Christmas is tough. There are SO many different toys, games and activities out there now that it can be overwhelming. I hear from so many parents and families that they really struggle to find good, educational toys/games for their children to use at home that will help them develop. And one of the most common questions is “What sensory toys can I get?”
So, this year, instead of responding to lots of different questions in private, I thought I’d share the 10 top Christmas gifts that I think are PERFECT for sensory and educational reasons and that – hopefully – your child will LOVE!
I have tried to cover toys/activities for a range of ages in this blog post. If you have anything that you have bought before that your child LOVES be sure to share it in the comments. There’s so many things out there that we can purchase that we may miss a good one!
- Bubba Bag ChewiGem Essentials
We LOVE all things ChewiGem. We have so many different sensory items from there, that are perfect for chewing and this essentials bag has been the biggest hit. Our little one carries it around with him and it gives him that little bit more of independence. As well as being fun toys, they are also safe to chew – which gives him that extra sensory input that he needs. You can purchase it on my store here.
- Colour Sorting Bowls
I don’t know about you, but my children love to work on their categorising skills, especially when they can use some hands on objects to sort with. These colour sorting bowls can be used for so many different activities in your home – and they are easy to clean too! We originally purchased these to use for just colouring sorting. But, since having them in our house, we have also used them for;
– Categorising
– Paint bowls – they are the perfect size for my little one to put his hand into so we can do some hand printing
– Slime bowls – perfect to play with slime in a mess free way
– Sand bowls – we love putting sand in them and then drawing and forming different letters and shapes in the sand.You can purchase them here.
- Mood Light Cube
I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a game changer this light cube is. We use it in so many different ways and it looks amazing in a dark room. My little loves the glow that it gives off and provides him with that sensory lighting that he craves. Plus, it’s sturdy enough to use as a little table! My little loves to put magna blocks and other similar colour transparent items on them. You can purchase it here.
- Magnablocks
You may already have these. I can’t believe how popular they are and how much the children LOVE them. They can be used in so many different ways and you can buy more boxes for your children to get extra creative. We have had children building houses, castles, animals, neighbourhoods and so much more. The opportunities are endless and they are a great way for you to work on lots of different learning objectives – including the most obvious – 2D shape recognition! You can purchase them here (aff. link).
- SiliShape Sensory Circles
These SiliShapes are perfect for your sensory seekers and there’s lots of ways that they can be used. They come with 10 different discs in 2 different sizes and they each have different surfaces, providing different sensory experiences of each of the circles. We use these in a range of ways such as;
– Putting them on the floor for students to walk over
– Using the smaller ones on desks while the students work so they have that extra sensory touch
– Hiding the small discs in a bag and students have to feel them and match them to the larger circles that you have placed out
– Sticking them onto the wall and having a sensory wall for students to access.
You can purchase them here.
- Mr & Mrs Potato Heads
This might seem a strange one, but there are so many different learning opportunities that can be accessed through the potato heads. We have both Mr and Mrs and my little ones LOVE playing with them. So, what learning opportunities do they provide?
– Fine motor skills – very important
– Creative skills
– Vocabulary
– Listening to or following instructions
– Following a sequence of images to dress the potato heads in a certain way
– Turn taking
– Symbol recognition – we love to print out symbols and put them onto a dice. Then, have your child roll the dice and whatever symbol it falls on (clothing items) they have to put this item onto the potato head. It’s a great way for them to get used to recognising different clothing items too.You can purchase Mr Potato Head here and Mrs Potato head here (aff. links).
- Pop-Up Pirate
This game is a bit old school, but it’s my kiddos favourite game and we love working on our symbols and communication while playing this game. We use it in 2 different ways;
– Requesting – have your child request (verbally, signing or through symbols) for what they want and build on this. For example, you can start with them requesting the colour of sword that they want i.e “blue” “red” etc. Then you can have them add ‘sword’ to the mix i.e “blue sword” “red sword”, then progress to sentences “I want blue sword” “I want red sword” etc. You can also introduce ‘please’ at the end, depending on your thoughts on this. We like to add it to students who we think understand the concept of ‘please’ and ‘thank you.
– Symbol recognition. We have a foam dice with colour symbol inserts inside. They roll the dice and the colour that it ends on – they have that sword. To start, we pass them the correct colour sword, then we offer them two different colour swords to choose from, then three different colour swords to choose from etc.
You can purchase it here (aff. link).
- Tuff Tray
Now, these can take up a bit of room. The good news is, on their side they can slot away nicely – or you could keep it for outdoor play and just store it under shelter when it’s not being used. So, what can you use a tuff tray for? Too much!!! Just take a look on Pinterest for a few minutes and you’ll see all the amazing ideas that it can be used for. We especially love it for sensory play and theming it around different topics and holidays. Plus, with the tuff tray, it should contain all the mess into one place. They come in a range of colours, but we prefer using black just because it provides a less distracting background. You can purchase it here (aff. link).
- Switchback Race Track
This is a new toy to us, but it’s going down a storm! You push the car off the top and then it glides it’s way back and fore, across the tracks down to the bottom. This is a great way for your children to work on their fine motor skills, but also many other skills such as colour recognition, vocabulary and communication. You can purchase it here (aff. link).
- Sensory Sock
I remember these being introduced to me many years ago. When the person explained to me how it works, I’ll admit, I panicked a little bit. We’re going to zip them into a sock? Will they be able to breathe? Will they panic? All the ordinary things you would worry about. But, low and behold, the children LOVED being inside! They can open the zip easily – it’s usually velcro and they can breathe super easy (panic over!). They love running around in them, stretching, rolling around and they just love that sensory touch that it gives them. I really recommend these – they have been worth their weight in gold. We also found that it gives them that ‘safe space’ that they wanted and when they wanted to shut off from the world. You can purchase them here (aff. link).
Do you think your child will like any of these Christmas present ideas? What have you bought already? Or what’s been your best purchase for your child? Don’t forget to share below with us- we love hearing what’s working!
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Very Good list of gifts on Christmas for an autistic child