Giving kids sensory toys and games for holiday gifts is a win-win for everyone. They’re fun, so your child will love them regardless. But sensory gifts also provide your child with sensory input or social-emotional learning which will benefit them in ways they rarely even realize, too.
And that’s where the win for you comes in! When you start to notice that the sensory input and learning from these sensory toys and games are starting to work. When your child is having fewer meltdowns or is paying better attention at school or is not climbing your curtains anymore!
Let’s check ’em out…
Some of the products featured were provided by the brand free of charge. However, all opinions are authentic and my own. Also, this post contains affiliate links. Which simply means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I receive a small percentage of the sale – without your price being any higher. Thank you for your continued support. For more information, see my disclosure policy.
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Seriously Fun Sensory Toys and Games
Before I break down into specific types of sensory toys and games, I just have to share this super awesome sensory gift option…
A Sensory TheraPLAY Box Subscription
- Give your child a gift that keeps giving for months after the holidays with this sensory-themed subscription box! Each month they will get a box in the mail full of sensory toys carefully curated by an OT. How fun!
- Purchase here: Sensory TheraPLAY Box
Tactile Sensory Toys and Games
Have a child who calms through tactile sensory input or heavy work with their hands? Try one of these sensory toys or games that offer sensory input for the hands…
- My tactile sensory-seeking J.C. loves this squishy Playfoam, and I love that it’s virtually no-mess and never dries out. This set comes with 8 different Playfoam colors in a travel-sized carrying case, complete with built-in molds and carrying handle. Perfect for car rides or long doctor’s office waits!
- Purchase here: Amazon | Walmart
| Target | Barnes & Noble | Wayfair
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- There are lots of ways to play with Ruff and his texture-rich bones. Ruff comes with a set of 20 bones (10 sets of each texture: smooth, silky, rubbery nubs, scratchy, ridged, etc.), so your child could line up one of each texture, put the rest in Ruff’s house, and then go digging in Ruff’s house for matches to each bone. What a fun tactile sensory game, right? Have a kiddo who’s sensitive to textures? This toy might be a good one to make introducing some different textures a little more fun!
- Purchase here: Amazon | Walmart | Target
- This little mini monster pouch made of zippers is super soothing to run your fingers along – and zip and unzip over and over. Another great way to use him: have your anxious child use him as a monster that “eats worries”. They can write or draw them on little notes of paper and put them in or just speak them out loud for the Zipit Monster to zip up and make disappear.
- Purchase here: Amazon
- There’s nothing quite like running your hands through water beads! If your child is a tactile sensory seeker, they’ll love the feel of the “ocean” of water beads as they search for all the ocean animal toys. And you’ll love how everything you need for the sensory bin is in one convenient kit!
- Purchase here: Amazon
Smooshy Mushy Pets and Besties by RedwoodVentures
- You know those youtube videos that focus only on unboxing and squishing those new cutesy slow-rising squishy toys? My Priscilla is obsessed with those videos. I honestly think it’s ridiculous. But I guess it’s time to actually get her some said slow-rising squishy toys. And they would make a pretty fun tactile sensory toy, right?! Great proprioception for the hands. Plus, these adorable new Smooshy Mushy ones are scented, too, so they provide some olfactory sensory input with each calming squish.
- Purchase Smooshy Mushy Pets here: Walmart
- Purchase Smooshy Mushy Besties here: Walmart
The Fidget Fix Sensory Kit from Project Sensory
- Got a kiddo who touches everything?! Or seems to always be moving their hands or body when they’re trying to pay attention? Have you tried fidgets? This kit from Project Sensory is a great way to try out a bunch at a great price!
- Purchase here: Project Sensory
Sensory Toys & Games for the Visual Sensory System
The following sensory toys and games stimulate or challenge the visual sensory system in one way or another. Whether your child needs visual perception practice due to visual sensory struggles or is calmed through visual sensory stimulation, you’ll find some great sensory gift options here…
- This game of stacking colorfully patterned blocks gets kids practicing their visual processing skills and hand-eye coordination while problem-solving how to build matching structures to ones shown on cards. There are also directions for gameplay using verbal cues and descriptions, so listening skills and auditory processing can be practiced, too.
- Purchase here: Amazon | Walmart | Target | Barnes & Noble | Fat Brain Toys
- Sure, you can use these as a “timer” but my kids just love watching the little bubbles of color float and fall. These motion bubblers are great calming tools for a sensory corner or sensory box. And they’d fit perfectly in a Christmas stocking, too!
- Purchase here: Amazon | Zulily | Steve Spangler Science
- When my J.C. had Early Intervention services as a toddler, one of his therapists used to bring this in her “bag of tricks”. He loved it! Pushing those little buttons into the matching color spots on the card-topped pegboard is great for hand-eye coordination and even gives a little proprioception to the finger joints, too.
- Purchase here: Amazon
- Lights and visually tracking them helps many children with Sensory Processing Disorder or general sensory struggles calm. This Star Projector is sold as a night light, which is great, but it could also be used in a sensory room or to make a calm down spot in a kid’s play tent.
- Purchase here: Amazon
- Even though this is marketed as a “fidget”, I’ve included Tumblestix here in the visual sensory toys, because it has awesome (and bright!) LED light action. The lights blink as the weight- and balance- based toy tumbles and rolls through fidgety play and tricks. A great stocking stuffer for a kid who could use some hand-eye coordination practice!
- Purchase here: Amazon
- And here’s another cool fidget from Zing that’s sure to dazzle your visual sensory seeker! LED lights create over 20 different light patterns while spinning for awesome visual sensory engagement. That might be a great calming tool in a calm down area, don’t you think?
- Purchase here: Amazon
Sensory Gifts for Vestibular & Proprioceptive Input
The next sensory toys and tools are fun for kids while also providing sensory-regulating input to the vestibular and/or proprioceptive sensory systems. Depending on the child and their specific sensory needs, incorporating some time using toys and tools like these through the day or in a structured sensory diet can help improve the child’s sensory processing struggles, too.
- If you’ve got a rough and tumble kid (like 2 of my 3!) who craves jumping and falling and crashing, this is the gift you both need! I say “you both need” because your child will use this awesome foam-filled mat to get the sensory-regulating proprioception their body is asking for, in a safe and acceptable way. Plus, if it’s proprioceptive input that calms them, this big sensory gift will be worth it when you start noticing those meltdowns happen less and less often!
- Purchase here: Amazon | Walmart | Fun and Function
- Looking for that one BIG Christmas gift for your sensory kid? Look no further! This awesome indoor playground with climbing ladder, pull-up bar, gymnastic rings, and a climbing rope will bring hours of play and great proprioceptive and vestibular input. And apparently, installation only takes 2 hours with no drilling or anchoring required! Sweet!
- Purchase here: Amazon | WallBarz USA
- How about an indoor swing for Christmas this year?! Imagine the great, sensory-regulating vestibular movement your child will get. And the calming proprioception all snuggled up in that comfy pod!
- Purchase here: Amazon | Walmart | Target | Wayfair | HearthSong
- Wondering why I’m including a book in the vestibular and proprioceptive sensory toys section? This is more than just a basic book! This amazing kids yoga book, by my dear friend Giselle Shardlow of Kids Yoga Stories, takes your child on an adventure around the world visiting various countries and their animals, all while exploring each animal through yoga poses and the child’s own emotions. So we’ve got multicultural literacy, proprioceptive and vestibular input through yoga, and social-emotional learning all in this one book. Now that’s a sensory-rich Christmas gift, right there!
- Purchase here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Social-Emotional Games & Activity Kits
Children with sensory dysregulation often struggle with emotional regulation and social skills, too. How about making social-emotional learning and practice fun with an activity kit, craft kit, or game you can play together? Here are some great choices…
- With this creative kit, your child can explore the social-emotional skill of empathy through crafting. The kit included 4 complete learning activities with all materials and easy instructions: an Activity & Coloring Book, an Empathy Placard Craft, Feelings & Faces Game & Craft, and a Felt Flowers Craft. It also includes a Parent Card with guidance on how to foster empathy and use the kit. I love that this company and its products encourage so much parent-child engagement and bonding. That’s the REAL gift, right?!
- Purchase here: Amazon
- These ABC flashcards incorporate positive social-emotional vocabulary and colorful, kid-friendly illustrations to invite meaningful conversation between kids and parents or kids and educators or therapists. They could be used for story starters, drawing prompts, or role play games, too. And they’re thick and sturdy for little hands. Love them!
- Purchase here: Amazon
- Does your child with sensory needs struggle with giving up too soon? (Mine does!) This Perseverance Activity Kit includes everything needed for 4 activities: an Activity and Coloring Book, a Sun Catcher Craft, The Jungle Game, and a Determination Journal. And it includes a Parent Card with tips for encouraging perseverance and using the kit.
- Purchase here: Amazon
- This game is a hit with my kids! It uses question cards to prompt kids to practice social skills, identify and communicate feelings, practice manners, and also includes “DO” cards that give kids fun and silly physical challenges of balance and coordination – which is great gross motor sensory input, too!
- Purchase here: Amazon
Non-Toy Gifts for Kids with Sensory Processing Needs
These next sensory gifts for kids wouldn’t be classified as toys per se but would be loved no less. Especially once the sensory benefits are realized! Check ’em out…
- This was invented by a fellow sensory mom for her child with sensory struggles, so we know this is a winner! It will make your little one feel like they’re wrapped in a big mama hug to help them fall asleep and stay asleep through the night. And the removable cover, made of super soft, fuzzy fabric, makes it easy to wash. (p.s. They make an adult size, too!)
- Purchase here: Amazon
Amusemat Feeding Placemat & Playmat by Marcus & Marcus
- This super fun “foodie playground” placemat is geared toward self-feeding toddlers, encouraging them to explore textures and foods in a positive way. But it would be great for a picky eater, too, even if just to get them exploring new foods in a tactile way long before tasting.
- Purchase here: Amazon
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Looking for More Awesome Kids Gift Ideas?
This Sensory Toys and Games Gift Guide is just one of many amazing Kids Gift Guides in the Kid Blogger Network Holiday Gift Guide Collection!
Check them all out here…
More Sensory Toy & Game Ideas:
- Creative Play with a New Sensory Favorite
- 27 Fun Finds for Your Child’s Sensory Diet
- 3 Easy DIY Sensory Bin Gifts for Kids
Some of the products featured were provided by the brand free of charge. However, all opinions are authentic and my own. Also, this post contains affiliate links. Which simply means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I receive a small percentage of the sale – without your price being any higher. Thank you for your continued support. For more information, see my disclosure policy.
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