Helpful Holiday Mindfulness
The holidays can be stressful for everyone, even for those of us without special needs or sensory processing differences. There are plenty of ways we can be mindful of ourselves, as well as help others in our lives be mindful when gathering together. It is important to acknowledge the needs of others and be conscious of the ways you can help contribute to a stress-free holiday for everyone. If your child has special needs or different abilities, these can be greatly impactful if you have family visiting and staying with you, or if you are traveling to visit with a large group of family or friends. Consider introducing these ideas to others in your circle and encourage sharing this information with anyone, as it could be helpful in many different situations.
Limit Time Spent with Groups or Outside of Your Routine
If you are traveling to someone’s home or meeting with a group, be mindful of the time spent away. The group itself can be overwhelming, and when you are doing activities outside of your routine for extended periods of time, it can be a source of discomfort or stress for some. Pay close attention to how much time has passed, and make sure to communicate with your child and family about expectations. Before you make your way to the party, have a conversation about where you are going, how long you will be there, and who or what you’ll be focused on when you are there. It can help your child feel prepared for what is coming, as well as, know what to expect throughout your time there. They might feel comforted knowing there is a set time that they will be heading home.
Reduce Group Sizes
If possible, avoiding a very large group could help your child feel less overwhelmed by their surroundings. Try to let any organizers know about the situation beforehand, and if there are no options to reduce the group size, consider making your way to the event or party early. If you can arrive earlier than the majority of the people in attendance, you might not see everyone, but it could significantly reduce stress for anyone who might experience a sensory overload.
Don’t Force Activities
Some seasonal activities are fun, or traditional, but could be very stressful for little ones. One activity in particular is visiting Santa. Although he is jolly and warm, to your child, he may be completely unfamiliar. If you are at a holiday festival, many of the staff could be dressed in costumes or wearing masks, which can be very frightening to children who are unprepared. Don’t force them to interact with strangers they express discomfort about, and make sure to help them understand that the activities are all for fun, and not required.
Stick with Your Normal Routine
Deviating from your normal routine can impact anyone, but especially those with different abilities who rely on their routine as a way to help them feel comfortable. We all benefit from a regular routine, so make sure that when you are heading out to any special holiday activities you are sticking with your general routine.
If you are traveling to visit family or doing anything away from home, make sure you are sticking to the same timing for meals, normal activities, and outings that you would do when you are at home. Help those around you to be mindful by discussing things with them ahead of time, or letting them know what to expect from your needed routine. You can use our resource as a way to help others be mindful, as well as, provide an authority figure from your therapist to cite as your reasoning for needing to keep to your structured routine. If activities interfere with your routine, you can provide a short visual schedule for your child that they can reference to reduce their anxiety. It can be very therapeutic to create a visual schedule together and discuss the upcoming events and expectations in a way your child can understand.
Introduce Presents Slowly
It can be overwhelming to look upon a large pile of presents under the tree for someone who experiences sensory overload. Try to be mindful of situations like this by keeping the gifts arranged neatly away from the area you’ll be opening things up. Bring in the gifts one at a time, so the whole process does not become too overwhelming. This can help your child feel comfortable and give each gift attention instead of being spread between them or make them feel overwhelmed with decisions of which one comes next, etc.
Make sure that if you are opening things like toys or other children’s gifts that you have some basic necessities on hand. You’ll likely need a pair of scissors or wire cutters as well as an assortment of batteries to get things up and running. This can help reduce frustration for your child as some products can be difficult to remove from their packaging or require batteries to use.
Keep Tabs on Your Own Stress Levels
Another thing to keep in mind is to be conscious of how stressed YOU are. Your child can feel or at least see the stress you project from your own feelings, so while it is important for your own well-being during the holidays, it can also help your child feel more comfortable if you reduce your own stress. Try to plan ahead for any activities and not overwhelm yourself by doing too much. Consider involving family members in different activities to share some of the burdens, like baking cookies or decorating your space. Just remember that the most important part of the season is to be with your family and enjoy some quality time together!
Practice at Home
If you are traveling or meeting with a group during the holiday season, you can make your child feel more comfortable and able to participate by practicing things ahead of time. If you can, give them a gift or two early and let them feel comfortable with the process of opening a gift, or giving a gift to someone else to open. You can show them photos of some of the people you will be visiting and go through some of the different questions that someone might ask them to help prepare them for those on-the-spot responses that can sometimes be overwhelming.
Check-Ins
In the hustle and bustle of the season, we frequently enjoy activities like going to see lights, meeting Santa, holiday parties, and other social gatherings. All the festivities can come with lots of visual input with different lights that are beautiful and stimulating. Additionally, lots of people and crowds are accompanied by music and laughter, all adding to the auditory input your child needs to process. Being mindful of how these seasonal and traditional events can be overwhelming, check in with your child. Provide them headphones to dampen the sound or breaks where you can take them into another room that is away from the commotion to reduce the stimulation and increase the connection! Watch for signs of frustration, tension, anxiety, and fear; providing them a break prior to them being overwhelmed will help to keep everyone calmer.
As with anything else, you can ask your therapist about some tools or exercises that are specific to your child’s needs. Let them know your holiday plans and the types of travel that might be included to learn some helpful ways you can mitigate stress and ensure everyone in your group has the tools and information to be mindful this holiday season.
Share this helpful holiday mindfulness visual or print it out for the fridge!
