December is upon us. My Christmas wish for all of us is a stress free, enjoyable time with family and friends. This year as you get ready for the holidays take a few minutes to find those items that might not get used at your house, but would be greatly appreciated by local charities, Dream Center, and homeless shelters. If you donate food to one of the local drives, try including a simple, favorite recipe- then buy those items needed to prepare it. When packaged together it provides food and also passes along a new idea for dinner. If your child has a favorite recipe, this is a good way to get them involved in the process and help you put baskets together for others.

We all love cookies so why not get students involved in their own cookie exchange? It’s a great social activity, age appropriate and everyone goes home with new and special treats. You might want to try making homemade butter with the family. A glass jar with a good lid, a cup of heavy cream and 20 minutes of shaking the jar yields soft, fluffy butter. Sweeten, salt or season to taste. To make it decorative, lightly spray a cookie cutter mold and fill it with the soft butter. Allow it to set up in the refrigerator for a couple hours. It will easily release from the mold.

Family and friends may ask for ideas for our special needs friends. Buying gifts for a teen or adult can be challenging. This year Target is carrying weighted blankets. This is a great gift for anyone any age with sensory issues. The weight helps promote a feeling of calm and security. Melissa and Doug puzzles come in multi- sensory options- lighting up, playing music or making the picture appropriate sound when completed correctly. Kinetic sand is indoor friendly and provides tactile stimulation. Magna-tiles come in rectangular, triangular and square shapes. Students can build horizontally or vertically with these and they don’t fall over as easily. If you’re looking for books, several places are carrying the book sets that have a sound board included. Students can match the color of the book to the tile on the sound board and it will read the story to them page by page.

Happy holidays to all of you-