any good ideas for xmas pressies this year?

[yogabonkers]

for the child that is more into the cardboard box, than the toys inside it...

maybe thats just mine! he's 5 and you guessed it! he's got autism.

what are people buying this year?

so far have got him a beanbag gaming chair (he likes to be all cuddled up with cushions), a thomas book with sounds, an octon (plastic shapes that join together) set. was going to get a mirror ball too.

any more ideas?

does he like the feel of sand? I have ordered moonsand for DS who is 6. Got a couple of sets. Comes with diggers, or crane or road work equipment. They can mould in in moulds to make bricks and paving etc and then do a demolition job with a jcb or something. It never dries out either.

Also got him things like a worm farm to watch them make their channels etc. Some lego bits and a microscope. Main pressie being a 3DS.

when i was 5,6,7,17, i remember getting puppets and soft toys..... easier to communicate when a puppet does the talking

my DS who is also 5 is getting Moon Sand and Thomas books. Also Interstar (construction toy), various games by Orchard Toys, scooter, lots of art type things as poor fine motor skills, Cars 2 DVD and DS game.

We are also getting an IPad but not for him exclusively, more a family gift but he likes the educational games and I find he learns well from anything computer based

Anything Ben 10 related for one of my boys. Plus I've been saving empty tubes, boxes and stocking up on sticky tape as he loves crafts.

Toy cars or Generator Rex stuff for the other boy (but it has to be small and be able to be clutched 24-7)

I've learnt over the past years not to focus on how much money I spend, but on what they will get the most enjoyment out of.

If he likes boxes, get him a box. Seriously!

lol! yes he's been getting any boxes big enough that the postie has been bringing. one year we did get him a toy box type thing from elc which he sat in til it was done.

i have got him a thomas wendy house style tent as well. he liked to sit in his sisters during the summer. but that was during his refusal to wear clothes and nappies phase. so after it had been peed in a few times we had to sling it...

wraith, he has taken a shine in the last few months to a particular teddy bear and he often likes to give a dolly a kiss, so the puppet sounds like a good idea too.

he can tend to take a while to assimilate new toys into his environment. so though he might not play with something immediately, he might after a couple of weeks or even months.

he does like construction too, but it has to be fairly simple to use.

Cardboard, you say?

pricy but oh oh, just oh...

That pyramid on that link is wicked!

The site linked to on this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs/1351227-Sensory-Room-Bubble-Tube-WOW has far cheaper sensory/sensory room stuff than I've ever seen. Has solved Christmas for us