Adoption Day- Gotcha Day
Adoption Day, sometimes called “Gotcha Day” is a day to celebrate a child’s adoption or addition to the family. This informal holiday can be the day the child joined the family or the day the adoption was finalized. It is the most celebrated adoption related event in America. Families will often exchange gifts, do special activities, or go out to dinner, or create new or special traditions, unique to their family. Other families use Adoption Day as a means to educate friends and family, teachers or their community about adoption and raise adoption awareness.
At our house we combined several traditions to create our own special Adoption Day. When my cousins were young, my Aunt would decide today is Brooke Day or Sean Day for no reason other than they just needed a day to be special. She might make their favorite foods, bake a cake, etc. We added the special meaning of adoption to our day and decided to use the children’s names as a take on “Gotcha Day” At our house Adoption Day is called Happy Callie Day and Happy Sean Day. Each child gets to pick a restaurant and we go out to dinner on their special day. No gifts are allowed, although Grandma tries to sneak one in on occasion.
