A lot of the adoption process is a waiting game, so many prospective adoptive parents consider decorating the nursery while they wait. Whether because they don't know what gender child they might end up adopting or because they wish to avoid gendered norms altogether, many adoptive parents prefer to focus on gender-neutral nursery themes. Below are some you might consider as you plan your child's nursery.

Jungle Theme

One of the most popular themes in recent years that lends itself well to any gender is a jungle theme. Decorations are available featuring cute tigers, monkeys, and elephants on everything from bedding to wall stickers. Jungle themes are often complemented by shades of green, and because of its popularity, there's a wide range of items to choose from without needing to resort to much do-it-yourself if that isn't something you're into. Another great benefit of this theme is that it transitions well to toddler rooms -- what toddler doesn't love jungle animals?

Travel Theme

Something that many adoptive families include in their profile is their desire to travel as a family. If travel is important to you, and something you want your child to enjoy and appreciate, why not instill that in them from the start? A travel-themed nursery opens up lots of options. You might paint a map of the world on the wall, or focus more on modes of travel like airplanes and trains. Drawers can be painted to look like suitcases, and books about different parts of the world can be put on display. This theme lends itself well to neutral colors like brown and white, and you might consider choosing one non-neutral color for contrast, such as red or green.

Color Themes

Instead of basing a theme around a concrete concept, why not just stick with colors? Colors give you a huge range of options: do you want to use the whole rainbow, or perhaps stick with primary colors? You could choose a specific color, like green or yellow, and decorate the room in a variety of shades of that color. You could also decorate in mostly monotones with pops of a specific color throughout the room. Let your imagination run wild!

Character Themes

Take a look at children's characters and see if you see something you could base a nursery theme around. Maybe you like Winnie the Pooh, and the soft autumn colors of the book's illustrations. Perhaps you think Sesame Street and its bright primary colors would make a good nursery. Maybe you like Mickey Mouse, or want something more modern like Nemo from Finding Nemo. You could even go a bit more whimsical and go with a Dr. Seuss theme. There's a huge variety of children's book, television, and movie characters to choose from that would make a fantastic gender-neutral nursery theme.