The holidays can be a challenging time for a child in foster care. This may be their first time away from their biological family, or their first time in your home. Even if they have lived with you for holidays previously, meeting new family and having new traditions can be sad if you remember past holidays with your biological family. What are some ways you can help your child this holiday season?

1. Discuss your family’s traditions and family that may come in town ahead of time. This gives the child time to prepare themselves, so they are not surprised for the holidays, and gives them time to ask questions. If you have pictures from past years, you can show them so they can better visualize these events.
2. Ask your child about their past traditions in their biological homes, any dishes they are used to having as part of their holiday meals, etc. If they are open to sharing their traditions, consider asking them to show them to you and incorporate them in part of your holiday traditions.
3. Help the child in your care pick out gifts or make gifts for your family and their biological family. For younger children, make it a game to help them think of the best gift. If they have a gift for their biological family, or take pictures with family for the holidays, have them bring them to a visit with their biological family and hang them around the house.
4. Discuss expectations ahead of time. If the foster child is expected to go to certain events, hang out with the family for a certain amount of time, or participate in any games or activities, make sure they know what is expected ahead of time. If they are not able to meet those expectations, be sure to discuss this with your family ahead of time so they are aware and don’t put your foster youth in an uncomfortable position.
5. Most importantly, be flexible. The child in your care is likely having a tough time. If they look like they are struggling, be sure to take some time to let them process in a space by themselves and check in with them.

And, as always, remember you can check in with your case manager ahead of the holidays or call our on-call line in time of crisis!

The last few weeks at FCS have been so much fun as we’ve been gearing up for the holiday season! We’ve had an exciting event last weekend, and another one coming up this weekend!
Our Holiday Party is held every year to give a huge thank-you to our foster parents and to give gifts to all of the children in their homes. We held this year’s event at Uptown Alley and had so much fun! There was bowling, lots of great holiday snacks, and an arcade. Our foster parents had a great chance to catch up with each other, and all the children loved the games! We all had a great time and can’t wait for next year!
This weekend, we’ll be holding our JustSing event. For the first time ever, we are partnering with JustSing to raise awareness about the critical need for more foster parents. We plan to have a number of our foster families, our staff, and a huge group of local supporters, join us as we sing ‘I Won’t Give Up’ by Jason Mraz, as well as family and friends join us virtually from across the country. We cannot thank all of our supporters enough for celebrating the resilience of the children in foster care and helping raise awareness of the need for more foster children. Come join us at Independence High School from 11AM-1PM this Saturday! If you can’t make it, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fcsva to watch us live stream!