{"id":700,"date":"2024-12-19T14:18:46","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T14:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/?p=700"},"modified":"2025-09-30T19:50:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T19:50:11","slug":"12-days-of-christmas-calm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s 12 days of Christmas calm!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are 12 practical and manageable tips to support your child or young person with sensory needs during Christmas:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Be aware of your child\u2019s individual needs<\/strong> \u2013 Stay mindful of your child’s sensory preferences and sensitivities and how these can be affected in the holidays. Read their reactions and behaviour<\/strong> \u2013 Watch for signs of anxiety or discomfort and be ready to adapt the environment or situation as needed.<\/li>\n
  2. Be flexible<\/strong> \u2013 Adapt to changes in the routine to help reduce anxiety and stress. Exit stressful situations<\/strong> \u2013 If a situation becomes overwhelming, have a plan for an alternative option.<\/li>\n
  3. Avoid overpowering scents<\/strong> \u2013 Skip scented candles or strong perfumes to prevent sensory overload. An artificial Christmas tree will not have the strong scent of a real one.<\/li>\n
  4. Manage flashing lights<\/strong> \u2013 Consider avoiding flashing lights or loud, flashing decorations that could overwhelm your child. Soft lights that don\u2019t flash may be more tolerable for someone who can be easily visually overstimulated.<\/li>\n
  5. Communicate with others<\/strong> \u2013 Let relatives know about your child’s sensitivities to flashing lights, strong smells or other sensory experiences that are part of celebrations. Communicate with extended family<\/strong> about your child’s needs beforehand, ensuring everyone is on the same page.<\/li>\n
  6. Be mindful of music<\/strong> \u2013 Think about whether there will be music and if it might be too loud or intense. Will they need to bring ear defenders? Is there an option to sit somewhere quieter if necessary?<\/li>\n
  7. Visualise plans<\/strong> \u2013 Share the day\u2019s events with your child using visual schedules so they know what to expect. This can include options for plans to change but still be presented visually to support the child\u2019s understanding.<\/li>\n
  8. Provide peace and quiet<\/strong> \u2013 It’s okay for your child to want quiet time, so create opportunities for calm away from holiday noise. Create a sensory-friendly space<\/strong> \u2013 Set up a Christmas-free area where your child can relax and enjoy their favourite activities.<\/li>\n
  9. Support self-regulation<\/strong> \u2013 Allow stimming or other sensory aids to help your child manage stress. Providing sensory tolls to support this, such as OT recommended sensory toys.<\/li>\n
  10. Prepare for visits<\/strong> \u2013 When visiting others, let them know about your child\u2019s sensory needs to ensure a supportive environment. Encourage socialising on their terms<\/strong>, allowing children to interact with adults in ways that feel comfortable to them. Give children some control<\/strong> over how they receive gifts, making the experience more enjoyable for them.<\/li>\n
  11. Maintain some routine<\/strong> on Christmas day to provide stability and reduce stress. Provide familiar foods<\/strong> to ensure they feel comfortable and secure during meals.<\/li>\n
  12. Act as a “secure base”<\/strong> for your child in social or stressful situations, offering support when needed. Watch for signs of tiredness or overstimulation<\/strong> and be mindful of your child’s needs. Help children manage big emotions<\/strong> by offering comfort and guidance.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Here are 12 practical and manageable tips to support your child or young person with sensory needs during Christmas: Be aware of your child\u2019s individual needs \u2013 Stay mindful of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-700","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized"},"yoast_head":"\nSPaCE | 12 days of Christmas calm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"12 practical and manageable tips to support your child or young person with sensory needs during Christmas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SPaCE | 12 days of Christmas calm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"12 practical and manageable tips to support your child or young person with sensory needs during Christmas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SPaCE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-19T14:18:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-30T19:50:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Picture-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"501\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"336\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/\",\"name\":\"SPaCE | 12 days of Christmas calm\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Picture-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-19T14:18:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-30T19:50:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/628f3d72abda22d0ac0cdc226eb8b530\"},\"description\":\"12 practical and manageable tips to support your child or young person with sensory needs during Christmas\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Picture-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Picture-1.jpg\",\"width\":501,\"height\":336,\"caption\":\"12 CALM tips\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It\u2019s 12 days of Christmas calm!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"SPaCE\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/628f3d72abda22d0ac0cdc226eb8b530\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1741360ed44245a4f6cef2d1a658e9282e57783a0f557a90df89414f6dac4b39?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1741360ed44245a4f6cef2d1a658e9282e57783a0f557a90df89414f6dac4b39?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/mark_guvs7agd\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SPaCE | 12 days of Christmas calm","description":"12 practical and manageable tips to support your child or young person with sensory needs during Christmas","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SPaCE | 12 days of Christmas calm","og_description":"12 practical and manageable tips to support your child or young person with sensory needs during Christmas","og_url":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/","og_site_name":"SPaCE","article_published_time":"2024-12-19T14:18:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-30T19:50:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":501,"height":336,"url":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Picture-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/","url":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/","name":"SPaCE | 12 days of Christmas calm","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Picture-1.jpg","datePublished":"2024-12-19T14:18:46+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-30T19:50:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/628f3d72abda22d0ac0cdc226eb8b530"},"description":"12 practical and manageable tips to support your child or young person with sensory needs during Christmas","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Picture-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Picture-1.jpg","width":501,"height":336,"caption":"12 CALM tips"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/19\/12-days-of-christmas-calm\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It\u2019s 12 days of Christmas calm!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/","name":"SPaCE","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/628f3d72abda22d0ac0cdc226eb8b530","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1741360ed44245a4f6cef2d1a658e9282e57783a0f557a90df89414f6dac4b39?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1741360ed44245a4f6cef2d1a658e9282e57783a0f557a90df89414f6dac4b39?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk"],"url":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/mark_guvs7agd\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":833,"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions\/833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacealg.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}