Tomorrow is “Black Friday” in the retail world. As you do your holiday shopping, think of a child in foster care who may be in need.

The holidays are a difficult time for foster kids. It is s a reminder that they are separated from their birth family, it could be a reminder of holidays past that didn’t exist for them, or memories that are even worse.

With a tight budget for foster families, gifts can be very minimal for foster children. Meeting the very basic needs of the child can be difficult, much less doing something extra.

Finding out personal information about a particular child can be difficult. You can check with your social services agency and see if there is a particular child or family that has a need, or as I listed in my Send a card blog, you can view profiles of children on the AdoptUSKids or on your local waiting child website.

There are other organizations that you can donate to as well.

Salvation Army - The Salvation Army has the red kettle campaign that collects money to help provide food, toys and clothing for families in need. You can donate money or needed items.

Giving tree – many different organizations put up with cards on them for a child in need. These kids may be in foster care, shelters, living in poverty, or have other needs. You can find them in retail stores, churches, even some banks or other services areas.

If you want to donate anonymously or to an anonymous child, you can purchase an age appropriate gift and donate it to your social services agency. What would be a good gift for a child?

Toddlers
First of all, be aware of all the toy recalls that have been going on. You can find a listing of toy recalls here.

Check packaging for the age group. If you want to make sure a toy is large enough for little mouths, a quick check is to see if it fits inside a toilet paper or paper towel tube. If it does, it is too small for kids under the age of three.

• Bath toys - Bath toys are great gifts. Most of them can be used in or out of the bath.
• Legos, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys or other building toys – Yes, they still make these and many are now made in a larger toddler size that are large enough not to be a choking hazard and to be easily for little handles to grip.
• Stuffed animals – Check to see if they are washer friendly since kids put everything in their mouths anyway. Also check for small pieces, such as eyes or buttons, to make sure that they are securely attached to prevent a choking hazard.

Older girls
• Most older girls like to play dress up, princesses, dolls, and other frilly things.
• They also like to play pretend. Things like kitchen or cooking sets, make believe cleaning tools like vacuums are also very popular.

Older boys
• Cars, trains, more advanced building toys and things that boys can get rough and tumble with.
• Sports and outdoor activities become very important. A baseball glove and ball or other sports balls like soccer, football or basketball let boys be active.

Tween/Teen girls
• Girls this age are starting to become fashion conscious. A gift card to a clothing store, some make up, fun costume jewelry, or even a diary would be welcomed by the teen girls I know.

Tween/Teen boys
• Fortunately, boys start to care about hygiene when they discover girls. Things like body wash and cologne are very often requested gifts. Do not buy any cologne that comes in a aerosol can. They small nasty and boys wear it by the gallon.
• Boys this age are also very interested in video games. These can range from very simple to quite pricey.

If you want to do something that is more broad in terms of age or gender, things like coloring books, crayons, drawing paper, colored pencils, arts and craft kits, or other creative items are always welcome.

If you want first hand opinions, take along a child who is about the same age as the child you would like to buy for. They will be very quick to offer opinions on what is “cool” and what is not.

You can also do something very practical such as socks and underwear. We go through those like crazy at our house.

Anything you choose to do will be greatly appreciated by both foster parent and child.

Photo credit