Ivan’s Christmas Wish List: Gift ideas for kids who are blind
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Every year I create a list of toys and games that I think Ivan might enjoy and put together a Christmas Wish List for our friends and family. Ivan’s got aunts and uncles, friends, and of course grandparents who all want to get him that perfect gift for Christmas, but may not know exactly where to start.
Because Ivan has physical disabilities as well as a visual impairment, sometimes his family and friends feel a little overwhelmed when picking out gifts for him. So mom’s here to help with our list of wants (and must haves) for Ivan!
We’ve set up our wish list on Amazon.com just because it’s so easy to do and publicly available to all our friends. There’s also the added benefit that if grandma buys an item off Ivan’s wish list it disappears, so uncle won’t buy the same toy later.
If you’re looking for gift ideas, then you might want to check out our wish list too! Here it is…
These Chewy Tubes may look simple, but really they’re life savers. Ivan wants to chew on everything, and if he doesn’t have an appropriate outlet for this impulse, he’ll chew on his shirt, his hands, or his shoes (yuck)! He also enjoys different textures, so I picked out this Chewy for it’s nubs. The handle is an added bonus! [Learn More!]
Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Sing-with-Me CD Player
I had a Music Box Record Player as a kid and it was so much fun! I remember feeling like a grown up as I listened to my very own “records” on my own player. Of course, records are a thing of the past now, so we’re looking to upgrade to our very own CD player with CDs (that, by the way, are nearly indestructible). [Learn More!]
Little Live Pets Bird with Cage
We played with this bird in a toy store a few weeks ago and Ivan just loved it! The bird makes surprisingly realistic bird sounds and Ivan was actually very good at finding and pressing the button to get the bird to move and sing, something that is usually very challenging for him. [Learn More!]
Sing-A-Ma-Jigs
If I’m being completely honest I’ll have to admit that these things kind of freak me out. When you squeeze their belly, their mouths move and they stiltedly “sing” a pre-recorded song. You can make them sing fast or slow, depending on how fast you squeeze them. But Ivan played with one at school and thought it was hilarious, so it’s on our list. [Learn More!]
Hide and Squeak Eggs
“Crack” open one of these eggs, press on the colored egg inside, and hear a SQUEAK! Pretty simple and fun, right? But it gets better! This simple toy is also a shape sorter. Each egg has a protruding shape (like a star or circle) that fits in the matching shape in the bottom of the egg carton. Can you figure out where each egg goes? [Learn More!]
Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket
This toy from Leap Frog is designed to help kids learn pretend play. The basket sings songs when you open the lid and it directs you to take the items out and have your very own picnic party. The watermelon, sandwich, cookie and other food pieces are all shapes that can only fit in the plate one way, so the game also serves as a shape sorter. You can also turn this toy into a fun braille matching game (Paths to Literacy shows you how). [Learn More!]
SoftZone Climb and Play Set
Okay, this one is kind of big, but this is a wish list, right? And how much fun would it be for Ivan to have his very own climb set! Ivan is still learning to use his body and crawling is very difficult for him, but a set like this could encourage him to move in a soft and safe environment. They’d also be great for building huge block towers then knocking them over! [Learn More!]
Gourmet Maple Syrup
Sometimes simple is best and Ivan does love pancakes on a lazy Sunday morning. Gourmet and flavored maple syrups would be a treat! He’d also love gourmet popcorn and even gourmet candy canes! [Learn More!]
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