What to Buy for James? The Annual Christmas Present Hunt!

I say annual but actually the search for Christmas presents for James goes right through the year. It’s very hard each Christmas and birthday to know what to buy for James. Fortunately, James’ birthday is in June so we have a good six months between the two. Developmentally, in some ways he hasn’t changed much for quite a few years. Whilst we try and find things to encourage his development to progress further, the reality is we are where we are. We want to buy things for James he will enjoy but it’s difficult to find new things each year when there are a very limited number of activities he is interested in. We have tried all sorts of things. 

Growing Up

When James had his ipad, which was Joans idea, for his 16^th birthday this superseded any childrens musical or interactive toys. Up to this point he had a few all singing and dancing toys he liked, his favourite being a duck that sang ‘Happy and you know it.’ He loved that duck. I guess now though James had grown up a little and he just wasn’t interested in those anymore. I hadn’t imagined him using an ipad but Joan said some of her students had them so we thought we would give it a try. James especially enjoys looking at the photos he has on there. It amazes me that if I ask him if he has a picture of something in particular, he can go to photos and scroll through hundreds and find it. Apart from that he mostly plays music on it and plays some matching word games, but he can find his way around it. 

Be Prepared

 I have a cupboard at home where I keep presents for James.  At any time of the year if I come across something that I think is suitable or he will like I’ll buy it and store it away for when it’s needed. As I’ve said before James loves the personalised books I make for him online at Snapfish. Most Christmases or birthdays now I’ll make him a book. They can be a little expensive but there are offers on regularly which brings the cost down a lot. This year is the first Christmas since James moved into his own flat so the book I’ve made him is full of James in his new home or the things we have done since he moved. Snapfish make a whole load of other personalised gifts too. 

Personalised Gifts

Another favourite for James is his matching cards. He has one personalised set but they are getting a bit tatty round the edges as he plays with them so much. So, another present this year is a new set of personalised matching cards again with up to date pictures. This year I’ve made some on bootsphoto.com. These were really good value at £12.49 for 50 cards and are really easy to do. They come in a cardboard box but I do buy plastic boxes for a lot of James puzzles and cards as he can open these boxes himself and pack them away too. The cardboard boxes just get torn as he can’t undo or do them up. I know James will really enjoy looking at all the new pictures when he opens these on Christmas Day. 

Try New Things

I found another little gift I’ve bought James this year. I’m not sure if he’ll take any notice of it at all but as I say, we like to try new things. I saw this little ceramic pig planter. One of those little sets that comes with everything required in it. James signs ‘pig’ a lot, mostly after he burps !!! Anyway I thought maybe he might be interested in watering his little pig and watching the flowers grow.  We’ll see how that one goes.

Colourful Cards

In WHSmith I found some matching card games that I really liked. They had 3 different sets all priced at £3.99. I liked them because they have real pictures of animals and everyday objects as opposed to cartoon pictures in unrealistic colours. They are very clear and colourful. I particularly liked the animal set, many of which James will already know and be able to sign but there are a few new ones we can introduce too. I also bought another set which has nice clear pictures of everyday objects, again offering more opportunities for James to sign and expand his vocabulary as well as it being an activity to occupy him that he enjoys. 

Another Variation

James has, over the years, had many Orchard Toys games and puzzles. These are designed for young children and are good quality and very robust. I found a new one I hadn’t seen before, Dinosaur Lotto. I found this one when I was browsing on Amazon but they are very widely available. The lotto boards themselves come in two parts so James can put those together before matching all the dinosaur pictures.   

The Boring Stuff

I have bought James some clothes too. Sometimes I’ll buy him trainers or nice smelly sets or bubble bath. I guess these things are more age appropriate but not very exciting. James knows what they all are though when he opens them. 

I’ll still be keeping my eye out for a few more things for James for Christmas but if I don’t find anything it’s fine. It doesn’t matter to James how much he has. It’s more important that he has a few things he’ll really enjoy. He’ll have other gifts too, which will have been equally well thought out, from Auntie Joan and his grandparents. 

Maybe I’ve given you some present ideas – if you have some others you’d like to share I’d love to hear about them.

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