Gifts for Everyone on Your List

The holidays will soon be here. Are you having trouble finding a perfect gift for a child or adult who is blind or visually impaired? With the help of professionals in the field and adults with visual impairments, we wrapped up a gift list for all to enjoy.

For Children

Toys

• Have fun and stay active with Jacob’s Rib-It-Balls (14 inch, 18 inch, and 30 inch) or the APH Jump Rope to Fitness Kit!
• Encourage your child to explore, move, and play with the Tangle Toy and the Spangle Tangle: Play and Explore Kit.
• Babies will love learning about colors and shapes with Dimpl Duo and playing with the OmbeeCube shapes puzzle.
• Wimmer Ferguson Mind-Shapes are soft shapes with great contrast, perfect for babies with CVI.
• The Light Stax Junior Classic Illuminated Blocks – Led Light Up Building Blocks Set contains colorful construction blocks that light up so you can make your creations shine.
• Test your speed and reflexes with the Bop It!

Education

• Promote early literacy skills and encourage young learners to practice braille characters and phonics with BrailleBuzz.
• A Pop-A-Cell is a large-scale braille cell presented on a card. Pop the durable plastic cell dots up or down to create various braille characters.
• The ReadWrite Stand Mini is perfect for those large print readers who are on the go.
• Start your audio adventure with Audiojack – an audio-based movie comprised only of sound designs that, together, tell a story for your imagination!
• Learn the braille alphabet with the PlanToys Braille Alphabet A-Z
• Pocket Money Brailler comes on a keychain and allows you to mark one, five, ten, 20, 50, and one 100-dollar bills.

Books

• Check out our On the Way to Literacy and Moving Ahead storybook series for children.
• The Six Little Dots storybook introduces and names Dots 1 through 6 as they each take their proper place in a braille cell.
• Alphabet Scramble is a read-aloud storybook that exposes children to both braille and large print and encourages the development of early literacy skills.
• The Best for a Nest storybook provides an opportunity for the learner to focus on position of objects, prepositional phrases, and use of tactile symbols.
• Learn how to count in a fun way with the DK Braille: Counting Board Book.
• Seedlings Braille Books for Children offers gift cards for anyone who wants to share their love of reading. Check out what’s new on Seedlings.
• Find a new book to curl up with by visiting the Braille Bookstore, which is fully stocked with novels for children and adults.

Arts and Crafts

• The Braille Beads: APH Starter Kit contains colorful stringing beads with braille alphabet letters that allow you to personalize objects of art that can be worn.
• Have fun with texture with Color-by -Texture Marking Mats, Feel ‘n Peel Sticker Series, and Carousel of Textures paper, foam, and translucent vinyl.
• The Paint by Number Safari series has four thematic raised-line coloring books, including Tropical Rainforest, Under the Sea, Backyard Creatures, and Desert Creatures.
• Paint Pot Palette is a set of custom-made, whimsical raised-line coloring pages. The kit includes paint pots, paintbrushes, and watercolor paints, as well as other accessories.
• Get drawing with Quick-Draw Paper’s expandable “sponge” sheets or our TactileDoodle drawing board, perfect for little hands.
• Twist Wikki Stix to form different animals, shapes, letters, and numbers, and stick them to almost any surface.
• The Raised Line and Braille Watercolor Art Set includes paint, a paintbrush, and twelve raised line art drawings indicated with a word in print and braille!

Games

• Slide, Twist ‘n Solve: Tactile Brain Teaser is an accessible puzzle that helps learners with their sensory development and shape identification skills.
• Try fun games to learn O&M concepts like TREKS: The Game of Compass Directions and Color Raceway Kit!
• Games of Squares includes an 8 x 8 inch grid board and game pieces that incorporate color contrast and distinctive textures for games like Tic-Tac-Toe, Trading Places, Square It, Zigzag, Checkers, Lucky Roll, and Corner Chase.
• Talking GlowDice are accessible dice that announce and display a number between 1 and 6 after users push the Roll button.
• Learn braille while you play with Six Little Dots, Game of Cards or get moving with Hop-A-Dot Mat.
• Do you hear what I hear? Match pairs of sound cubes together with the Sound Memory Matching Game.
• MaxiAids has some awesome braille card games like Skip-Bo, Uno, and Go Fish.
• MaxiAids also has Tic Tac Toe, Checkers, Chess, Monopoly, and many more games under the Recreational and Fun category.
• The Braille Superstore has a braille version of Shut the Box and a tactile version of Snakes and Ladders.

For Adults

Home and Office

• Purchase your single copy or custom-printed copy of the 2022 large print-braille APH InSights Art Calendar, which features artwork from artists who are blind and visually impaired.
• The 2022 EZ Track Calendar offers a systematic and organized way of keeping track of appointments, holidays, and other events.
• Take notes on the go with a Pocket Braille Slate or compose large print notes and journal entries with this Boldline Spiral Notebook.

Fashion and Beauty

• Help Two Blind Brothers find a cure for Stargardt Disease by purchasing some of their designer clothing.
• Braille Design sells braille and American sign language jewelry as well as braille t-shirts.
• Created by an entrepreneur who is blind, Elegant Insights sells custom braille jewelry and accessories.

Technology and Accessories

• Use the large display Talking Cooking Thermometer for cooking, hobbies, gardening, and much more!
• Sunu Band is an intelligent travel aid that uses radar and haptic feedback and enables people who are blind or visually impaired to confidently and independently explore the world.
• Consider purchasing a Pen Friend for recording instructions, notes, and labels. Audio labels can be used for anything, including managing medications!
• Never lose your purse or keys again! Attach these Bluetooth Tiles to your possessions and use an app to locate them.
• Turn your home into a smart home with an Amazon Echo, Fire TV Stick, Google Home Mini, or Apple HomePod Mini.
• The Harbolt Company features accessories for iOS devices, Bluetooth accessories, and portable power banks, chargers, and cables.
• GuideLights and Gadgets has products for guide dog handlers, practical technology, and leather products like bags, pouches, braille notetaker and display cases, phone cases, and more.

For Dogs

• On the Go, part of the Blind Mice Mega Mall, carries beds, bandanas, bowls, charms, and even items you can purchase in memory of a lost pet or dog guide.
• Owned by an entrepreneur who is visually impaired, the WagALot Pet Shop sells bow ties, bandanas, and canvas collars for dogs.

Other Thoughtful Gifts

• Consider small makers on sites like Etsy. For example, there’s a shop that sells braille pocket pebbles, or purchase a custom braille glass for a friend or family member.
• L’Occitane is a great source of multi-sensory gifts like lotions, fragrances, and candles. In 2000, L’Occitane received an Access Award from the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) for its efforts to make its products accessible through braille labeling on its packaging.
• Mountain Crafted has different all-natural products including aromatherapy, bath products, essential and fragrance oils, and hair and skincare products. Owned by two entrepreneurs who are visually impaired, this shop also offers the option of adding braille labels to your order.
• Mitsy Kit hand sewing and crafting kits include adaptive materials and accessible instructions perfect for people of all ages and abilities.

You can find more great products on our shopping site and by reading this 2020 VisionAware blog.