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HiWe didn't know what to expect at all but it ended up being a lovely day. The judge made sure he made our lo the focus and was very friendly and nice. We had a few family members come as well. It was quite emotional actually and we got a certificate and lo got a small gift from the judge which was sweet. We were prob only in there for 15 mins max and I went for smart casual attire which I was pleased I had in the end! Afterwards we went to a lovely cafe for tea and cake. All in all a fab day and one to remember. Hope your experience is just as good

Hi, We had around 20 family & friends attend. Firstly we went into a room with the judge who talked all about us and made our BD and AS feel included and special. He asked our BD to name everyone in the room and say whether they were family or friend and a little bit of info and then he repeated everything without missing a thing. BD and AS then did a treasure hunt round the room for his wig and inside it was full of sweets. He then gave us a certificate. We then went into the full court room and had pictures taken with everyone taking turns at wearing his wig. All of the court staff were lovely. None of us had been inside a court before and my 88yr grandma was delighted, kept telling everyone what a great time she'd had! There were the usual security checks as you enter and we warned to be cautious about taking photos outside by our SW- apparently security could have asked us not to as we may have inadvertently included people who were attending court for other reasons. We did stick out as we were a large group full of chatter and abit giddy plus all the children had balloons and ladies flowers plus presents for the SW's. We didn't really notice until we exited and there were people sat waiting for court appearances etc who looked at us in interest. We sent a thank you card to the judge and court staff and it was lovely that he responded in writing on very posh embossed court paper to say what a lovely start to the day he'd had. He also sent our BS a birthday card which was several weeks later. We booked a local leisure centres bday party package the following Saturday and invited extended family and friends. It wasn't very expensive, £60 for two hrs and all the children played on the bouncy castle, soft play shapes and trampoline and the adults had a drink in the adjoining room. Hope you have a lovely day, however you celebrate!J

Congratulations!Our hearing was attended by me and the girls, my mom and one of my sisters. No one from SS attended, at our request, and the court was totally supportive of that.The judge was lovely, and presented the girls with books, and we took photos. It was only a short hearing, maybe 15 or 20 mins.We just went for a quiet meal afterwards, then a couple of days later we went on holiday, so when we got back we had a meal with extended family, and a party at home for friends.The usual advice is to have the hearing at the court local to the area the child/children came from, otherwise if you have it at your local court it gives birth family a clue as to where you live.Papergirl x

My SW has recommended that we choose a neutral court away from both where she came from and where we live. We have gone for a big city around 50 mins drive from us. That way we are not disclosing anything about where we live and also if we go for a meal or something afterwards, we don't have to be looking over our shoulder for members of the birth family!I can't wait for the day to arrive :-)