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An OT-Created Holiday Guide + Parent Toolkit

The Holidays Don't Have to Feel Like Something Your Child Just Has to "Get Through."

Understand what's making holiday moments difficult, make a plan before overwhelm hits, and feel more confident advocating for what your child needs.

Inside Navigating the Holiday Season you'll get a Parent Guide that walks you through the sensory "why" behind the hardest holiday moments — plus a printable Sensory Toolkit with the plans, scripts, and checklists you can actually use before, during, and after each gathering.

October Early-Bird Price: $21 $27 beginning November 1
Get the Holiday Guide + Toolkit →

Instant digital access • Created by Olivia Rechel, OTR/L

The Navigating the Holiday Season Parent Guide and printable Sensory Toolkit shown as a digital bundle
Does this sound familiar?

The Holidays Can Ask A LOT From a Child.

Maybe your child…

  • Falls apart after a gathering — the meltdown lands the moment you get home.
  • Refuses to wear the outfit you had planned for the occasion.
  • Won't hug relatives, even the ones they love.
  • Won't eat the food, even foods they normally like.
  • Covers their ears at loud moments — music, singing, a crowded room.
  • Becomes wild, silly, or "too much" as the day goes on.
  • Has a hard time with the changes to their usual routine.
  • Wants to leave early, sometimes before things have even begun.
  • Struggles with surprises — even happy, exciting ones.
  • Seems fine — until suddenly they're not.

None of this means something is wrong with your child. And it doesn't mean you're doing something wrong, either. When behavior shows up, it's often the most visible part of something happening underneath. Instead of asking "How do I make this stop?", we can start asking a gentler, more useful question:

“
What might my child's nervous system be telling me?

…we can begin responding differently.

The approach

You Know Your Child. Let's Help You Understand Them Even Better.

You don't need to become an occupational therapist to help your child through the holidays. You don't need to memorize clinical terms or run a therapy program at the dinner table. You already know your child better than anyone. This guide simply gives you a clearer lens — so what used to feel confusing starts to make sense, and you can respond with a plan instead of scrambling in the moment.

1

Understand My Child

Learn what's actually happening beneath the behavior — what their nervous system may be responding to during loud, busy, unpredictable holiday moments.

↓
2

Make a Plan

Turn that understanding into a simple, doable plan for the specific events ahead — with supports in place before overwhelm has a chance to build.

↓
3

Advocate & Communicate

Feel confident explaining what your child needs to family, teachers, and caregivers — so the people around you can support your plan instead of second-guessing it.

Because supporting your child gets easier when you understand the WHY behind what you're seeing.
Inside the Parent Guide

Practical Help for the Moments That Actually Happen During the Holidays

Inside the Parent Guide, we'll walk through:

  • What holiday sensory overload actually looks like — and why it builds
  • Why gatherings, sounds, and crowds can feel like "too much"
  • The role of routine changes and how to soften them
  • Food, textures, and mealtime pressure at holiday tables
  • Clothing, itchy outfits, and the "special occasion" battle
  • Hugs, greetings, and personal space with relatives
  • Gifts, surprises, and big excitement that tips into dysregulation
  • Spotting the early signs before a meltdown arrives
  • Building in breaks, quiet spaces, and exits that aren't a scene
  • Preparing your child ahead of time in a way that actually helps
  • What to do in the moment when things start to unravel
  • Recovering afterward and returning to routine
No clinical jargon. No expectation that you do everything perfectly. Just practical information you can actually use.
But knowing what to do is only half the battle…

I Didn't Want to Just Tell You What to Do. I Wanted to Help You Actually Do It.

It's easy to read advice like "Prepare your child ahead of time." and nod along — and then have no idea where to actually start when the day arrives. So the guide doesn't stop at explaining. The printable Sensory Toolkit turns each idea into something you can hold in your hands: fill-in plans, ready-to-use scripts, and checklists mapped to the same three steps — Understand, Plan, Advocate.

1

Understand My Child

Tools to help you see the "why" clearly before you plan anything.

  • Sensory profile worksheet
  • Trigger + warning-sign tracker
  • "What helps my child" reference sheet
2

Make a Plan

Fill-in plans so you walk into each event already prepared.

  • Event-by-event planning template
  • Break + quiet-space checklist
  • Prep-your-child-ahead visual schedule
3

Advocate & Communicate

Words ready to go so you never have to explain from scratch.

  • Scripts for family & relatives
  • Note for teachers & caregivers
  • "Here's what my child needs" card
Print what you need. Skip what you don't. Make the toolkit work for your family.

What If You Didn't Have to Second-Guess Yourself So Much?

Imagine walking into the next holiday gathering already knowing:

  • "I know what's likely to be hard today."
  • "I know the signs my child is getting overwhelmed."
  • "I know what to do before it tips over."
  • "I know how to explain it to the people around me."
  • "I know it's okay to leave early if we need to."

That shift — from bracing for what might go wrong to knowing how you'll respond — changes everything about how a holiday feels. It has a name.

Confidence.
  • Confidence to support your child without waiting for the meltdown.
  • Confidence to advocate for what they need, without apology.
  • Confidence to trust your own instincts as their parent.

"This is what works for my child."

Is this for us?

Could This Help My Family?

This guide may be especially helpful if your child:

  • Gets overwhelmed in loud, busy, or crowded settings
  • Struggles with changes to routine or unexpected plans
  • Has strong reactions to sounds, textures, or foods
  • Gets "wound up" and has trouble settling back down
  • Melts down after events more than during them
  • Resists greetings, hugs, or physical closeness with others
  • Seems "fine" one moment and completely done the next
  • Needs a little more support than a typical routine provides

Your child does NOT need an autism diagnosis, ADHD diagnosis, IEP, or sensory processing diagnosis to benefit from sensory-informed strategies.

All children have sensory experiences.

If you've noticed your child struggles more than you'd expect during busy, overwhelming moments, these strategies can help — diagnosis or not.

Olivia Rechel, OTR/L, the occupational therapist and creator of Let's Learn Sensory
Meet your guide

Hi, I'm Olivia. 💙

I'm Olivia Rechel, OTR/L, a pediatric occupational therapist and the creator of Let's Learn Sensory. I spend my days helping children and families make sense of the sensory world, and I created this guide because the holidays are one of the seasons parents ask me about most.

So often, the language around sensory needs stays locked in clinical rooms. Parents hear phrases like "He's sensory seeking." or "She's over-responsive to sound." or "That's a regulation issue." and are left to figure out what any of it means for a real Tuesday, or a real Thanksgiving.

I think about my own Grandma's kitchen at Thanksgiving, the clatter of pots, the crowd of relatives, the smells, the noise, all of it wonderful and all of it a lot. For some children, that "wonderful" and "a lot" arrive at exactly the same time.

My goal is to help you feel more confident being their parent. To take what I know as an OT and hand it to you in plain, usable language, so you can walk into these moments seeing your child clearly.

To understand them. To support them. To advocate for them.
Everything included

Everything You Need to Start Making Your Holiday Plan

When you purchase Navigating the Holiday Season, you'll receive:

  • The complete Parent Guide (digital, read on any device)
  • The full printable Sensory Toolkit
  • Sensory profile worksheet
  • Trigger + early warning-sign tracker
  • Event-by-event planning template
  • Break + quiet-space checklist
  • Prep-your-child-ahead visual schedule
  • "What helps my child" reference sheet
  • Ready-to-use scripts for family & relatives
  • Note template for teachers & caregivers
  • "Here's what my child needs" quick card
  • In-the-moment de-escalation guide
  • After-the-event recovery + return-to-routine checklist
  • Lifetime access — reprint the tools as often as you need
Get Instant Access
October Early-Bird Price
$21
Regularly $27 beginning November 1
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Get the Holiday Guide + Toolkit →

Digital product • Instant access • Print the tools you need as often as needed for your household

The value

One Guide. An Entire Season of Support.

  • One holiday gathering.
  • One school program.
  • One visit to relatives.
  • One tradition that finally goes smoothly.

You don't need every strategy in this guide to see a difference. Sometimes one small change at the right moment can change the entire experience.

Use the pieces that fit your family right now, leave the rest, and come back whenever the next holiday moment feels hard.

Questions parents ask

Before You Decide

Is this only for children with sensory difficulties? +
No. While it's especially helpful for children who struggle with sensory input, all children have sensory experiences — and the strategies inside can help any child navigate the extra noise, change, and excitement the holidays bring.
Does my child need a diagnosis? +
Not at all. Your child does not need an autism diagnosis, ADHD diagnosis, IEP, or sensory processing diagnosis to benefit from sensory-informed strategies. If you've simply noticed your child struggles during overwhelming moments, this guide can help.
What ages is this for? +
It's written for parents of preschool and school-age children. The strategies are flexible, so you can adapt them up or down depending on your child's age and needs.
Is this the same as individualized occupational therapy? +
No. This is an educational guide and toolkit, not a replacement for individualized OT or medical care. It gives you general, sensory-informed strategies you can use at home. If your child has ongoing needs, working directly with a professional is always valuable.
Is this a physical product? +
No — it's a digital product. You'll get instant access after purchase and can read the guide on any device. The toolkit is designed to be printed at home.
Can I print the entire guide? +
Yes. You're welcome to print the guide and toolkit for personal use within your household, and reprint the tools as often as you need.
What if I don't use every strategy? +
That's completely fine — and expected. You don't need every strategy to see a difference. Use the pieces that fit your family, skip the rest, and return whenever a new holiday moment feels hard.

You Don't Need a Perfect Holiday. You Need a Plan That Works for Your Family.

Your child may need breaks. They may need a quieter corner, a familiar food, an early exit, or a little more preparation than other kids. None of that means the holidays are ruined — it means you get to plan for what's real.

You get to walk in prepared, respond with confidence, and let your child be exactly who they are.

Get the Holiday Guide + Toolkit →

October Early-Bird Price: $21 • $27 beginning November 1