Handling the holidays with a foster child can feel like a lot to handle, especially if it’s your first year with them. The holidays are overwhelming for everybody, and they can be an especially emotional time. This is no different for foster children. Prepare them upfront about what your traditions are. Introduce your family and friends to them slowly, and preferably ahead of time. Be available to talk if they are feeling emotional. And finally, try to make space for their own beliefs and traditions, even if they’re different from yours. Hopefully, you can make this holiday season magical for your foster child and give them a wonderful memory to hold onto forever.

Handling the Holidays with a Foster Child: How to Make it Magical

Prepare Them Up Front

The holidays with a foster child are much easier if you prepare them upfront. Things can feel very overwhelming for anybody at Christmas, but especially a young child. Everybody is stressed out, schedules are off, and everybody is running around trying to do so many things. Let your foster child know in advance what types of traditions you follow and how you’d like to include them.

Introduce Family Slowly

When handling the holidays with a foster child, introduce family slowly. It might feel very overwhelming to attend a huge holiday event with a lot of extended family members if they haven’t met anybody. See if you can have a few people over in smaller groups ahead of the celebrations. That way, your child will recognize them and will feel less anxious.

Be Available to Talk

Another thing that’s important when handling the holidays with a foster child is to be available to talk. They might be feeling a lot of emotions over the holidays. They might experience a whole range of emotions including anxiety, sadness, and excitement. Give them some space if they seem like they want privacy, but let them know that you are there if they want to talk.

Accommodate Their Beliefs

Finally, when handling the holidays with a foster child, try to accommodate their beliefs. They might have special traditions that they remember from holidays past with their biological family or other foster families. Incorporating this into your holiday routine will show them how important they are to you. Handling the holidays with a foster child can be an exciting but also stressful situation. Everybody is rushing around and busy over the holidays, so it’s easy to get overwhelmed and forget to take a pause. However, it’s important to keep an eye on your child and make sure that they are handling things ok. Prepare them upfront and let them know what to expect over the holidays. If you are getting together with a lot of extended family members, see if you can introduce them slowly ahead of time. Be available to talk if they need some extra support. And give them space if they seem like they need it. And finally, try to accommodate their beliefs and personal traditions. This will help them feel included and can ease anxiety and sadness. Hopefully, you can make this time of year magical for your foster child!