Accommodations We Use in Our Neurodivergent House for the Holidays

Here are some of the accommodations we use in our neurodivergent house for the holidays. As a reminder, both my husband and I have ADHD, our daughter is autistic and we have an infant. Many of these accommodations we already use throughout the year, but some are specific to the holidays because of how different things are this time of year.

Accommodations We Use in Our Neurodivergent House for the Holidays | Specifically for the Holidays

Decorating Early

I like to decorate early so the decorations aren't so overwhelming. I usually try to get decorations done by the first week of November and I always decorate my daughter's room first. I make sure to do it while while she's at school during the day and she has time to acclimate to the change in her space once it's all done and she's home.

Kid Friendly Decorations

I love using soft/plush pillows, toys, and non breakable and kid friendly items to decorate with. I do still have some fragile decorations, but I keep them out of reach from the kids so they can enjoy all the decorations. My daughter tends to take the stuffed animals into her room, which means for the most part, we're really not worried about anything getting broken.

Opening Gifts Throughout the Month of December

We like to open gifts throughout the whole month to prevent overwhelm. I know it sounds weird, but hear me out. We celebrate Christmas, but we also celebrate St. Nicholas day on December 6th. So, the kids get gifts at the beginning of the month and then as things arrive from my in-laws or siblings, my kids get to open them when they arrive. My mom goes along with this too and she gives the kids gifts throughout the entire month. This gradual trickle of gifts make it so that Christmas Day isn't so overwhelming and overstimulating.

Neurodivergent Friendly Gift Wrapping

Traditional wrapping paper can be overstimulating with the mess that comes with them. There are lots of different ways to do this including not wrapping gifts at all! That's actually one thing that we do on Christmas day, a lot of presents are not wrapped because that helps with the overwhelm. We love a simple bag with just one or two pieces of tissue.

My daughter still struggles a little bit with the actual unwrapping with paper, even though she loves unwrapping, so I use this little trick: You're going to measure the wrapping paper out like you normally would, just like you would regularly wrap this. You're then going to take a piece of ribbon and you're going to wrap it around the inside of the wrapping paper/around the outside of the gift. You're going to tape one end to the actual gift and then go about wrapping the gift like you normally would. But make sure the tail of the ribbon that was not taped down to the box is left outside of the wrapping paper so there is a little bit of a tail hanging out. Then you continue to wrap the the gift like you normally would, making sure that tail is left out and I like to top it off with a bow. This will make it easy to tear the paper when it comes time to unwrapping the gift.

Count Down Chains

When it's helpful we love using countdown chains! In the past, we've done this counting down to Christmas. We've done it counting down to the last day of school before winter break. We've done it counting down from the first day of winter break to the last day of winter break, just depending on what's needed at the time. It's an easy visual timer and a fun activity to do together.

App Controlled Outlets/Timers

Using app controlled outlets for the Christmas lights is a life saver for us. This ensures that the lights go on at a certain time and go off at a certain time. I don't have to worry about it when I have a million other things that I have my mind on during the holidays. It also helps to set a schedule that the rest of the family knows and expects.

Accommodations We Use in Our Neurodivergent House for the Holidays | All Year Round Winners

Set Expectations Early

Now let's talk about accommodations we use when we go out to family and friend events and things in the community. We set expectations ahead of time of when and where we will be, especially because this means there's going to be a schedule change. I like to give my daughter at least two days heads up of what is going to be happening, where we're going to be, and how long we're going to stay.

Set Time Limits

We also set limits on how long we will stay at an event or a party, even family activities. We set the expectation before the event and try to usually stay about 2-2.5 hours. We've discovered that staying any longer than that can cause a lot of overwhelm, meltdowns, and then nobody enjoys it. Of course, we can always leave early if we need to as well.

Having a Quiet Place to Escape

Next is having a quiet place to escape to if needed. I'll give you a couple of examples. When we go to my parents house, who live close to us, my mom has multiple places throughout the house specifically for people to be able to go and decompress if needed, because most of our family is neurodivergent. Or, since we are close enough that when it's time to leave, we can just go home. In contrast, when we go visit my in laws, who live in a different state, even though everyone else will stay in their house, we actually choose to get a hotel room so that we can leave and our daughter can decompress at night and isn't super overwhelmed the entire time we're there. We've learned that works better for everybody and everybody has a better experience.

Have Tablet & Headphones

I always make sure we have her tablet and headphones with us when we go do things for the holidays so if she needs a break, she can have a break wherever she is. It is also something she really utilizes when she eats, so it helps make sure that she eats as well.

Have Decompress Time

The last thing is making sure we have time at home with just us. Family time to decompress and be together is so important for us. I try to make sure we always have this time, but I especially make sure we do this every single day throughout the holidays. We really need this time otherwise we would burn out really fast.

Hopefully some of these accommodations can help you navigate all of the craziness that comes with the holiday season. Happy Holidays!