With the recent reinstatement of stricter quarantine measures, it’s become clear that Albertans will be spending their holidays in lockdown. Given that this time of year is closely associated with friends and family gathering together in celebration, this has left many people searching for ways to adapt their traditions, while also trying to think of new ways to occupy themselves at a time of year when many outdoor activities are no longer practical and Seasonal Affective Disorder is causing additional stress. For this reason, Autism Calgary would like to offer some ideas about some activities and events that you can do in these trying times. Suggestions under “activities” are things that you can do within your own home, and are pretty much available year round. “Events” are mostly based around the holiday season, and are something that you leave the house to go to.

Please note that the events listed here were listed as available at the time of this article’s writing; with stricter quarantine measures being implemented, it’s possible that some may end up being cancelled.

Activities

• Arts and Crafts While this can be a good hobby for any time of the year, the holiday season can provide new inspiration and motivation for giving this a try. A quick online search can bring up any number of ideas for homemade holiday decorations, and giving out gifts that you made yourself can really help to strengthen the bonds between friends and family members who’ve been separated by the pandemic.
  • If you enjoy clear instructions that lead to a specific end product, you might want to try activities such as origami, paint-by-numbers, or cross-stitch; kits or patterns are available for all ages and levels of experience, and are usually fairly inexpensive.
  • Sculpting plasticine or clay is a tactile activity that can be used to create a wide variety of objects, with the added bonus that many people on the spectrum find the sensory feedback soothing.
  • Textile crafts such as knitting and crochet can be difficult to pick up (I’d recommend loom knitting as an easier variant), but can be incredibly rewarding once mastered, and the repetitive motions are known to help with stress relief.
  • Alternatively, you can just experiment and do your own thing; check out what the local craft or dollar store has in stock, and have fun seeing what you can make using a bunch of odds and ends!

 

• Baking and Cooking In most cultures, the preparation and eating of special foods is a traditional part of major celebrations. A lot of people might feel that with the lockdown measures, they’re missing out on some of these traditions, be it Grandma’s traditional holiday feast or the annual office cookie exchange. But if you’re the sort of person who’s usually more at home at the dinner table than the kitchen, this might be a good time to learn some new skills.
  • If you’re new to cooking, or if you like having extra clarity in the kitchen, websites like Accessible Chef are great for providing recipes and resources, and a large variety of products (such as the ones listed in this article) can be useful if you struggle with standard kitchen tools.
  • Another option, which can also serve as a way to help connect with distant friend or relatives, is to set up a phone or video call with somebody whose food you associate with the holidays, and have them walk you through the process of cooking that dish.
  • And, for those who are younger or less interested in cooking food from scratch, most supermarkets sell gingerbread house decorating kits, which can help get you in the spirit of holiday baking without the hassle. You get to be creative and artistic, and still have a tasty end product!

 

• Board Games For a lot of people, it’s inevitable that at some point or another during the holiday season your family or friend group will find themselves playing a board game. It might be anything from a multigenerational days-long Monopoly game among relatives to a quick round of UNO to pass the time waiting for midnight on New Year’s Eve, but most people enjoy doing something like this at some point over the holidays. Lockdown might prevent people from meeting in person, or it might mean that your household has now played all of your games and is sick of them all, but that doesn’t mean that board games have to be off the list of stuff to do.
  • Websites such as Board Game Arena and Tabletopia offer online board games that are accessible to anyone with a browser, and you can play these games with your friends and family no matter how far away they are. Mobile apps and video game consoles also offer opportunities for online board games, although these are often locked to a specific system, so make sure the people you play with have compatible devices. As a bonus, in most cases the game’s code prevents the sort of cheating and “creative” interpretations of the rules that can lead to the sort of arguments that can ruin an in-person game, which some people might find to be a relief. Who knows, this might just lead to you discovering a new favourite game!

Events

• Holiday Displays Apart from Halloween, this is the time of year that most encourages people to set up elaborate displays impressive enough to be worth travelling out of your way to see. Zoolights and the Airdrie Festival of Lights in particular are perennial favourites, with the latter not even charging for an entry ticket (although donations are appreciated). A variety of similar events, both indoor and outdoor, can be found all over the greater Calgary area; check out this list if you’re interested in seeing what other displays of creativity the city has to offer. If you have any light sensitivities, be sure to do your own research before heading out, as it’s possible that some displays will have flashing/twinkling lights.

 

• Sledding This can be a great low-budget way of spending an afternoon, as long as a chinook hasn’t rolled in and melted all of the snow. A Calgary bylaw prohibits sledding except at certain sites (listed here), but this means that the ones listed have been vetted for safety, and following the applicable guidelines from this article should ensure that your outing is as safe and fun as possible. And if you’re looking for a bigger thrill, tube parks (such as WinSport in Calgary, or Nakiska and Norquay in the mountains) should be open by mid-December.

 

• Winter Sports There’s a whole slew of fun winter sports that you can try out. Rocky Mountain Adaptive can be great for people on the spectrum who might struggle with typical winter sports; they offer lessons in snowboarding, traditional downhill skiing, sit-skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing for all levels of mobility and ability. If you don’t require lessons, they also offer accessibility equipment rentals, and have a volunteer buddy system if you’re just looking for somebody to go out with.

 

• Heritage Park Every year this Heritage Park offers a variety of holiday events, and so far this year is no exception. With a season’s pass, or in conjunction with a standard park ticket, they offer activities such as horse-drawn wagon rides, holiday movies and plays, physically-distanced visits with Santa, and more. They also have a lot where you can get this year’s fresh ready-to-decorate tree, and have a program where you can pick up a holiday meal kit. Just make sure you plan ahead; they’re not currently selling tickets at the gate in order to help maintain distancing measures, so it’s necessary to order online ahead of time.

 

We hope that everybody has a great holiday season, and can find new ways to celebrate in these trying times. If you have any suggestions for other activities or events, or want to discuss any of the ones we listed here, consider replying to our Facebook post here; there’s no doubt ideas that we missed, and it would be great if we could all help each other have the best holiday experience. Happy holidays to you all!