At MaxiAids, we pride ourselves on offering solutions all year 'round that add accessibility and enhance the lives of everyone we serve.  Show your love with some of these thoughtful gifts that help those with low vision, blindness, low hearing, mobility issues and other physical disabilities.  We offer many helpful, useful and fun gift ideas for the loved ones in your life that will put a smile on their face this Valentine's Day, and every day!

Give your sweetheart a little wake up jolt with an extra-loud vibrating alarm clock that will wake them and shake them!  This stylish hot pink or black heart-shaped design is perfect for your Valentine, and they will never miss an appointment or a special date! 

Give some hugs and kisses-- and XOXOs to someone you love.  This is a tactile wooden board game ideal for blind or low vision players.  Spend special moments together this Valentine's Day and all year long with board games that are fun to play. See our other games for the blind and low vision for 2 or more players.

How about a set of red hot colored cooking pots for the special chefs in your life?  This set includes two pots with lids that work as strainers and are very functional to do the job right.  Add some pasta, olive oil and beverage of choice to create a fun themed gift for a delicious Valentine's Day meal

The Lil Lucy is a power pocket light to carry whenever and wherever she needs a bit of extra light--a compact little light that will brighten her day. The Larry C - LED Pocket Work Light with a rotating magnetic clip gives him convenient hands-free lighting by attaching to virtually anything.

With natural lighting and dual-sided  5x/1x magnification, this makeup mirror will sure to be a hit with her all year long. It's helpful for putting in contacts, applying makeup, and for accurate color-matching. Pair up with some red hot lipstick for Valentine's Day (sold separately elsewhere).  

Fill this 20 page album with pictures of family members and loved ones with audible captions for a memorable Valentine's Day gift.  An album that he or she will treasure for years to come! 

With Reminder Rosie, you can record and set up to 25 personalized living reminders by day, week, date or annually.  Personalized reminders are always nice when they're recorded for someone you love by someone they love!  

Say "I Love You" Hand-Shaped Medallion with Heart and Chain or heart charm bangle. See our other ASL jewelry to choose from for that special someone in your life.   

Give the luxury of a cuddly blanket for those in wheelchairs.  Cover them in a warm and cozy burgundy colored blanket that tapers at the bottom to avoid wheels, and has hand warmers for extra warmth and comfort.

Light up their lives with a battery lantern that's ideal for power outages, camping trips, and around the home inside and out.  A bright red Valentine colored lantern that you just can't miss!  

How about the gift of relaxation and a good night's sleep?  The Sound Oasis Sleep Sound Therapy System features 24 clinically proven sounds from world renowned doctors and the world's finest authentic nature sounds-- ideal for improving sleep, blocking noise, and managing tinnitus.  See our other sleep sound machines with choices of nature sounds to enhance a calming, meditative mood that will lull your loved ones into a deep sleep or to help them relax and unwind. 

Handy, compact, lighted magnifiers for a pocket or purse.  Get a clearer view of fine print, store price tags, product labels, and menus in dimly lit restaurants (ideal for a Valentine's dinner out).  This is a useful gift that will be appreciated by all that suffer from low vision. See our other compact handheld or hands free magnifiers.   

Give the gift of "time" to your Valentine!  This beautifully designed Ladies Tel-Time Talking Analog Watch with rhinestone bezel offers time and alarm announcement in a clear male voice. Ladies' touch talking watch announces time with just a touch of the watch face. Choose from many different styles and colors. 

Good looking watches for the handsome men in your life!  Big Face Talking Atomic Watches with leather or silver expansion band announces time, day and date and even sets itself!   Time is announced in a clear male voice at the simple touch of a button. We provide many other watches for the blind, low vision, and hearing impaired. 

Energy lamps help to improve mood, increase happiness, energy level and concentration.  A great light therapy gift for those you love who need an extra boost of light, energy and a happy feeling.  This mood lamp is ideal for wintertime use or for those who spend a lot of their time indoors. A perfect gift for someone you love.  

Wraparound sunglasses are impact-resistant and styled to hide your eyeglasses so that it appears you are only wearing sunglasses; gives 100-percent protection from the sun's harmful UVA and UVB light rays.  Choose from many different sunglasses for a perfect gift this Valentine's day.

Panasonic Ladies Wet-Dry Electric Shaver with Bikini Attachment can be used in shower or bath with lather - use dry anytime, anywhere. Have the men in your life enjoy a close, comfortable wet or dry shave for that smooooooooth, freshly shaved feeling! 

The ultimate mood lighting! Base glows in the choice of color, allowing your mood to choose the lighting or let it cycle continuously through the entire 256-color spectrum.  Helps see details clearly and reduce glare and eyestrain with its natural daylight LED illumination-- a unique gift to set the mood just right. An ideal charging station as well! 

Brew up some lovin' with a single cup coffee maker with included mug.  Compact one cup coffee brewer is perfect for small spaces.  Add a favorite brand of coffee (and some Valentine cookies) along with this coffee brewer and put a smile on your Valentine's face!  

This is a thoughtful gift for aging parents, grandparents, or those who have difficulty making calls. Put a photo of the 10 most frequently called people on the phone, program their numbers in, and just push the photocall button and the picture. It's that easy to have them connect to those they love. At the flip of a switch you may also choose to have 10 one-touch keys for picture dialing ONLY. (This feature is great for those who aren't able to dial out telephone numbers.)  

Use these cards to play the classic Hearts card game, or you can use them as educational flash cards for children. The jumbo size of the Hearts card game means that the whole family can enjoy playing, from children to parents and grandparents who have low vision but want to play with their kids and grandchildren.  This is a fun gift for all your little Valentines.  (Braille version available as well.)

On this Valentine's Day and every day of the year, show your love with products that help enhance the lives of those you love who suffer from blindness, low vision, hearing impairment, and mobility issues.  Search our many items for low vision aids, blind accessories, low vision products, products for the blind and visually impaired, mobility products and more   

How the Blind experience live theatre shows...

Blind, vision impaired, and low vision show lovers now have theatre access.  Many playhouses around the country are starting to provide tactile 'on stage' walking tours and audio described performances during a live show.

A pre-show tour may include walking on the stage, feeling the set and props, meeting the actors and touching the costumes.  Touch tours before a show give those with sight impairment opportunities to touch and feel the textured costumes, wigs, explore the sets hands on, and talk with the actors, getting a feel of what is on the stage and how the performers are dressed.  This provides a mental visualization and sets up the story for the live performance. 

Audio described shows are used with headsets so the blind or visually impaired can hear the audio describers provide a live descriptive scenario of the visual components of the performance in-between the dialogues of the performing actors.  Audio descriptions give detailed explanations of scenes and set changes through the headsets.  Select performances will provide specially trained describers who verbalize what is happening on stage during pauses in dialogue.  Individuals listen through a receiver with a single earpiece, keeping them informed throughout the show.  Some theatres invite their sight impaired audience to come on stage after a show and have an instructed dance with the performers.

When researching for accessible live plays, it's good to know what theatres provide these individual services depending on the disability challenges.  There are many symbols to look for when trying to book show tickets.  Some of these include Open and Closed Captioning, Audio Description Live and Pre-recorded, Hearing Loop Systems and Hearing Assistive Listening Devices, Autism Friendly, Sign Language and Wheelchair Accessible.  The Broadway theatre district, as well as theatres and playhouses in other states, are now starting to offer more and more accessibility to their audiences, so everyone can enjoy the show!  http://theatreaccess.nyc/how-it-works

MaxiAids has many products to help enhance independence and accessibility so you or your loved ones can enjoy activities and entertainment to the fullest!   Explore our products for the blind, low vision aids, blind accessories, and products for the visually impaired. For the hearing impaired there are products to choose from including hearing amplification devices and hearing aids.  --Audrey Leonard

At MaxiAids we love to offer products, suggestions, tips and solutions that are specifically designed to assist those with special needs while promoting a healthy, active and independent lifestyle. We specialize in product solutions for the Blind, Visually Impaired, those with Low Vision, the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Disabled, Seniors (Elderly), Children, and the Special Needs of those with Medical Conditions. Our goal is to bring you the best products available, including the latest innovations to help you live every day to the fullest!

Offering ideas and creative solutions on how to make one's life as fulfilling as possible both physically and mentally when faced with physical challenges is an important and integral part of what we strive to do.      

In everyday life, creative pursuits can prove to be very valuable to people with sight impairment, hearing impairment and other physical disabilities. To some, it even becomes a new life force, allowing them to navigate through difficult or challenging days with greater ease and a sense of purpose.  That can mean anything that stimulates the mind and energizes the body; creative writing, photography, music, drama, dance, pottery, art, painting, etc. Creative people who have outlets that they can indulge in are proven to be happier than others without.  The importance of a creative activity can certainly improve symptoms of anxiety and depression, and to help cope with a physical illness or disability.

Art is especially helpful in releasing negative thoughts and emotions by challenging the negative energy in a more productive and creative method.  With the help of any art form, they can feel more peaceful, express themselves more freely, and improve and enhance their physical, mental and emotional well-being. With the aim to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress and anxiety, and increase self-esteem and self-awareness, having a creative outlet helps increase both physical and emotional health in a positive way.

Communication through art

Many people with disabilities can have trouble communicating.  Art, music and creativity helps those express themselves when communication is challenging. For a person who cannot speak, a dance performance may clearly communicate even the most complex message.  For a person who has limited mobility, singing with emotion may provoke a direction toward a state of clarity and joy.

Through self-expression, one can immerse themselves in a creative activity that stimulates and energizes the mind, combats depression, and help to feel more in control of one's life.  Art provides people with disabilities the opportunity to create something uniquely their own, which is empowering.

A new sense of purpose

In the center of an art market in Brooklyn New York, a young woman was selling her handmade jewelry.  Her booth also displayed stuffed, handmade miniature owl pillows of all colors and design. These whimsical owls were so original and captivating.  The young woman mentioned her 85 year old disabled Grandmother in Texas had individually sewn each owl pillow and shipped them to her granddaughter to sell.  Creating these owls gave her grandmother a new sense of purpose and happiness, adding a welcoming new excitement into her life.  This project has since motivated her to create newer designs for her granddaughter to sell.

An outlet to express emotions

The Universal language of art unites people of all ages and (dis)abilities, stemming back thousands of years when people's natural desire to express themselves have been through art and creative outlets.  "The human impulse to create art is universal. Art has been a way to communicate beliefs and express ideas about the human experience throughout all stages of civilization and in every region of the world..."  Annenberg Foundation, 2014

Creating self-expression and joy in one's life is important to health and mental well-being.  We as humans learn to release negative thoughts and emotions by putting these emotions into productive and creative venues.  Perhaps learning a new instrument, singing, dancing, writing, acting, painting, sewing, sculpting, even cooking and baking are great creative outlets.  For those with mobility issues, sight or hearing impairment, there are many choices to immerse one's self into a world of artistic expression. -- Audrey Leonard

View many of our products at MaxiAids such as hobby lamps, desks and tables, tactile paints, sewing products, communication aids, low vision products, products for the blind and visually impaired, mobility products, and more to enhance a productive, rewarding and creative lifestyle.