ND Friendly Holiday Gift Ideas

There are tons of holiday gift guides going around, but I wanted to give you a gift guide that is a little more niche: one specifically for the neurodivergent loved one in your life. These are all gifts we have gotten and have at our home and we absolutely love each them. Obviously every neurodivergent person is going to be different. So that might not be a good fit for them, but this is a good starting point.

Gift List:

Nugget (Or Similar)

A nugget couch or equivalent if you don't want to spend the money on a nugget. I've heard really good things about the Acorn and there are versions from Amazon, Costco, Sam's Club, and Walmart now, too. These are so great for open ended play. They can fold up so they don't take up as much space when they're not being used. Most come in a lot of color options, have the ability to be washed and have lots of uses.

Headphones

A good pair of headphones are SO crucial for us so they make a great essential gift! Whether they are noise cancelling, bluetooth, or anywhere in-between, they are just needed. We particularly like the Puro Kids headphones, they are awesome! But, I've also linked some other headphone options as well.

Sit & Spin

A sit and spin is really, really good for motor skill development, and it's just a fun toy, especially if they like to be dizzy. Funny enough, these aren't expensive either so it's an easily digestible gift for any budget!

Magnatiles

My in laws got us Magnatiles as a birthday gift a few years ago and I cannot tell you how awesome they are. They are an open ended play toy great for all ages and genders. We have the original Magnetile brand, which are really nice, but there are also a lot of knock off brands that are less expensive if you want to start or expand your collection. They are SO much fun and inspire SO much creative play!

Spinning Saucer

I always get so many questions about this spinning saucer when I show videos of this it. My mom got this probably 10 years ago now and all of the neurodivergent people in our world love it. I will say I wish it was not as expensive as it is because it is targeted towards especially autistic kids, but I have found the cheapest version possible. If you can find one in your price range though, it really is worth it!

Stepping Stones

We love our stepping stones. These are a great sensory play item, and they're also great for spacial awareness, coordination and just open ended play. My daughter loves these. I recently painted ours too and they have still held up really well even with the paint.

Rocker Board

Something that we've used a lot with our nugget and without it is a wood rocking board. It's just a curved board that can be used as a slide, a rocking horse, as so many different things. It's another open ended play toy and can be used in so many ways!

Swing

A sensory swing is a great gift, but is also a little bit harder to gift. It depends on what you know about the person you're gifting to because while my daughter is actually in this swing in this picture, she does not like this one. She will stay in it for a short amount of time but she prefers the hammock that we have instead. You also have to take into account that someone has the space/capability to hang the swing. If, however, it does meet the criteria it could be a good fit because a lot of people love them.

Soft/Heavy Blankets

Another idea is a really heavy, soft blanket. There are a lot of brands out there, but we personally love Saranoni. They're awesome because the blankets actually feel weighted. They do sell a weighted blanket, but their regular blankets aren't actually weighted they just feel nice and heavy. They're all double sided, come in lots of sizes and colors and wash really well.

Sensory Kit

Sensory kits are geared for kids that aren't going to put something in their mouth and if your child fits that criteria, this is a great option! These are great for every kid because they're fun, they have a lot of entertainment and they're open ended play. I've bought sensory kits and I've made sensory kits. I have different opinions on different kinds of sensory kits. Whatever you choose, I would highly recommend these.

Figurines

Figurines, especially if your loved one is little, but this is something that you can use for any age, if there is something they are really, really into. Figurines of a preferred thing is going to be a great gift, especially if the person is little having duplicates of things is important because sometimes stuff gets lost.

Plushes

Another idea that's really similar to the figurines is plushes. If there is something that your neurodivergent loved one really loves and hyper fixates on, getting them a plush of that thing is a great option. I can't tell you how many neurodivergent people I know that love plushes and just collect them. We have SO many at our house!

Kizik Shoes

I've talked about Kiziks before, but we LOVE them. We got these for my daughter, and myself actually when I was about eight months pregnant, and these are the only shoes she wears now. My husband and I both have a few pairs now and we absolutely love them so they are a great gift from child to adulthood. They come in lots of colors, lots of styles and are just overall amazing.

Bounce House

A small inflatable bounce house. These became very popular in 2020 when everyone was stuck at home, but if you have a neurodivergent child in your life that loves to bounce on these kinds of things, but gets really overwhelmed by being in a big bounce house with a lot of other kids, this is a really great gift. Both my parents and my in laws have one and all the kids love it. It's a bit of an investment, but if you are able to it is totally worth it.

Membership/Pass to Favorite Place

This next one is really great for anyone who already has a lot of stuff and you want to gift an experience to get a membership or a pass to their favorite place. So we have an aquarium, a children's museum, a zoo and a bunch of other places locally that we can get passes for. A lot of times family will get passes to those places for us instead of an actual gift. What's especially nice about having a pass is that we don't feel like we have to overwhelm ourselves and be there all day and instead just enjoy a short amount of time which is so much better for us. I know that was a lot, but all of these are things that have genuinely been huge hits for my family. Hopefully you can find something that sparks interest for your neurodivergent loved one too. Happy Holidays!