In the wee hours of this morning, I found a spare moment. As I sipped my coffee, I browsed the many catalogs and magazines that had arrived at our house this week, full of holiday ideas and ways to make your holidays brighter, more festive, special, stress-free and definitely better than ever.

Pardon me for being a special mom of special kids, but I feel very disconnected from this whole holiday rush and fuss business this year. Yes, I know that the holidays are out there and rapidly approaching, but unlike the total Type A personality I used to be (who already had all my shopping and baking lists made by now), I haven’t started a single thing!

However, I believe there has to be a happy medium to the daily challenge of parenting our little ones and keeping traditions and making memories as a family. My own personal procrastination aside, there have to be ways that families with special kids can make the holidays work for them.

So, dear readers, I’m looking for ideas. I’d like to share through this blog in the coming weeks ideas of what families of special needs children do to make the holidays meaningful when there are extra added obstacles. And I’m looking for ideas from YOU! Here are some topics to get your thoughts flowing:

1. How have you modified/changed your holiday traditions since you adopted your special needs child? Why did you change them? How do you feel about that?
2. What is the biggest challenge your family faces during the holidays? How have you met that challenge?
3. What have you done during times of financial strain to make the holidays special? This is especially pertinent to other families with medical bills, therapy expenses and even those who are stretching to afford the adoption itself.
4. How do you handle the holidays if your child is not at home (perhaps hospitalized, in an RTC or other out-of-home placement)?
5. How do you keep the routine and structure needed so our children aren’t overwhelmed at the holidays?
6. Do you have tips for traveling and visiting relatives with our special kids?
7. What’s the hardest thing about parenting challenging children when it comes to the holiday season?

Now you can always answer these by commenting on the blog. But what I’d really like to do (if you’re willing) is talk to you via email and write an interview blog talking about your ideas. If you have ideas, traditions, tips, or stories to share, email me at julieb@adoptionblogs.com or julieb@radzebra.org.

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