Christmas Gift Ideas, Part 2
December 11, 2009 by Lorna
Filed under Featured Products
For years now, many people have turned to shopping online. It will save you the frustration of having to push through the crowds in the shopping malls, long lines and having to deal with the staring and comments of rude people if you’re with someone with special needs (who needs that during the holiday season?). And with the H1N1 scare this year, it makes even more sense to do all of your Christmas Shopping right from the comfort of your own home.
The disAbility Support Network is trying to helps it’s visitors and members find that perfect gift for the people on their shopping list. Whether it’s for someone with special needs, or for someone that cares for them. I’m here to help in several ways:
Yahoo! Group: Gifts and Toys for Special Needs Kids
Did you know that The disAbility Support Network has a new Yahoo! Group dedicated to help moms and dads choose appropriate gifts for our special kids? It does! One of our members is an Early Intervention Specialist and co-founder of Adaptive Play, a company that sells switch-adapted toys.
Our Shopping & Reviews Section
Members can also add, view and review not only toys, but any product that is related to the Special Needs community. Designed to help you find new products, it is organized not only by category, but by:
- Area of use (fine motor, gross motor, cause & effect, comfort, etc…)
- Who the product is for (Special Needs Person, Any Child, Adult)
- By theme (Christmas, Sesame Street, Wall-E, etc…)
- By Age
- By Price
Product listings can have up to four photos and a YouTube video. And the video doesn’t necessarily have to be owned by you. You’ll find that the majority of YouTube videos supply a link that allows you to add and play that video on a third party site, such as ours. So if you add a product to our Shopping and Reviews section, you can search for a YouTube video to add to the listing. Here are a few examples:
For Kids
Switch Adapted Mickey Mouse’s Melodies Radio
Go Baby Go! Bounce & Spin Zebra
For Caretakers
Behavior Tracker Pro for an iPod or iPhone
New products are being added all the time. You can help, too! If you find new products that you love, submit it to the directory. You can then view the listing and add your review. You can also add a review for existing product listings.
Gift Ideas for Kids and Adults
I try to find products and services that our visitors and members will find useful. From personalized gifts for kids to shopping at Pea Pod and even online dating.
Twilight Sea Turtle From Magic Cabin
Size
(14″L x 5″H.)
For ages 3 and up.
One Nick Jr. Boost subscription can be used for up to six children!
Nick Jr. Boost is an online educational service designed for preschoolers through first graders. Nick Jr. Boost helps children learn through exciting, adventure-based games based on core curriculum subjects like literacy, math, art, and Spanish. Kids will have the opportunity to team up and learn with their favorite Nick Jr. characters, including Blue, Diego, and Dora, in a totally personalized environment.
Kids love gifts that they can use all year long. This one is very affordable and one online subscription can be used for up to six kids. Parents can even sign on and track each child’s progress so you can see what subjects they need help in.
Visit the World’s Biggest LEGO Shop!
Legos have been around since 1939 for a reason. Besides sparking the creative side of our kids (and adults) keeping them happily playing for hours on end, they help to develop fine motor skills. And when you shop directly through Lego’s own web site, you can buy even those hard to find lego sets. Buy legos around your child’s favorite characters, like Bob the Builder, Sponge Bob Square Pants and Thomas & Friends.
Peapod online grocery shopping and delivery- click here for $10 in FREE groceries
Pea Pod has become extremely popular. People with Special Needs and those that care for them can both benefit from having their groceries delivered right to their home. Especially this time of year if you live in an area where it snows. It’s not a whole lot of fun pushing or wheeling a wheelchair through the snow!
iTunes Store Home Page
From music, ebooks and movies to iPhone applications like the Behavior Tracker Pro. This is an easy way to help support this site. Just click on an iTunes banner found anywhere on this site (or in newsletters) before you shop there.
Click here to take an online course from a local community college
In today’s economy, it’s difficult to find a decent paying job without some kind of training. Give the gift of education with the convenience on taking classes online. Education to Go (ed2go) has been the industry leader in online learning for over ten years. They provide the highest-quality online continuing education courses that are affordable and easy to use and are delivered through a network of over 1,800 top colleges and universities.
Try Match.com Free – FREEE
Gift the gift of Love! My sister found her husband through an online dating service. And my best friend has been divorced for some time now. She’s now a single mom of two teenagers who works full time and spends much of her free time driving her kids to all the school sports and activities that they’re involved in. She has found that the best way find new people to date is through online dating services. But in this economy, it’s a struggle to keep up with the monthly fees that they charge. So if you know someone who is single, why not help them out in their search for love?
You Can Find Pretty Much Everything Else You Need on Amazon
And not just for your Christmas shopping. You can find everything from g-tubes
shampoo and vitamins. Even refrigerators and kitchen sinks 
You can order from Amazon even in the last week of Christmas shopping and still receive your items on time. Amazon provides it’s customer’s with Christmas Ordering Cutoff Dates.
Don’t Forget the Christmas Cards
No rush though. You can send out e-cards to be delivered right on Christmas Day. Even the Post Office doesn’t do that. And e-cards are a lot more fun. Animated cards, for every occasion can be found. And you’re not killing a tree when sending one
Help Support The disAbility Support Network
How? Do your shopping online through links and banners found throughout the site. When you visit The disAbility Support Network, you will find that many products in the Shopping and Reviews section have a Buy from Amazon button right in listings. By clicking on one of these buttons, or other various image links and banners found throughout the site, you can help keep The disAbility Support Network online and constantly updated.
Why is this? It’s because these buttons, banners and images have The disAbility Support Network’s affiliate code associated with them. When you click on them and then shop online through these links, The disAbility Support Network receives a small percentage of the total sales generated during that visit (not just items listed on our site).
When adding items to the Shopping & Reviews section: If the product that you are adding can be found on Amazon, you can add Amazon’s ASIN or ISBN number to the listing. This generates that Buy from Amazon button that you see in other listings. It will open a new window that brings you directly to that product on Amazon.
Updates in Your In-Box
If you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign up to receive web site updates via Email. Just look for the little ENews and Updates box in the upper right hand corner. Enter in your email address and follow the instructions.
Become a Member Today!
If you aren’t already a member of our Special Needs Network, please join! Membership is completely free. You can meet new friends, share stories, tips, tricks, sell your used equipment and more. If you are a vendor, you are welcome to add your business to the Yellow Pages and your products to the Shopping and Reviews section as well. Networking is the name of the game
