3rd Annual Christmas Gift Recap: Gift ideas for kids with special needs.

It's time for the THIRD ANNUAL WHAT DID CHRISTIAN GET FOR CHRISTMAS AND WHY IT MAKES AN AWESOME GIFT FOR OTHER KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS POST!!!

But first look at our pretty Christmas tree after Santa arrived!

You can see the FIRST ANNUAL gift wrap up HERE.

And the SECOND ANNUAL gift wrap up HERE.

The purpose of these posts are to share what I get Christian for Christmas.

Why is that interesting?

Because it can be very difficult for friends, family members, and even parents to find gifts for children who have special needs and don't fit into a typical age-appropriate mold for gift giving.

So what do we do when we don't fit into a mold?

We break the mold! We find a box, and we think outside of it! Does that make sense?

Feel free to use this as your guide to gift buying!

Christian and Daddy opening this stocking.

He's a spoiled kid!

Our family has also been practicing a gift giving technique I adopted from one of my Moms' message boards years ago.

It goes like this:

1. Something you WANT.

2. Something you NEED.

3. Something to WEAR.

4. Something to READ.

It keeps Christmas organized and simple, it takes the stress out of buying and actually kind of makes it fun again.

So here is the rundown of what Christian got for Christmas. There are a ton of pics and even a special video! I could have split this into two or three posts but I'm annoying and late with this so it's all contained in one jam packed mega post! So keep reading!

WANT

It was suggested a while back that a train set would make a good gift because it can continuously run around and around. So I got a little Thomas starter train set thinking we'd adapt it with a switch. What I didn't realize is that the train, itself, is battery operated. But it kind of worked out.

Watch his hands.

This happened over and over again. And then Thomas was stuck. And it just so happened, he would swing his arm over as Thomas was coming around the bend.

Christian also got a "bonus want" because I scored this Chicken Dance Elmo from the local childrens' resale store, Rockin' Babies, for $8! We plan to adapt this with a switch and Christian really seems to like it!

NEED:

Christian's CD player next to his bed broke and we used to use it quite often. We'd play music at night or in the early morning if he wasn't sleeping. Music is very important for the brain so he needed a new CD player.

We didn't intend to get him something this cool, honestly. But did you know cheap CD players are really hard to come by these days? When I found this at a reasonable price, I jumped on it!

Is it a treasure chest? Is it the heart of Davey Jones? Nope. It's a CD player!

WEAR:

I've wanted to get Christian one of these shirts forever!

It's sold through 3elove and it says, "That's How I Roll."

Coolest ever.

READ:

We ordered some pretty awesome books from Usborne. I chose a book called Noisy Diggers. Christian can help push the buttons that add noisy sound effects to the story.

Lola is "helping" Christian choose each sound.

Stocking Stuffers:

Christian got a vibratey toy, a toothbrush, pajamas, and some play dough in his stocking to share with his sister.

This whole play dough idea was a shot in the dark as far as whether Christian would like it or not. What it turned into was thirty minutes of quiet from Lola and total concentration from Christian. And noises, too.

Keep in mind, Christian has a very difficult time looking and touching at the same time. It's one or the other for him.

Take a look at the video. (And if you listen carefully over my talking, you'll hear Christian being vocal about his play dough.)

This went on for thirty minutes. He just kept coming back to the play dough. And when he was done, he withdrew his hand.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Aunt Wendy got Christian these stacking towers for Christmas. In OT we've been working on Christian knocking things over that are stacked next to him. These boxes are really light weight and can be stacked at various heights.

See, he likes them!