Making the countdown to Christmas accessible

From tiny treats to chocolate before breakfast, advent calendars bring a little magic to the Christmas countdown. But many shop-bought versions aren’t designed with everyone in mind.

For disabled people with complex needs, finding the right door or opening tiny drawers can be a challenge.

This year, we’ve pulled together some ideas to make advent calendars accessible and fun for everyone – whether you’re getting crafty at home or adapting one from the high street.

Making high street advent calendars accessible

The run-up to Christmas is always busy, so making your own advent calendar this year might not be possible. Luckily, there are some fairly easy ways to make high street advent calendars more accessible for disabled people.

You might be familiar with Harvey, the star of this year’s Christmas appeal. Harvey loves chocolate, but cardboard calendars aren’t always accessible for people with visual impairments. Finding the doors can be tricky!

Harvey is deafblind, so Kim, his mum, adds braille numbers to his Advent calendar so he can independently find his own chocolate each day. But you could also use tactile numbers or printed number cards to help with number recognition and matching.

While there isn’t a huge selection of accessible Advent calendars readily available, there are a few high street retailers helping to make Christmas traditions inclusive:

• Braille advent calendars – Dotty About Braille, from £6.
• William Morris, braille beauty advent calendar – RNIB, £54.
• Toy Mania sensory advent calendar – Amazon, £14.99.
• NeeDoh fidget toys advent calendar – Argos, £35.

Pick a style that works for you

Advent calendars don’t have to be rectangular and made of cardboard. There are lots of readymade styles that you can fill at home. Choose from doors, drawers, pockets or bags, depending on the recipient. You could even gift wrap each item individually.

Add tactile indicators, textured gift tags, raised numbers, braille dots or jingling bells to make each day easy to find.

Filling your sensory advent calendar

Making your own advent calendar means you can tailor the design and content to the recipient. Once you’ve chosen your calendar style, it’s time for the fun part – filling it with treats!

To make your calendar super sensory, why not think about the Senses when gathering your items:

Touch

• Fidget toys.
• Slime or fake snow.
• A Christmas cuddly toy.

Taste

• Sweets and chocolates.
• Their favourite festive tipple – grown-ups only!
• Savoury snacks.

Smell

• Scented candles or room sprays.
• Body wash or bubble bath.
• Scented crayons.

Sight

• Light up a Christmas decoration or sensory toy.
• Bubbles.
• Sensory ball.

Hearing

• Jingle bells.
• Rainmaker.
• Noisy putty.

Focus on sensory activities

Christmas is an expensive time of year, but making a DIY sensory advent calendar doesn’t have to be costly. Sensory activities are a great way to count down to Christmas from the comfort of your home, without spending a lot.

Write down 25 activities on strips of paper, fold them up and add them to a bowl. Give them a shake and then take out a fun activity every day. Or, just make a list of 25 things you’d like to do throughout December and tick them off as you go. You could do some Christmas baking, watch your favourite festive film, get crafty making cards and decorations or go on a winter sensory walk.

However you choose to count down to Christmas, remember that small adaptations can ensure that disabled people can experience the joy of Christmas. Together, we can make festive traditions accessible for everyone!