Friends
Finally, you should let your closest friends know your plans to adopt. Your friends should be supportive of your decision, but don’t be surprised if some have tons of questions to ask as well. If your friends bring up myths about adoption, don’t hesitate to correct friends on it. It’s okay to let your guard down and let people know that you’ll need support and be open to explain the adoption process. Once you’ve equipped your friends with the knowledge of adoption, those friends, in turn, will feel more ecstatic about your adoption.
Letting Your Official Adoption Announcement Known
Now that your family and friends have known about you wanting to adopt, the long adoption process is completed at last, and your adopted child is here to stay, you can let the world know that you’ve officially adopted a child. Here’s some etiquette to also consider.
How to Word an Adoption Announcement
Figuring out how to word an adoption announcement is essential. Here are some good wording examples:
- We’d like to announce the adoption of (child’s name).
- Worth the wait.
- He’s/she’s here!
- Welcome home (child’s name)!
- Celebrating the adoption of (child’s name).
- Love makes a family.
- Introducing the newest member of our family, (child’s name)!
*Don’t forget to add the important date of your child’s adoption
*Also, use the proper positive adoption language.
Choosing A Creative Way to Announce the Adoption
Now that you’ve gotten the proper adoption etiquette down, you can come up with some good and creative ways to announce the adoption. So, let the adoption announcement creativity begin. There are so many innovative and fun ideas, but if you’re having trouble choosing a good adoption announcement, here are 12 great adoption announcement ideas to help get you started.
Cards You Can Send in the Mail
You can find many creative adoption announcement card ideas on Pinterest, Etsy, Shutterfly, etc. You can include an adoption photo with your child’s name of the adopted child and the day your child became a part of your family. You can also add a sweet and meaningful quote or Bible verse onto the card.
Photoshoot
A photoshoot is another good and memorable creative way to announce the adoption. You can take a photo with your whole family (pets too), or you can have your adopted child as the center of attention in his or her own special photoshoot.
Party Invitations
The long-awaited moment of officially adopting a child is a perfect thing to celebrate, and what better way to do that than to throw a party. You can announce the adoption by having it personalized into an invitation and invite family and friends to celebrate along with you. The adoption announcements can have your adopted child’s photo, add a cute saying or quote, and let your guest know the day, location, and time of the party. Your adopted child will feel loved knowing that you’re having a special party just for him or her. Check out this forum about adoption announcement party etiquette.
Using a Globe
If you adopted your child internationally, using a globe is a cute way to announce your adoption. You can take a photo of the globe, pointing out which country your adopted child is from.
Adoption T-Shirts
You see the popularity of using T-shirts to announce a pregnancy, so why not use a T-shirt to announce the adoption. You can get shirts created with sweet adoption sayings, quotes, and Bible verses.
Using Social Media
If you find it hard to contain your excitement, social media platforms are a great way to let distant family and friends know about the adoption. Whether hosting your special announcement using Facebook live, telling your adoption journey using Instagram stories, uploading a special Youtube video, or sharing your creative announcement idea on Pinterest, social media is a great innovative way to let everyone know you’ve adopted your child.
Adoption announcements are meant to be a fun way to let everyone know that you’re planning on adopting and that you’ve officially adopted your child. By reading this article, you’ll now know why you should wait to share the adoption announcement, what to say and what not to say when announcing, who should know first about your adoption decision, and creative ways to share your adoption announcements. Remember that timing, good etiquette, proper adoption language, and not sharing every single detail about your adoption journey makes a good adoption announcement. Lastly, have fun, get creative, and just enjoy that the adoption of your child can finally be lovingly celebrated.
For more information on adoption announcements, you can read this article for tips on making a good adoption announcement and this article about adoption announcements. Check out these 4 tips on announcing your plan to adopt. Looking for some more creative adoption announcements? Here are 21 great adoption announcement ideas!
Kandice Confer is an adopted twin, wife, and mother of two girls who loves spending time with her family and two rabbits. She loves reading and writing inspirational works of literature and loves telling stories.