We don't know what we'd do without our Christmas sensory kits.
Kids and teens alike benefit from them so much.
When Christmas sensory kits are filled with items that meet sensory needs, those that use them are able to stay regulated and be okay in situations they otherwise would not be.
Christmas sensory kits have literally saved our Christmases throughout the year.
Every child and teen have different sensory needs, which means no one sensory kit is going to look alike.
In this post I share contents of the sensory kits our kids and teens have used over the years.
Christmas sensory kits have been used in our home to help children and teens on the autism spectrum, with anxiety, those diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder and more.
No matter what diagnosis your child or teen has, meeting sensory needs is always the best place to start!
Christmas Sensory Kit Ideas for Kids and Teens
Small Christmas LEGO Set
When Princess is unregulated, she enjoys taking things apart. At times when she is regulated, she loves building things.
We have found LEGO sets to be perfect go-to sensory resources for Princess.
As long as she has a LEGO set she can destroy and build back up, she doesn't destroy other items or areas of the home.
Princess has quite a collection of LEGO sets in her room.
When we're on the go, she can bring a small set with her in case it's needed.
Christmas Puzzle
Princess does best when she keeps her hands and her mind engaged.
When she's anxious and or stressed, a 1000 piece puzzle is the perfect activity to keep her occupied.
Sunshine also loves puzzles.
They seem to calm her brain.
When she's working on a puzzle she does so much better communicating safely.
She sticks to 100 piece puzzles like this Christmas Puzzle for Younger Kids.
Christmas Brain Teasers
When 1000 piece puzzles aren't available, the next best thing for Princess is a brain teaser book.
She is extremely smart, so to keep her mind busy, we usually have to choose a book that is a little bit more difficult.
What I love most about puzzles and brain teasers is that they keep Princess' brain focused on something positive.
Christmas Fidget Spinner Ring Band
Sunshine is huge fan of jewelry, especially rings.
Her favorite rings are fidget rings.
They keep her hands occupied and help with anxiety.
Princess also enjoys fidget rings.
Anything that will help Princess stay safe at Christmas time by keeping her hands busy is a win!
Christmas Notebook
Whether at home or on the go, Princess always keeps a notebook and writing utensils on hand.
She loves to draw and write.
When she's overwhelmed, anxious, or struggling with Reactive Attachment Disorder a notebook is one of her go to coping strategies.
Christmas Mini Notebooks
Sunshine loves small notebooks.
She carries them around everywhere, writing in them when she feels the need.
We can never have too many on hand as they get left all around the house, van, and out and about.
Christmas mini notebooks are extra special and extra fun.
Colored Pencils
Princess loves to carry around her colored pencils to use with her notebook.
She prefers them over crayons and markers.
We just have to make sure we always have a pencil sharpener on hand.
Scented Pencils
Sunshine prefers pencils and pens.
We're not a fan of giving her pens for obvious reasons, so we always try to make sure she has pencils she enjoys on hand.
Sunshine loves pleasant smells.
These pencils definitely fit the bill at Christmas time.
I love finding special items that smell good.
Smelling these pencils helps Sunshine take slow deep breaths which are always helpful.
Christmas Coloring Book
When Princess doesn't feel creative enough to draw, she enjoys coloring.
Coloring keeps her hands busy.
This nutcracker themed coloring book has been Princess' absolute favorite during the holiday season year after year.
Christmas Color by Numbers Coloring Book
Princess also enjoys coloring, but can become overwhelmed without direction.
She absolutely loves color by number pages.
They provide her with the guidance she needs when coloring.
I love to add Scented Crayons to the Christmas sensory kit to encourage breathing and meet sensory needs related to smell.
Cinnamon Sticks
Meeting sensory needs related to smell is so important during the holiday season, especially when there are so many different smells everywhere you go.
The great thing about the sense of smell, is that it's an easy sense to soothe.
Scented crayons and pencils are great, but so are other items that provide natural sensory input.
It is so easy to carry around a few cinnamon sticks, when a child needs to smell something pleasant.
Other families may enjoy using essential oils.
Princess' favorite holiday scent is Pine Essential Oil.
If I were to make a sensory kit for myself, I'd probably carry around a few of those homemade gingerbread tree ornaments.
Rudolph Stuffed Animal
A sensory kit for Sunshine always includes a stuffed animal of some sort.
Her Christmas sensory kit includes a plush Rudolph, as that's her favorite Christmas character.
I love that this stuffed animal is small enough to take wherever we go.
It's also very soft and cuddly.
For home, we usually go with something bigger, to help during the worst of times.
Sunshine uses stuffed animals to regulate in so many different ways.
She may hug them, bite them, throw them, and more.
Nutcracker Blanket
Princess is not a fan of stuffed animals, but she loves soft blankets.
Blankets can be so helpful when it comes to regulation.
They provide a tactile component and can also help with heat regulation.
This is Princess' favorite Christmas blanket.
She keeps it on her bed throughout the entire holiday season to cuddle with when she needs it.
Sunshine also loves special blankets, they help her regulate more than anything else when paired with a stuffed animal.
Dinomite suffers from extreme anxiety during the holiday season.
Books help him so much.
He becomes engrossed in a story, distracted from all that he's nervous about.
Time passes quickly.
Over the years we've introduced a lot of Christmas literature, but the ones listed here are our favorites for every age.
The Silver Donkey by Sonya Hartnett is such a beautiful story that will completely change how you view the donkey in the story of Christ's birth for forever.
The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers was a book used to help ground Princess during her younger years when Christmas itself was such a huge trigger.
Christmas Music
A Christmas sensory kit isn't complete without music. It's the perfect way to meet auditory or hearing sensory needs.
ALL of our kids have had music in their Christmas sensory kits.
Princess absolutely loves Kelly Clarkson, especially her Christmas song, "Just for Now."
Dinomite and Bulldozer enjoy The Best of Pentatonix Christmas and The Piano Guys: A Family Christmas.
These albums are so soothing for them as they've enjoyed them every holiday season for years.
Sunshine's favorite Christmas album is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. She listens to it on her MP3 player year round as a coping strategy.
Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones
We pair Sunshine's MP3 player and our teenagers' phones with headphones to provide them with the ultimate sensory experience.
The headphones in the photo above are a favorite among all of the kids as they're so soft, block out all sound and are easy to wear.
There are many days during the holiday season that they wear these headphones all day with one ear covered and one ear open so they can control their auditory sensory input.
Did I mention how long a charge lasts with these headphones and how long each pair of headphones have lasted?
I can't say enough about how much these headphones help my kids.
Christmas Photo Album
When it comes to raising girls with Reactive Attachment Disorder and past Christmas trauma we have found that photo albums filled with positive memories from the present have helped so much.
When Princess was little, this photo album was always close by.
As she'd go into PTSD episodes, we would bring this album out and go through it pairing the experience with other sensory experiences that would help her come back to the present.
As Sunshine has gone through several years of residential placements, we send albums that include pictures of us together during visits so she can remember that no matter where she is or what she's experiencing, she always has her family.
Christmas Mini Mochi Squishy Toys
Sunshine absolutely LOVES mini mochi squishy toys.
They are the perfect sensory fidget to stretch and pinch.
I love how they always come in in groupings, so there are plenty to use.
Sunshine enjoys playing with them when she's not pinching and pulling them.
Christmas Pop-It Fidget
Pop-its are one of Sunshine's favorite sensory fidgets.
When she gets upset and she wants to tear things, the pop-its are a great alternative.
Santa Claus and Rudolph are Sunshine's favorite holiday characters.
I always try to make sure to include her favorite things in her Christmas sensory kit so she's more apt to use them.
Stress Relief Squeeze Toys
Sunshine and Bulldozer have always loved squeeze toys, especially in characters and scents they enjoy.
Bulldozer enjoys the feel of squeeze toys when he's squeezing them in his hand.
When Sunshine wants to hit, punch or tear, squeeze toys provide a safe alternative.
I particularly love ones that smell pleasant, as they provide yet another sensory experience that may calm Sunshine.
If Sunshine decides to smell the squeeze toys, a deep breathing experience occurs, which can help calm her down a bit.
For those wondering, Bulldozer has never torn up a squeeze toy. He literally just likes the feel of squeezing them.
Sunshine on the other hand has torn several of them.
I'm okay with this as the benefits outweigh the destruction, especially if I find a great price for several, or I purchase them from the dollar store.
Christmas Light Up Spinning Wand
Bulldozer and Sunshine love visual stimuli.
When lights are involved it's even better.
A hand held light up spinner can provide hours of joy and calm at Christmas, especially when one needs visual stimuli.
Make sure to always have extra batteries on hand, especially if you pick up a light up spinner from the store as you never know when batteries will be worn out.
Christmas Nesting Dolls
Sunshine has always LOVED opening and closing containers and putting things in and out of containers. This is one of her autism passions.
Nesting dolls are the perfect solution!
Sunshine opens and closes them, puts dolls in and out of other dolls for hours.
It is a task that helps regulate her so much!
Christmas Train
Bulldozer has always been very passionate about vehicles.
He enjoys vehicles but even more he loves the wheels on vehicles, especially when he watches them spin at eye level.
Christmas time is no different than any time of year. He needs his vehicles with wheels.
I always tried to have vehicles on hand for him to use at home and one the go.
Sometimes I'm lucky to pick up the perfect Christmas Hot Wheels car.
Other times it may be a construction vehicle decorated for Christmas.
But, one of my favorite options is a wooden toy train with wheels that spin.
Christmas Spinning Tops
When Bulldozer was little he felt the need to watch things spin so often. If something wasn't spinning, he'd find something he could spin, whether it's appropriate or not.
Spinning tops are fabulous to have on hand on these occasions.
They are also fabulous for teens to use as fidgets!
That need to spin items is always there.
Christmas Wind Up Toys
Sunshine has always loved participating intricate fine motor tasks.
She has disassembled many doorknobs in our home as a toddler. Lol.
Wind up toys provided her a way to receive the specific sensory input she needs.
Sunshine also enjoyed watching the wind up toys move around.
Sunglasses
There are some in our home that crave visual input. There are others who are extremely sensitive to it.
Princess can't handle bright lights or even walking outside in the sunshine.
When there's snow on the ground, her sensitivity becomes so much worse.
Needless to say, the holiday season is a bit rough, especially when we lived in upstate NY.
Sunglasses can be the perfect Christmas Sensory Kit addition for those who are sensitive to visual input.
Sunglasses can also help those with trauma "hide" if they need to.
Christmas Hoodie
For children and teens who struggle regulating temperature, a hoodie is the perfect sensory item to have on hand during the holiday season, especially when on the go.
All of my kids and teens have enjoyed some form of hoodie, whether it goes over their head of is a zip up version.
They use them all the time.
Sunshine carries a hoodie with her everywhere she goes, especially when we go to the grocery store to use in areas where it gets cold.
Dinomite loves hoodies for the hood and strings.
When he's feeling overwhelmed he puts the hood over his head and pulls it tight to lessen sensory overload.
Sunshine also pulls the hoodie over her head for the same reason, but doesn't pull the strings tight.
All of our kids have gone through phases where they need a chewie whether for anxiety or oral sensory input.
We've found that chewie necklaces are the easiest to use, as they don't become lost as easy.
Long thin chewies tend to lessen drooling and saliva everywhere.
Every kiddo has been different regarding how hard their chewie needed to be.
Chocolates
Every Christmas Sensory Kit should include items that meet oral stimuli needs.
You may choose gum, potato chips, or a healthy non perishable snack in your daily sensory kit, but knowing the holidays is extra challenging, I like to pull out the big guns and make items extra special.
Each year my kids have enjoyed Lindt chocolate truffles as a special treat during the holiday season, when dietary needs have permitted.
These chocolate truffles are the perfect way to bring kids back to the present.
Afterall chocolate does always make things better.
Candy Canes
When I'm worried about chocolate melting, and I'm with a kiddo who loves candy canes, I may bring along mini candy canes to use as oral stimuli.
It really just depends on the kiddo and the situation we're in.
Sometimes a container of favorite Christmas cookies does the trick!
Christmas Movies for Kids
The day after Halloween, Sunshine begins to watch Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer EVERY DAY to keep her regulated until Christmas.
Our lives were all about Frozen for years.
Elsa, Anna, and Olaf grounded Princess during the holiday season.
I will always remember the year she could handle holiday shopping because Elsa, Anna, and Olaf were more popular than Santa.
Every store was covered in Frozen decorations and gifts.
Dinomite couldn't get enough Bob the Builder.
Bulldozer enjoyed Curious George ,as does Sunshine.
A Christmas Movie Countdown
Christmas movies help teens just as much as little ones.
Providing opportunities to block out all the holiday chaos with a preferred Christmas movie can make all the difference.
It's one of the reason we enjoy our Christmas movie countdown so much!
Christmas Sensory Kits really can make such a difference during the holiday season.
I find that rotating regular sensory kit items with holiday themed ones (so long as they are preferred items), can really help when stronger and bigger emotions and behaviors during the holiday season.
Bringing out the holiday sensory items with the Christmas decorations year after year can be a fabulous tradition that helps children know that they can be safe and okay when the holiday season arises because they have what they need to be okay.
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