If your mind usually goes blank when a loved one asks what you would like for Christmas, this wish list will give you ideas. The 10 items will help you and your ADHD, so that 2023 is a really awesome year for you.
In order for an item to be included, it had to be affordable and solve an ADHD challenge. If you have an item that you love, let me know and I will include it on the blog.
1. Gift Card for Audible.com
Many people with ADHD can’t read a whole book. In fact, sometimes reading just a few pages is challenging; which is why audiobooks are so perfect for you. Audible.com has the audio version of (almost) every book, no matter what gene you enjoy; from fiction, biographies, self- help books, to business. You can listen while you are driving, working out, or doing housework. In fact, listening to a book is a great way to make mundane tasks more enjoyable 🙂
2.Watch
Does time seem to travel differently for you? Do you often arrive late for appointments?
Then, a wrist watch is the perfect gift as it helps you to become more familiar with the passage of time. It doesn’t need to be a fancy one, if you are worried you will lose it. The best type of watch for ADHDers, is analog rather than digital and one with numbers (not stylized), so it’s easy to read.
3. Eye Mask
An eye mask, (like the ones they give you on a plane) is great if you have problems sleeping. When you climb into bed, get into the habit of popping your mask on.
It blocks out light that comes into your bedroom via your curtains or gadgets. This light interferes with your melatonin production, and makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. People with ADHD are light sleepers and so, a small thing like an eye mask can make a big difference in the quality of your sleep.
4. Fitbit
We know that exercise helps reduce ADHD symptoms, but making exercise a daily part of your life can be challenging. Using a Fitbit (a posh pedometer) to track how many steps you take every day is a great way to see how active or inactive you are. You will be motivated to come up with all sorts of ways to increase your daily step count. It turns exercise into a game!
5.Water Bottle
Making sure you are well ‘watered’ is essential for your ADHD brain to work at its best. Without enough water, your concentration will become shorter, your memory worse, and your productivity reduced. Having a bottle of water to carry around, makes it easy to remember to drink and monitor the quantity. This is my water bottle. I know when I have drank 6 of these, I have reached my goal of water quota for the day.
6. Alarm Clock
A Full Spectrum Light Alarm Clock is a state of the art alarm clock! It has a light that gets brighter and brighter rather like the sun rising, so that you wake up gradually. This is particularly good for people who are grumpy when they are woken up abruptly. There are many on the market, with all different features t0 meet your needs.
7. Slow Cooker
There is a direct link between the food we eat and how well our brain operates. A healthy diet can help minimize the negative effects of ADHD. Cooking at home is the best way to know what you are eating. However, meal planning and food preparation is tricky when you are living with ADHD. That is why a instapot is a key piece of equipment in every ADHDer’s kitchen. They make eating healthy and tasty meals simple and effortless.
8. Cleaning Service Voucher
Using a cleaning service doesn’t need to be a weekly commitment. A cleaning company can do a deep clean in 4 hours. They will do the parts of your home that you never have time to do. Don’t feel shy to ask for this! There is no shame. Housework and ADHD are a known mismatch. This will probably be your best gift. 🙂
9. Daytime Planner
Using a daytime planner is a gift that keeps on giving! That little book helps improve your memory, your time and organization abilities. The key to its success is to look at it at least once a day. When you have ADHD, the best daytime planner layout is one where you can see the whole week at a glance and each day has hourly segments.
10. Gift of Time
If you have a friend or family member who has a good dress sense, ask them to gift you 3 hours of their time to help you organize your closet. Getting dressed in the morning can be really painful when you have ADHD and a great way to take the pain away is to declutter your closet and do some outfit planning. Give your friend permission to be brutally honest. Try on every item of clothing and decide if it should stay or go. With the clothes you decided to keep, create outfits. You could even take photos of these outfits as a reminder. Then in the morning, all the decisions have been made and you can get dressed quickly.
I LOVE your idea of creating outfits from one’s newly-decluttered closet–and taking photos of each outfit to make getting dressed each morning so much easier! I’m going to do that. Thanks for a really wonderful suggestion.
I have gotten behind on your blog since moving out of my house and spending time at my parents house with family the past couple of weeks. I wish I had seen this list before Christmas! I always have the hardest time thinking of anything I want! Because if I don’t “need” it I have a hard time even wanting it! My family always gets so annoyed at me for not giving them ideas. These are great and I will keep them in mind for next time!
Last week when I was packing up my closet and bathroom cabinets my younger brother (15) volunteered to help me. I didn’t even have to give him permission to be honest, but thank goodness he was. He threw out so much stuff I would have tried to hang onto but once he labeled it trash I didn’t argue. I was so impressed that he has this skill as a fifteen-year-old boy! I don’t think it will ever come easily to me! But now I know who to ask for the gift of time from! It was amazing what he (and me with his help!) could accomplish in such a short amount of time!
WOW!!!!! Your brother has a real talent Autumn!!! He is the perfect person to ask for the gift of time!
Jacqui,
I’m a 47 year old woman with AdD (diagnosed at 39 years old/medicated) with 2 AdD sons also treated by same doctor. We are patient with each other! No one ever asks what I want for Christmas. I just get more stuff. I have so much clutter (which equals more stress and more guilt). Your ideas are great but none of my friends have AdD. I’m the Lone Wolf who everyone always just called “really outgoing”. I have tried audio books several times in the car and while working around the house but I can’t concentrate on the storyline at the same time 🙁 – I love the idea but it doesn’t work for me at all. My mind is like a tv whose remote is being pressed by a toddler – channels flying by without stopping. At night when all is quiet (with my eye mask on!!!) I DO enjoy podcasts! So, I recommend them highly, their are so many – funny, informative and Free!