Each year, I put together a gift guide for the holidays. I put hours and hours into this guide. This is something that takes a a ton of research…they are occupational therapist approved and kid tested toys.
I am almost done putting the 2014 gift guide together (there was a bit of a technological snafoo and a lot of the work I put into this year’s guide was lost) but thought I would give you all a sneak peak.
Some of the hardest gifts to find are those small ones that you need to fill the stocking, advent calendar or to cover the 8 nights of Hanukkah. These are actually some of my most favorite gifts to look for and share with people. These gifts are the ones that kids tend to use the most because they can be thrown in a backpack when traveling, used while sitting in a doctor’s office or between therapy sessions.
focus and attention and language skills (identifying what they have discovered in the putty). Retro Pen Stylus-I use the iPad a lot during my therapy sessions, especially for working on handwriting with my older kids. I was psyched to find these mini stylus pens a few weeks ago at a local bookstore. These pens are a perfect size for encouraging a proper grasp. I really love that I can easily transition from working on writing letters with my kids on the iPad to paper when using this pen!
PopToobs-PopToobs or rapper snappers, whatever you call them, they are awesome! I have been using these since I started my career as on occupational therapist. They are great for working on improving grasp strength, bilateral coordination and motor planning skills. Kids love them for their bright colors and the fun sounds they make as you pull them apart and push them together. Sticker Puzzles-one of my favorite finds this year, Lee Publications has a ton of different sticker puzzle books featuring your children’s favorite characters. Each book comes with 8 different puzzles and your child has to place the numbered stickers on a numbered grid to complete the picture. Some of the puzzles have as few as 9 stickers and as many as 48 stickers so you can find one that is best for your child. Great for learning, identifying and matching numbers as well as improving fine motor skills such as grasping and manipulation skills. Also great for improving bilateral coordination, visual tracking/perceptual skills and focus and attention.
Slingshot-not for the faint of heart and definitely targeted towards the older and more responsible of kids you are giving gifts to, this slingshot by Hella Slingshots are an awesome gift! It’s important to note that this is not a toy and something to be played with responsibly. I highly recommend the felt slingshot ammo when using this beautifully made tool. This is great for working on fine motor skills, improving eye hand coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills and motor planning. It should be used while supervised for younger kids and never used as a weapon ;)! My daughter and husband loved setting up targets and knocking them down together; I loved how they talked before doing it and making a plan to best knock down their targets. In our house, the rule is that you can only use this with toys, never towards people.
As I have already mentioned, this is just a sneak peak of what is to come in the next couple of days. These small gifts can make a big difference in the level of happiness the kids who you will be giving gifts to this year.
I know there are hundreds of other stocking stuffer/small gifts out there I may not know about. If you have any gifts to add to this before I share my whole list, please do share! I am always on the lookout and count on my fellow toy lovers to share their wisdom with me. I am just a click away and always happy to add to this list.