Sensory Friendly Activities During the Holiday Season
The holiday season is notorious for being full of bright lights, colored ornaments, peppermint scents, and much more. For an individual on the autism spectrum, this can be over stimulating and not an enjoyable experience. Listed below are alternative activities and crafts that you and your little reindeer can enjoy.
Indoor Activities:
Decorate Home
By letting your child help you decorate your home, whether it is adding ornaments to the tree, stringing lights, or putting decorations up. This will help ease your child with the transition of a new environment.Hot Cocoa & Movies
Snuggle up on the couch while sipping some hot cocoa and watching holiday movies, to get you and your family in the magical holiday spirit.Watch The Nutcracker
There are many performances of the Nutcracker and there are more and more sensory friendly productions available to families and their children with disabilities.Sensory Friendly Santa
Meeting Santa in a crowded and loud environment can take a toll on your child. Thankfully, throughout the country there are sensory friendly santa meet and greets. This allows children with disabilities to meet Santa in a quiet and controlled environment.
Outdoor Activities:
Festive Lights
During the holidays many neighborhoods decorate their homes. Walking around and checking out the beautiful decorated homes are more sensory friendly than going around a large populated area, such as downtown.Let it Snow
Frolicking in the snow, can be an enjoyable experience. Making snowmen, snow angels, participating in snowball fights, are great family activities.Sledding
Get your child active by finding a local park or an area that contains hills. Think about using a large sled, that way assistance can be provided.Ice Skating
This is a fun activity and this will build on coordination and confidence for your child.