The holiday season is known for its bright lights and festive decorations. However, not everyone gets to enjoy it all in the same way—particularly those with a disability, such as vision impairment. That's why Reddit user 1228maj came up with a simple yet clever idea to make the holiday cheer more accessible for their blind sister.
As most people do, the user wrapped their sister's gift in some nice wrapping paper featuring cute holiday designs. It was an adorable light blue paper decorated with snowflakes and snowmen wearing striped hats and polka dot scarves. To share the festive scene with their sister, 1228maj made the Christmas wrapping paper more tangible—they traced all of the details with puffy paint to add textures their sister could actually feel with her hands.
“She’s always a little sad that she can’t see the lights or gift wrap so this I’m making it tactile for her as a surprise!” they share. “I’m also going to use a velvety bow so that is tactile too.” The gift itself was also a well-thought choice, as the user provided a thorough description of what she bought. “It’s a slate blue wrap/jacket kind of thing from a Christmas market we go to. It’s woven with silkier threads making a paisley design and a thick golden-yellow wool yarn running through it in places. It’s really cool looking and feeling!”
When asked about whether their sister can understand colors, the user explains, “Growing up, she was legally blind but still had minimal vision (no vision in one eye and reduced field and very fuzzy view in the other) so she could see colors, especially if there was high contrast. A few years ago though she had an infection in her eye that took the remainder of her vision. She actually still ‘sees’ colors and shapes in her minds eye. She describes it as a built in screen saver.”
Luckily, her whole family seems to have worked to make their holidays as accessible as they can. “My whole family actually gave her a basket of non visual Christmas things last year! We did candles and soaps and textured items and things with bells and music,” recalls 1228maj. “It was a fun gift to put together!”
Praised for her efforts, as well as her thorough descriptions, the user said they got them from their beloved sibling. “My sister works for the state to support visually impaired students, so I learned everything I know about adaptations from her!” they say. Ultimately, this is proof that making the holidays more accessible may take a little extra effort, but it could go a long way and mean the absolute world to someone else.
Reddit user 1228maj came up with a simple yet clever idea to make the holidays more accessible for their blind sister—they made the Christmas wrapping paper tactile by tracing all the details with puffy paint.
My sister is blind. This year I’m making her Christmas wrap tactile with puffy paint!
byu/1228maj inMadeMeSmile
Source: My sister is blind. This year I’m making her Christmas wrap tactile with puffy paint!
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