Need help? Start on our program sites:
The holidays are here—and if you’re feeling a mix of excitement, anxiety, hope, and overwhelm, you’re not alone.
For families navigating child welfare and adoption, this season can bring up complicated emotions. There’s the joy of celebration mixed with the weight of transitions, the desire to create new traditions while honoring the past, and the challenge of co-parenting through it all.
Here’s What We Want You to Know
It won’t look perfect—and that’s okay. Perfect holiday moments exist mostly in movies. Real families—especially those formed through trauma and transition—navigate messy, complicated, beautiful moments. That’s not failure. That’s real life.
Children might struggle more right now. Changes in routine, sensory overload, memories of past holidays, and missing people can all trigger dysregulation. If behaviors escalate or emotions run high, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. It means the holidays are hard.
Connection matters more than celebration. The best gift you can give a child in out-of-home care? Respecting their connection to their first family and creating space for all their feelings—even during the holidays.
You don’t have to navigate this alone. Whether you need strategies for co-parenting through celebrations, ways to regulate big emotions, or just someone who understands—we’re here.
Resource: Download the Co-parenting During the Holidays Handout
This guide includes practical strategies for:
- Inviting first families into holiday celebrations
- Creating new traditions that honor the past
- Managing complex emotions (yours and theirs)
- Making the season meaningful without making it overwhelming
From all of us at the Coalition:
However the holidays look for your family—whether you’re celebrating together, co-parenting across households, or just trying to get through the week—we see the work you’re doing. We see the love you’re showing up with, even on the hard days.
That matters more than any perfect holiday moment ever could.
Wishing you moments of connection, whatever form they take.