Tips: Holidays & Gifts

Networking together, we are a vital resource for each other. Please share information you believe will help grandparents to improve their understanding of autism, interactions with grandchildren and enhance their family relationships.

More tip categories are posted on the right. Choose a category by clicking on it. New information is added frequently and we encourage you to visit often.

Preparing Your Home

Here are a few helpful tips to prepare your home.

Add locks for security or to limit access to potentially dangerous areas. Safety locks may be needed on bathroom, kitchen and laundry room cabinets. Cover over electrical outlets and limit access to electrical appliances.

Provide gates or barriers to prevent falling down steps or to limit access to certain areas.

Arrange furniture simply and practically. Clear table surfaces, provide appropriate chairs, and move furniture away from shelves or where a child may climb.

If your grandchild is at high risk for running away (also referred to as “eloping”), place locks or alarms on exterior doors and windows that provide exits from the home. Contact the local police and fire departments and provide them with a photo and description of the child in addition to contact information for family members.

Easter Activities

1. Bring your own treats to swap out the candy in the eggs if it’s a public egg hunt (with items like money or organic fruit snacks or nuts) or host your own egg hunt so you have control over the treats! Check out this list of 50+ Sensory-Friendly Nonfood Items to Hide in Easter Eggs

2. Use natural egg dying kits for create your own – the artificial food coloring found in traditional kits can cause a lot of problems and most other countries have banned them. Try Whole Foods, Sprouts or on Amazon…

3.If you are dying eggs at home – be prepared for a mess and be okay with the mess 🙂 – plan to set up outside or lay down newspaper or other protective covering.

4. Take lots of photos or a video of your Easter activities so you can go through them next year (and go through any you have from last year of course) so everyone knows what to expect!

5. Easter basket ideas: veggie sidewalk chalk, bouncy balls, fidget toys, pokemon cards, iTunes gift cards, orgnic jelly beans, or how about an outdoor themed Easter basket filled with a jump rope, frisbee, bouncy ball, water squirter!

6. Focus more on what is on the outside of the plastic egg then the inside! These cute egg decorations below help kids practice manual dexterity as well!

Holiday Fun for Kids With Autism

Holidays can be challenging for children with autism AND family members when normal schedules and routines are disrupted. Being prepared with holiday activities that will keep them stay focused and engaged can be a big help! Here is a list of some fun activities and apps:

Google Santa Tracker is an annual Christmas-themed entertainment program first launched y Google in 2004. that allows users to track Santa during Christmas Eve and before through fun activities that are added daily!

Check out these resources on Pinterest under Seasons & Holiday Resources for the Autism Classroom! They have very interesting activities that can also be created at home!

NorthPole.com has a collection of activities for children and families including ways to connect with Santa, holiday crafts & recipes, and other fun stuff!

Christmas Science Activities and Experiments for Kids has some easy to set up fun activities that bring science to candy canes, Christmas trees, gingerbread men and Santa!

Merry-Christmas.com is a great site with Christmas games, letters to Santa, Christmas stories, and recipes!

Elf Yourself is a cute app from Office Depot / OfficeMax that lets you upload photos into elf mockups!

The How the Grinch Stole Christmas App is an interactive experience with animations and fun activities!

123 Kids Fun Christmas Tree App allows kids to decorate 6 Christmas trees with 130 different ornaments!

Finding the Right Toys for Kids with Autism

Easter Tips

Go Beyond the Chocolate
For Easter baskets think about replacing candy with other items or having a mix of candy and non-candy items like stickers, balloons, squish balls, blueberries, organic fruit snacks, or money!

Practice Ahead of Time
If you are going to participate in any traditional activities like an Easter egg hunt, practice ahead of time with just a few eggs.

Bunny Talk
If costumed bunnies will be involved in any of your activities, talk about it ahead of time.

A Safe Place
Whether you’re celebrating at home or away, designate a safe space ahead of time where your child can go if they are feeling overwhelmed. Be sure to include familiar toys, games, and lovies as well as music or movie players with headphones to help calm your kiddo.

Go Natural
Skip the chemical-laden food coloring and use all natural options instead if you plan on coloring eggs. Check out this article on how to dye eggs with everyday ingredients: https://www.mommypotamus.com/how-to-dye-easter-eggs-naturally-with-everyday-ingredients/

Finding the right Toys for Kids with Autism

A great video form CBS New York