The holidays are a time for giving, receiving, and creating moments of joy—and what better way to do that than with gifts that truly meet the needs of your loved ones? If you or someone you care about is an adult with ADHD, autism, or Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), this list is filled with thoughtful, sensory-friendly, and practical ideas. Whether you’re shopping for someone special or treating yourself, these gifts bring a little extra comfort and care to everyday life.

1. Weighted Teddy Bear: A Hug You Can Keep Forever

Bumpas plushies are more than just adorable—they’re designed to give you a full-body hug, thanks to their weighted arms and soothing textures. Perfect for grounding during stressful moments or just curling up with after a long day. Think of them as your new best friend, minus the small talk.
Shop Bumpas

There’s something magical about a weighted plush like Benji Bear. With its gentle pressure, it’s like receiving a warm, grounding hug whenever you need one. Perfect for sensory regulation, calming anxiety, or simply curling up after a long day.
Shop Benji Bear

2. Handmade Sensory Plushies: Unique Comfort

Sometimes, a handmade gift feels extra special. These plushies from Etsy provide sensory soothing with a personal touch:
CuddleCalm: Weighted, soft, and perfect for grounding during overwhelming moments.
Plushie Dreadfuls: This shop offers plush companions like the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility Rabbit, which celebrates and validates unique physical experiences.

3. Visual Timers: Gentle Reminders for Busy Minds

If managing time feels like an uphill climb, a Time Timer can make life so much easier. Its simple visual design helps you see time pass in a way that’s calming and motivating, whether you’re focusing on work or reminding yourself to take a well-deserved break.
Explore Time Timers

4. Fidget Tools: Small But Mighty Helpers

Fidget tools aren’t just fun—they’re a lifeline for managing focus, sensory needs, and stress. These options are designed for adults:
Gyroscope Spinner: Sleek and engaging, this spinner provides a calming outlet for restless energy.
Weighted Stress Ball: Perfect for squeezing away stress while offering a soothing, grounding sensation.

5. Calm Strips: Sensory Comfort on the Go

These discreet, textured stickers are wonderful for grounding during busy or overwhelming moments. Stick a Calm Strip on your phone, laptop, or desk for a touch of calm whenever you need it most.
Discover Calm Strips

6. Pillow Putty: A Squishy Sensory Delight

Soft, stretchy, and endlessly satisfying, Pillow Putty is the ultimate tool for fidgeting, relaxing, or simply keeping your hands busy while your brain works through ideas. It’s perfect for moments when you need to pause and reset.
Shop Pillow Putty

7. PlanetBox: For Meals Made Simple and Organized

The PlanetBox lunchbox makes mealtime feel effortless. Its organized compartments help reduce decision fatigue and bring a sense of structure to your day—ideal for adults juggling busy schedules or trying to make food prep a little less stressful.
View PlanetBox

8. Weighted Blankets: Your New Favorite Comfort

There’s nothing quite like the calming embrace of a weighted blanket. Designed to help regulate the nervous system and improve sleep, they’re a gift of comfort, relaxation, and a little extra peace at the end of the day.

The best gifts are those that show care and thoughtfulness—and every item on this list
does just that. Whether you’re giving to a loved one or yourself, these gifts are about
more than objects; they’re tools for comfort, connection, and support.

9. Weighted hoodies

See this blog here where I list a few options!
Best Weighted Hoodie on the Market

Wishing you a warm, sensory-friendly holiday season filled with peace and
joy. ��

Annabelle Denmark (she/they), MA, LPCC is a therapist based in Lakewood, CO, They specialize in individual therapy for neurodivergent adults. You can find them at www.renegadecounseling.com

We so badly want the holidays to be a time of rest where we can hit pause on the ever changing landscape of life. And sometimes the holidays can be just that, providing us with a meaningful sense of celebration and community. But other times the holidays can feel painful, isolating, and dull.

I believe what unites these differing holiday experiences is our deep, human longing for home.

Home and the Holidays 

The classic Christmas song, “I’ll be Home for Christmas” captures many of the elements of our longing for home. In the song, the singer reflects on meaningful traditions of the holiday season (e.g., ‘snow and mistletoe,’ ‘present on the tree’), while also conveying the nostalgic warmth and magic of holiday gatherings (e.g., ‘where the love light gleams’). The tragedy of the song, however, is that the singer’s longing for home cannot be fulfilled, but can only be brought to life in the somber, distant realm of imagination. 

What is ‘Home’?

Home, as portrayed in the song, is a largely symbolic place characterized by a sense of safety, belonging, and warmth. Home is a refuge for each of us, a type of insulating barrier or blanket that nourishes our spirit and protects us from the harsh realities of life. 

This spirit of home is what makes the holidays so attractive and appealing. Through the various holiday songs and movies, we begin to hope and long for home, hoping that our family gatherings, traditions, or gifts will heal the aches of our heart and soul. 

For some of us, the holidays are indeed restorative, cheerful, and uplifting. But for others (like the singer in the song), our longing for home is unrealized, leaving us feeling discouraged and disconnected. For both types of experiences, there are ways to cultivate a sense of home, regardless of what the holiday celebrations (or lack thereof) looks like for you this year. 

Cultivating a Sense of Home for Yourself this Holiday Season

1. Reflect on the concept of ‘home’. The concept of home is extremely important and powerful. It reveals a deep longing that each of us has for connection, safety, and belonging. Reflect on what ‘home’ means to you and see if there are any memories of moments, relationships, or experiences that made you feel at home, especially memories around the holidays. 
2. Reflect on and acknowledge the changes in your life. Change is inevitable in life and can be responsible for the nostalgia, longing, and grief many of us feel around the holidays. Reflect on your own life and what has changed and how you’ve changed. But don’t stop there – take time to also acknowledge the change and see if it’s possible for you to extend gratitude and understanding towards the change you’re currently experiencing. 
3. Create new traditions and/or honor old traditions. Traditions are the bedrock of holidays since they provide a predictable source of meaning. Yet these traditions are often lost or forgotten over time. Reflect on past traditions you found meaningful and see if you can revive one or two this year. Or if nothing comes to mind, you can create new, meaningful traditions for yourself. They don’t have to be big or monumental, but can be as simple as watching a favorite movie, enjoying some holiday sweets, or walking around to see Christmas lights. 
4. Cultivate a sense of home within yourself. This step requires more time and may require the help of a therapist, but can be immensely healing and restorative. We often look outward to people or places to find our sense of home, but I believe each of us can cultivate a sense of home within ourselves. Through your reflection on the concept of home, you may have found some qualities that stick out to you – belonging, safety, warmth, acceptance. These qualities can be internally applied to our own experience and we can learn to extend warmth, compassion, acceptance to ourselves. This requires a willingness to acknowledge and be with your experience (e.g., feelings, emotions, sensations, thoughts), but when done consistently over time, you can begin to feel at home within yourself no matter what feelings, difficulties, or joys life or the holidays bring.

About the author: Kevin Culver, LPCC, is a professional counselor, published author, and owner of Resilient Kindness Counseling. Kevin has a MA in Mental Health Counseling and a BA in Theological Studies. With a background in spirituality, philosophy, and psychological research, Kevin provides a holistic approach to therapy that seeks to honor each client’s unique personality, worldview, and life aspirations. In his therapeutic work, he helps clients rediscover their humanity and create greater meaning in their lives, work, and relationships. He enjoys working with individuals from all backgrounds, but specializes in working with men’s issues, spirituality, and relationship issues. If you are interested in working with Kevin or learning more about his practice, please visit resilientkindness.com or email him at kevin@resilientkindness.com

No matter what our religious beliefs, December in America can run us through the gamut of emotions: love, joy, and happiness if we’re lucky, but also loneliness, anxiety, guilt, resentment, and frustration. Just when we need it the most, we may also find ourselves not taking the time for our health and peace of mind.

Here are a few suggestions to make sure that you and your loved ones are able to enjoy the love and fun that the season promises, that you have time for spontaneity, and to experience truly meaningful traditions.

1. Take a few minutes to go back in time to three of your most beloved holiday experiences. What elements made it so special? Have you had any similar times in the last few years?
2. Make a list of your top values and desires for this time of year. Do you want to spend time with friends and family, to show generosity, to connect with your spiritual community, to have time for reflection and for renewal?
3. Now look at your remaining to-do list and your limited time. Are your desires reflected in your plans? Have you actually booked downtime?
4. Now cross out everything that isn’t going to help you experience your truest desires. Add back in time to get outdoors, listen to music and connect with some friends you haven’t seen for a while.
5. OK, back to the list. . . of course there are some things that just have to be accomplished, but slow down. Wayne Dyer, in Happy Holidays: How to Enjoy the Christmas and Hanukkah Season to the Fullest, suggests making every little facet a special experience. Be present and appreciate the acts of gift wrapping, decorating, and baking. Take in the aromas, sounds, textures and colors. Try to see it all again with the wonder and awe of a child.
6. Don’t expect or even attempt perfection! Enter into the festivities with a light heart. Have you laughed out loud lately?
7. Show by your example that it is not necessary to do anything for love and acceptance, starting with yourself!

HAVE A TRULY JOYOUS HOLIDAY!

Victoria’s own journey with addiction started in her 20’s. For years she searched for help, without much success. Finally, her explorations and specialized trainings brought her to new evidence-based approaches and tools, including powerful somatic techniques, CBT and powerful hypnotic visualizations,

Seven years ago, she created the program, “She’s on the Way Back-Alcohol Recovery for Women” and is now writing “On the Way Back: Regaining Your Life While Empowering Your Alcohol-Dependent Loved One to Recover.”

Victoria Bresee, MAR, CHt, has a Master’s of Religion degree from Iliff School of Theology in Women’s Spirituality, and is a Certified Integrative Addictions Specialist and SMART Recovery Facilitator.

As December moves along, I find myself imagining the New Year. I start anticipating the changes ahead. I wonder about how things will evolve for myself and for those I know and care about. What direction will the conversation head? What shape will the world take? How will we each arrive into whatever is to be?  

I also of course reflect on the year that has now gone by. I think of the moments that stand out. The decisions that were asked of us as individuals, and as a group. What accomplishments can we stand behind? What lessons did we learn as we grew into who it seems we were always becoming… 

I appreciate the reminder to rest and to acknowledge how much each year asks of us.

I know I personally need to slow down and bask in a comfy blanket and a warm cup of tea. What better time to go inward and to contemplate than in that liminal space where one year seems to have ended but the other has not yet begun…   

Slowing down also has the byproduct of making it clear that aspects of this time of year are always hard for me. The strangeness of the phrase “See you next year!” sits with me after I say it. Where did that time go? How quickly things pass when they are in our memory… For me this brings up angst. I start to think about how we only get so many trips around the sun before our time is up. I worry I’m missing the moment, and then, I end up missing the moment because of how worried I was that I would. 

I am also a bit more teary in the winter. For me, my malaise is quite cyclical. Typically I’m okay during the day, it’s at the bookends of winter nights that I struggle. Sleep comes with more tosses and turns, and mornings seem drudgier. I can be quite the grump. In that state, self-care is more difficult to commit to, and comfort food, lets just be honest, sounds way better.

I am much kinder to myself than I used to be. Really I owe much of that change to those who have held space for me. Thank god for love and friendship and therapy! And yet it’s still hard to share pain. When I do, my shame pops right up. Who are you to complain? Why don’t you do something about it then? Do you know how much worse other people have it? What’s wrong with you? Why would you burden other people with this? And on and on that voice can go.  

To name the shame here helps me to interrupt it. I want to give myself permission to take the holiday season in stride. To let all of my emotions be there, without judging them, or myself for having them. It’s okay to have my mixed feelings. Sometimes my joy will be front and center and I’ll be singing (way out of key) and laughing about something silly. At other times my anxiety might make a go for the ol’ rabbit hole. Or perhaps I’ll find myself hanging out with some sadness for the afternoon.

Whatever emotion is there I am grateful to know that there are those to share it with. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for staying connected as we begin again. Happy (and other feelings too) New Year. 

About Elan

I provide therapy for individuals and couples. My approach as a counselor has elements of existentialism, humanism, and transpersonal psychology – though more than anything, I’m committed to helping people discover their authenticity and develop as human beings, in whatever way feels most organic.

elan@elanbenami.com; 720-722-0565