Accessible Christmas Gift ideas

It’s that time of year! The scramble to ensure you’ve secured the best present options for the big man deliver on Christmas day!

In the early years I used to agonise over it. I was still grappling with Amy’s diagnosis. It’s a lot to wrap your head around and come to terms with. A lot of the gift buying was entirely guess work.

As time has gone on and Amy has developed her own interests it has definitely become easier.

I no longer care about things being age appropriate. I haven't for years. I mean… I’m a pokemon, hello kitty, video game loving 38 year old. I honestly believe we never really grow up. We are all just big kids.

I guess in some ways what works for one child may not work for another. For example - Amy couldn’t care less about sensory lights. This does make me a little sad as I personally adore sensory lights!! But the girl likes what she likes. I know also that some children may be deaf or like Amy, visually impaired. So obviously there are some things that may not be appropriate.

I’m going to just bullet point what has worked for us in the past.

· Musical toys. It goes without saying really. Amy is still a big VTech fan. We always have a look at what’s new out there. We have found that the big toy manufacturers are now making “baby” toys with much smaller buttons as many “able bodied” children are developing fine motor skills earlier now thanks to ipad/smartphone technology.

This is bad news for children like Amy, so for me I believe there are two options:

1) searching ebay/vinted for older versions of baby einstein/fisher price etc toys or

2) switch adapted toys.

There are various companies that can do this (Meru for example), or if you know anyone handy, they may be able to adapt a toy by watching an online tutorial (Amy is lucky that her dad is a mechanic and really good at toy adaptation!). We use a big mac switch which was provided by her speech and language team.

· Cosmo pack. We were gifted one of these by a charity (Strongbones children’s charity) and it has been a game changer. We have 3 buttons that connect via bluetooth to an ipad or tablet. It comes with an app. There are several games you can play and are all entirely controlled by the buttons. You only need to slightly touch the button for it to work and you can change the sensitivity. Amy’s favourite game is where we record our own sound clip and she hits the buttons to make it play over and over! So much laughter and something for all abilities.

· Firefly products - no, they didn’t ask me to add this in!! I honestly absolutely adore Firefly. The GoTo seat was an absolute godsend for us when Amy was smaller. It enabled her to enjoy so many things we otherwise couldn’t - namely swings at the park.

But also fairground rides, sitting at the table for family events, other bits of park equipment. We loved it when the floorsitter part became available too as she got to enjoy playing with our dog Monty when he was a puppy.

Prior to that none of her seating could go on the floor. We did of course love her Splashy and Upsee too. The WeGo was released when she was too big or you could guarantee we would have had one of those too! Sometimes the cost can be a concern but there are charities like Newlife, or Peeps HIE for example that may be able to help.

· Days out/zoo memberships. It’s fair to say that Amy adores being out and about. She would always opt for a lovely family walk or trip to a farm/zoo/seaside over most toys that can be bought. It sounds cheesy but I do think the time you spend together is so much more important than any material items. Amy doesn’t really care about the amount of presents etc so adopting an animal and visiting it would be ideal and give you something to look forward to. You could also get a cinema pass or concert tickets.

· Bath bombs! Or if you don’t have a bath, then nice shower or pampering products. I recently discovered shower steamer bombs and they’re also fun. It’s awesome these days how you can easily find themed items especially on sites like etsy. As a child I think I found things like that boring, but Amy loves choosing a bath bomb. She also loves visiting Lush and making her selections!

· An accessible escape! Amy is very easy going about presents so wouldn’t mind us only buying a couple of gifts and then promising a holiday in the new year. These things are expensive and sometimes you are best setting some money aside to pay towards something special and memorable. We have a trip booked for next year and I will be showing Amy lots of photos of where we are going.

Another tip I only learned last year, was instead of wrapping gifts, placing a piece of material over it so she can easily open/reveal the gift. No more frustrated watching others do it for her or trying but being unable to do it. She especially enjoys a 3-2-1 countdown and big fuss at the grand reveal. I wish I had done this sooner.

We aren’t a materialistic family. Our main aim is like most people’s in our position - just being present, inclusive, grateful. Not being in hospital will be a big enough gift for us. Currently we are in hospital and feeling a bit miserable. I can’t wait for her to recover and to go and immerse ourselves in as many events as possible!

Amy doesn’t eat orally. Never has. So we try not to have too much emphasis on food. Amy finds our constant eating a bit annoying to be honest and who can blame her! She’s way more efficient than us with her tube. So we tend to have a bit of a buffet instead of a sit down family meal. We prefer it anyway.

After 11 years experience my main advice to my past self would be to lower expectations… she may be poorly or in an unpredictable mood on Christmas day. In some ways it is another day… just enjoy the small things.

What will be will be and you can’t always be in control.

Christmas can be overwhelming to a child with different sensory needs and a learning disability. Just go with the flow and do what works for you.

Don’t be afraid to say no to things or feel bad about leaving early from an event etc. just do what works for you and the right people will understand.

I know it can be a difficult time of year for families like ours. We tend to miss most events due to hospitalisation and I try now not to get too excited about plans because of the disappointment when we can’t make it. I think the solution is to try and do more spur of the moment fun things throughout the year, when it isn’t cold season.

I hope this post helps inspire some gift ideas. Please do feel free to leave your suggestions or advice, I am always after inspiration.

Wishing you a gentle, happy, and beautiful winter season whether you celebrate Christmas or not.