After the Festival
Watch for “post-festival blues.” Returning to routine can be hard for everyone. Support your child in getting back to familiar habits and reflect together on what went well and what could be different next time.
Celebrating festivals and occasions
Supporting every child’s culture and faith
Festive seasons and cultural celebrations can be a magical time of year, and for foster carers it’s especially rewarding to share that warmth and joy with the children in their care. At the same time, it’s important to recognise that holidays and festivals, whether Christmas, Diwali, Eid, Hanukkah, Lunar New Year or other celebrations, can bring mixed emotions for children who may feel excitement alongside anxiety or vulnerability during these times.
Children and young people in care come from a wide range of cultures, languages, and beliefs. Your local council welcomes carers from all faiths and none, because our community is as diverse as the children we support. We focus on warmth, stability, and respect, matching children with carers who can honour their identity, routines, and beliefs. Our role is to help every child feel seen, safe, and proud of who they are, especially during important times like faith and cultural festivals. This commitment to inclusion and equality is at the heart of everything we do across our boroughs.
Faith can help a child feel they belong
Familiar foods, languages, places of worship, and shared values can ease the move into a new home and strengthen a child’s sense of self. We’ll always work with you to support a child’s religious practice, whether that means attending services, observing dietary requirements, or connecting with community groups, while ensuring participation is always the child’s choice.
Practical tips for foster carers supporting children of all faiths
1. Co-Create Your Own Traditions
It’s okay to adapt or avoid certain rituals if they don’t feel right for your foster child or family. Involve your foster child in deciding which traditions to keep, change, or create together. By doing this, you help your foster child feel included and successful, rather than pressured to “get it right.”
2. Recognise and Regulate Big Feelings
Festivals can bring excitement, but for some children, excitement and stress feel very similar. Keep things low-key if needed, reducing stimulation can help children feel safer. Prioritise your own emotional regulation; children are sensitive to adult feelings.
3. Use Your Support Network
You don’t have to do it all alone. Ask friends, family, or your fostering team for help in planning or celebrating.
4. Explore and Respect Each Child’s Story
Be curious, ask: “What activities at [festival] did you enjoy? What would you like to keep or change?” Let go of any “should’s”, there’s no one right way to celebrate. Acknowledge that children may have mixed feelings, including sadness, guilt, or longing for their birth family.
5. Create Safety Through Connection and Predictability
Make plans explicit and predictable, write out or draw the schedule, repeat it, and keep routines where possible. Do activities together: cooking, making, playing, or simply spending time. Offer extra presence, supervision, and support during festivals.
More tips
Giving and Receiving
Help children understand that gifts and celebrations are not rewards for “good” behaviour, they are loved and valued regardless. Keep gifts and activities manageable; too much can be overwhelming. Model the joy of giving and receiving, talk openly about feelings that may arise.
Food and Drink
Be mindful that food and alcohol can be sensitive topics for some children. Children coming from a background of neglect or abuse might have complicated relationships with food, and negative connotations around adults consuming alcohol in their presence. Talk through meal plans and offer familiar options if a child prefers them. If you’re hosting guests, reassure the child that alcohol will be consumed responsibly and make sure visitors understand any boundaries.
Protect privacy on social media
Keep festive photos and videos private. Ask visitors not to share images online.
Supporting contact and family time with birth family
Plan contact visits well in advance and avoid clashes with family celebrations. Help children prepare for visits, choosing a small gift or making a card can be comforting. Be ready for a range of emotions and work with social workers to support the child before and after contact.
Community connections matter
We reach out to faith and community organisations, co-hosting information sessions with foster carers, so potential applicants can hear real stories, ask questions, and see how fostering fits their values.
Find out more
Local Community Fostering welcomes carers from all backgrounds to help children feel valued and included during faith and cultural celebrations. By honouring each child’s beliefs and traditions, you can make a real difference in their lives.
Interested in fostering? Join our diverse community and help every child feel at home. Contact us today to learn more.
To find out about how your Council supports foster carers, click the logos below
We’re the choice for people from all backgrounds—single, coupled up, LGBTQ+, renting, or owning—who want to open their hearts and homes to local children and become part of a loved local community.
Fill out this short form and one of our team will reach out for an open and honest chat. Or feel free to call us on 020 8496 3437 or email hello@localcommunityfostering.co.uk.
You’re more ready than you think.