16 Gotcha Day Party Ideas to help get this celebration started….

After I posted this image + caption on Facebook yesterday, I started thinking about the celebration that is Gotcha Day. (For the record, I know the term Gotcha Day is not appropriate for everyone. It is for us, so call it whatever you want.)

3 weeks from today, Maya and I are going to MN. 1 month from yesterday is her Gotcha Day in court. Countdown on until we can finally show everyone’s faces….

In light of the upcoming event, I thought I’d share some of the coolest Gotcha Day parties I sourced around the Internet.

16 Gotcha Day Party Ideas

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1. Wishes-Come-True Day. “The day you adopted your child is the day your wishes came true. Why not celebrate by helping your child’s wishes come true? Let your child pick what to do for the day. It can be something like going to the zoo, going to a sports game, or going to a museum. Your child can even choose what meal to eat for dinner or what restaurant to go to for dinner. The main focus for this day is doing something together as a family. This is a great Gotcha Day tradition because as your child grows older and their interests change they’ll still be able to choose something to do that they love and that the whole family can participate in.”
2. Worth the Wait Adoption Party. Can you even stand how adorable all these treats are? I’d love to include any of these for an adoption party – or just a casual Friday! 🙂 (Image credit: The First Year)
3. Faith and Prayer based. These images are so beautiful!
4. Welcome to the Zoo. Or, “We’re Wild About You.” Plan an entire party around zoo animals.
5. Globes and Paper Airplanes. Are you adopting internationally? There are some great ideas here focused on an around the world theme. 
6. Bubbles Balloons Bright Things. This was the theme we did for Samarah’s 2nd birthday party, but you could take so many of these elements and use them for an adoption party. The Winnie the Poo friendship quotes would never get old. 
7. Various paper party. Simple, classy, and cute. 
8. Precious Cargo. I about died when I saw how adorable this was. While it definitely looks more for an international than domestic adoption, there are pieces you could “adopt” for your own big day if you are adopting domestically. The vintage element is my favorite, and you could take that piece of it and apply it to any of these ideas. (Image credit: Hostess with the Mostess) 
9. “O-FISH-AL” Adoption Party. All fish-themed, and super cool. It seems like a lot of adoption parties go with this theme.
10. Found the Missing Puzzle Piece. You can do so many different plays on the one. 
11. Welcome Home to the Ranch. This was the party my family threw for us in Minnesota after Samarah was adopted. One of the coolest ideas that I think anyone can take from this is the Wishing Tree idea. 
12. Without the Rain. A theme all around the idea that without the rain there would never be rainbows. Then, you do things with umbrellas, rain boots, rainbows, etc. This is just so peaceful. 
13. Our Family is Built by Adoption. Have a little boy? This construction, dump truck, all the things building and builders is a great idea. 
14. Love Changes Everything. This is inspired by the idea of the caterpillar turning into a butterfly. If you peruse the images linked and let your mind run wild, it could be something incredible and meaningful.
15. What a Difference a Day Makes. You could plan an entire party around numbers. Get creative with different numbers, their shapes, and what they mean. Just look at how awesome numbers can look! 
16. Born in Our Hearts. Have hearts be the theme, and dress everything up with hearts and love. This was a birthday party focused on hearts, but could easily be translated to an adoption party. THIS site as a ton of beautiful ideas around it, too. Obviously, I love the play on Born in Our Hearts. I have both a Pinterest board and a Facebook group devoted to it!

p.s. I think any of these 23 Adoption and Faith Holiday Gift Ideas are appropriate gifts for Gotcha Day! 

Have you ever thrown a Gotcha Day Party? Any fun ideas to add to this list?

Already adoption your child(ren)? Check out 8 Ways to Celebrate Gotcha Day Anniversary.

Xox,
SKH

Sarah Kay Hoffman

You will heal. I will help.