What’s In Your Christmas Tree?

My son Cooper loves our Christmas Tree.

He will stare at it, study it, and even examine it.

Cooper is a visual stimmer so the combination of the colors and textures soothes him.

He also loves the tree for other reasons.

He can help decorate it….daily. The tree is his go to place to put objects.

Throughout the entire Christmas Season, I dig his shoes, books, plates, sippy cups, movies and family photos out of the tree.

He also likes to hoard objects behind the tree itself…specifically objects he does not like. 

In this picture you will see his Flash Cards.

If something is missing in our home, like the remote, I can safely bet that it is in, or under our Christmas tree.

A huge thank you to a fellow warrior mama, Angi, for sharing these absolutely hilarious photos of their Christmas Tree.

Angi shares photos of her 17-year-old son and their journey with severe autism at Everyday With Ian.

Give them a follow. She is in inspiration to me!

Get ready to laugh at these photos.

And my favorite from Cooper!

Last year was the first year Cooper got into the Christmas spirit. And by that I mean in the prior years he paid no attention to the tree, decor, presents, Santa, etc. 

There are a whole lot of emotions that go into that but I’ll simply say, ‘it was tough on our family.’ 

Thankfully, last year was different.

Cooper observed us for quite some time as we decorated.

I watched the wheels turning as he tried to figure out why we had a tree in our living room and why we were putting ‘stuff’ on it.

He seemed to notice how much fun Sawyer and I were having and decided to join in.

This was the first activity Cooper ever did with our family. 

I may have cried with joy as he started throwing ornaments into the tree.

Once those were done he started grabbing items from around the room and throwing them into the tree too. He’s incredibly literal. And I didn’t care one bit!

I couldn’t film this video longer because Coops threw a storage bin into the tree.

This mama does not care one bit that her tree isn’t perfect or even standing straight. It brings us joy!

And remember, if something is missing, check the Christmas Tree.

This year, Cooper did amazing.

He helped us decorate the tree and loved every minute. He put on tinsel and a few ornaments.

But mostly, he just wanted to be near Sawyer and I as we decorated. It was perfect.

He has also stopped putting things in and on the Christmas tree quite so much.

I check daily and typically find a few random photos and construction paper.

Last night was special though. I found this gem. Thank you Cooper.

Merry Christmas from the Swensons!

Finding Cooper’s Voice is a safe, humorous, caring and honest place where you can celebrate the unique challenges of parenting a special needs child. Because you’re never alone in the struggles you face. And once you find your people, your allies, your village….all the challenges and struggles will seem just a little bit easier. Welcome to our journey. You can also follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter.