Gift for Shower for International Adoption

I don't know if this would work, but if you are in the neighborhood, consider a 'certificate' offering to make meals for them or run errands for them. Adjusting to a new child-- who will be adjusting to an entirely new world and environment-- may be much like having a new baby in some ways, and having some help to get basic things done might be a very practical and meaningful offer.

Otherwise, perhaps a very simple game they can play together which doesn't involve reading/too much language. (HABA makes a game called "Orchard" which might be fun, easy to learn, and is played cooperatively.) Playing games together is a great way for families to spend time together, get to know one another, without high expectations.

Having adopted internationally, I'd suggest anything that you have reason to believe would comfort the child (assuming it's OK with your brother and sister-in-law). If you can find Lullabyes from the Congo, a picture book with a story she might already know...oh, and a night of free baby-sitting when they feel ready! ; )

My first thought was purely emotional - engraved picture frame, memory book, book about being "selected" rather than "expected."

Why not start a "my family" book for them? Since a "baby book" is out of the question. A blank one can be found at any good book store. They usually include spaces for family history like how parents & grandparents met, funny family stories, special pictures, holiday traditions etc. Best wishes!

Buy a beautiful frame and give them a gift certificate for a new family photo. Also a scrap book that they can put all their things into would be nice

Love the idea of something personalized with her name. Or a beautiful photo album so they can start filling it right away!

I'm also a parent of a child adopted internationally. While this may not work for the shower, it is a wonderful gift for the actual adoption date or readoption date. For both the U.S. and the State of TX, you can get a flag that was flown over the national or state capitol on a specific date. It is surprisingly affordable and a cool gift that almost no one even knows of or thinks about. Super easy to order too, just be sure to order it in advance of the actual date needed. Also, you can have your State Senator send a letter of congratulations to the little one just by requesting it from their office (There are forms on their websites to make the request.) For example, Sen John Corryn sent my daughter a letter congratulating her on her adoption and U.S. Citizenship. Also a mainly Texas thing, but one of the best dang gifts that I ever received was a gift certificate to Adventure Kids (Playcare) where I could get out alone for a few hours. You may also want to consider a photo album or frame, and I cherished a baby blanket that was made for her. Other items that are useful for a shower are things to make travel easier (snacks, kid snack bowls, toiletries, etc). Arriving home with a 2 yr old, there were very few "baby" things that I ended up truly needing. The best thing by far was one of those clip on mirrors that attach to the rear view mirror or visor to see her in the back seat where I could see what she was doing and could make eye contact wtih her at stop lights. A diaper bag was also very useful. Other items were a jogging stroller, a wagon, car organizer and baby seat. A ride on toy is a good idea, too. My daughter loved a Fisher Price Horse that was pink and rolls and plays some music...it was about $40 from toys r us and the top end of the age range is 36 months, but she used it longer. A tricycle will also be helpful after a bit. A memorable gift that we will always keep is an incredibly soft baby blanket with an incredibly soft (think "made for infant) stuffed dog, as the softness is very soothing. There's also a children's book called "A Mother for Cukoo" that is a sweet adoption book and not specific to country. You also can find ideas for things from adoptshoppe.com. Also Bronner's specializes in ornaments of all type, and they have Christmas type ones that say "Adopted with Love" and are personalized with the child's name. They also have a lot of ornaments, etc that are flags or landmarks for specific countries. Appropriate for either now or Christmas.

I'm assuming your brother and his wife are in Texas, and our state requires a "readoption" once the child is home. They will have to do this to get the TX birth cerfiticate. So, they will have multiple dates with sentimental significance. Personally, I'm not a fan of the term "gotcha day," and so we celebrate "family day."

Congats to your brother and his wife.

They might enjoy a gift certificate to a class they can participate in together- Little Gym, Gymboree, Kindermusik all come to mind, or check your local recreation center. Something to do together is always a hit at our house, instead of more stuff to find places for!

A few things -
A book for kids about being adopted
New return address labels with the family names all on them
A journal book to take with them to write about their trip to get their daughter
A sparkly tiara for the little girl (cuz all little girls love sparkle)
A cozy throw with their daughters name embroidered on it so that she can cozy up on the couch.
A small empty child's picture album they can put pics of her Congo home and special pics for her to flip through.

How exciting! My first thought was also something personalized. Maybe a lovey with her name on it? A special blanket to feel secure? A picture frame of her countryland? Some picture books about the Congo?

This poor baby will be so overwhelmed with American culture, and of course with the love everyone will extend to her.

Do they have a name selected? Do they know her arrival date or the date they pick her up? Maybe a nice engraved photo frame with her name and adoption date on it. I've heard some adoptive families celebrate "Adoption Day" almost similar to a birthday. Other than that, educational toys came to mind, although that isn't really unique. Picture books, board books, puzzles, etc. I don't know if it's still around, but there used to be a company that made personalized high quality wooden puzzles. You could get the child's name in a wooden puzzle and you could have it just as a puzzle or you could have it put into an item like a child-sized wooden stool. My oldest son has one of those.

Congratulations! My brother and his wife are hoping to welcome an adopted baby this fall (fingers crossed) so I know how exciting this event is. I'll be following this post.

Not sure if you are looking for a present for the parents or little girl but you could get the little girl a silver bracelet and put one charm on it something that signifies her coming into their lives like how they have ones for when a baby is born with the date on it. Then every year and/or on a special occasion either you or her parents can add to it. Or you could get her something that represents her home country so she will never forget!

As for the parents maybe wait a little bit to get some pictures from the shower and then when the little girl arrives and make a photo book for the coffee table. I'm sure they will love this an you can include a little about their journey and how they became parents!

Maybe a picture frame that says Gotcha Day? You can get nice frames on personalizationmall.com.

There is a great book called "Looking for Miza" that is about a family of gorillas in the Congo. It has lovely photos of the forest and is also a sweet story. Maybe Rosetta Stone CDs in their daughter's first language, if the parents are not already fluent in French and/or her tribal dialect?

My experience comes a s a foster mom. I currently have a little girl who came to us just before her 3rd birthday. I have found that little black baby dolls can be tough to find, so you could look for a cute one for her (the main options I found at Toys R Us were a little Cabbage Patch baby, and the Baby Alive that has her teeth coming in). And this may sound a little strange, but if the parents are caucasian, some beginner hair care products and a resource might be helpful. I know when our little girl came, her hair was overwhelming to me - I had neevr cared for girl hair of ANY race, and her kinky curls were totally foreign to me! For something easy to find and not overwhelming, I'd buy two products from Target - the Brand Kinky Curly has a shampoo called Come Clean that is sulfate free (so it doesn't strip the hair of oils, causing dryness and breakage), and then a Leave-In Conditioner / Detangler that is the best detangler I found , as well as being a Leav-In conditioner to provide moisture. There are a TON more products and options out there, and it can get overwhelming - this is where I tell my friends to start. For a wonderful online resource, you can point them toward Chocolate Hair / Vanilla Care. A lot of Chocolate and Vanilla moms go there to learn about hair care and styling for little girls with curls. Locally, if they are in the Richardson/Plano/Allen area, there is a beauty supply store geared toward ethnic hair care, especially natural hair care (versus relaxed). It is called Three Sisters Beauty Supply and is in the Garden Ridge mall on the NorthEast corner of 75 and Spring Creek (inside the mall, directly across from Garden Ridge). The owner, Nikki (who named the store after her three daughters) was SO helpful to me when our girl came, and when she taught a hair care class for our foster/adoptive support group. She can help even more if she can see the little one - when ours came, I took her in with me so Nikki could see her hair and said "Help! What do I do?" (o: