Tips to help the festive season go smoothly

Christmas is around the corner!

As exciting as it can be, Christmas can also be a challenging time for many autistic people and their families, because it often brings many unpredictable changes to routines.

Here are a few ideas that might help the festive season go smoothly for everyone.

• Have realistic expectations – we will all want to provide the best Christmas ever, but it can be helpful to remember that for some people, this might be lower key with regular, non-festive events still on offer. Remember, the Hollywood perfect Christmas is not often as perfect as we think – keep it real!
• Create an advent calendar countdown that is specific for the person – often the build up to the big day causes most anxiety. Rather than counting down to Christmas Day, a homemade advent calendar can be used to show people how many days or sleeps before a special activity happens that is planned before the 25th. It might be going to see the Christmas lights be switched on in town, Christmas shopping, a panto, writing cards or putting up the decorations.
• Think about sensory overload – you may want to create ‘Christmas-free zones’ or ‘Christmas escape routes’, so that people who feel easily overwhelmed can still enjoy the lights and sounds, yet have a quiet space to retreat to in order to regulate before coming back for more!
• Giving presents all in one go may be confusing and overwhelming for some people. Try introducing one gift at a time. Don’t be surprised if some people show little interest in their gifts, leave them in the place they were and they can be explored in their own time. Clear away used wrapping paper, this can limit visual overload.
• Keeping to routine on the day – if you know someone really benefits from their routine and structure, Christmas Day is likely to be the same. Try not to make too many changes or make sure some regular routines remain in place.