My family loves doing activities together during the holidays, but it's frustrating for my blind husband and me when accessibility is not considered

• My family and I have always loved the holidays. We start celebrating early and end late.
• But my husband and I are both blind, and many holiday activities aren't very accessible.

My family loves the holidays. I mean, we really love the holidays. And of course, when I say this, I'm referring to the entire season, which for us is October 1 through January 1. Though if I'm really being honest, we start thinking about it in September, or maybe even August.

If life were a movie, there would be a montage somewhere of my kids and me striding through store aisles, gleefully perusing decorations. Each shot would be of us grinning toothily from the Halloween to harvest to Christmas to New Year's sections and always end with us pushing a shopping cart loaded with decorations. To my husband's chagrin, shopping has become as much a holiday tradition for us as any other.

We also plan out our holiday calendar. We find local events and activities to attend. Pumpkin-patch hayrides, zoo safaris, hot-chocolate bonfires, caroling, winter crafts — we hit them all up. And of course, attending a local production of "A Christmas Carol" is a custom for our family.

Our two kids are sighted, and my husband and I are blind. Blindness is not a deterrent keeping us from enjoying merry activities. But we often encounter obstacles when attending these events, because accessibility is not considered. Blindness isn't the problem; the lack of accessibility is. Providing some alternative options would allow us to fully participate and enjoy activities.

Navigating

Contrary to popular belief, blind people are capable of independent mobility. We are not bumbling Mr. Magoos, completely unaware of our surroundings.

That being said, it does require accessibility and accommodations to make an experience frustration-free for blind and low-vision people.

We recently took our 5- and 10-year-olds to a Halloween event at the zoo. There was no thought given to how someone might navigate and find things nonvisually. The kids were enthralled with the sights, too occupied to keep track of where we were going. Every five minutes or so, we had to ask a person where such-and-such a station or activity was. We walked in circles several times before finding the first activity. As you might imagine, it's quite exhausting.

Tips for helping blind and low-vision people navigate nonvisually

Anyone who has spent time at a zoo knows there are wide, curving paths leading in all directions — not the best setup for nonvisual travel. But there are a few ways to create more cohesive, clear paths that make sense when navigating nonvisually.

Station volunteers

Stationing people at booths and activities to marshal people is helpful. These volunteers could announce station stops, helping blind people know where they are.

Create a tactile path

Establishing a path by using ropes as queue lines or creating raised guides on the ground would go a long way. At intersections, making signs with braille and large print available to indicate what direction to go would be helpful. Establishing a set path to follow is important when there are crowds and people walking in multiple directions.

Provide accessible maps

Creating maps or guides that point out the location of stations and activities allows blind people to gauge their surroundings and understand the general vicinity of where things are. Tactile and braille maps can be created, but just a simple word map works great and can be accessed by all blind and low-vision people whether they know braille or not.

Tips for accessible crafts

If you've taken your kids to a holiday activity, you know there's always a craft table. Usually, it's a kid's dream — popsicle sticks, stickers, cotton balls, and markers galore. While the crafts themselves tend to be tactile, the directions themselves are not.

We often attend special activities at our library. There will be multiple tables with a variety of crafts. Yes, we can ask the kids what's available at each station, but they're kids; they may also be having a hard time figuring out how to construct whatever soon-to-be trash item — I mean, beautiful creation — they are working on. And when they need help, we have to figure out the process of what they are doing and how to continue or fix it.

Again, the materials are already tactile. It's the directions and diagrams that need to be in an alternative format. This way, we know how the puzzle is supposed to go together.

Provide digital directions

Providing directions in a digital format is great. Most people use smart devices and can access digital material using screen readers. Most blind people use screen readers like Voiceover and Talk Back on their mobile devices. These features are available on all iOS and Android devices and use text-to-speech technology. After accessing a digital direction, a device's screen reader reads out what's on the screen. We can access a website on our device, find the link or tab on the site with copies of written directions, and it will guide us through what to do.

Use clear, large fonts on paper instructions

There are also apps for smartphones like MS Seeing AI and Lookout by Google that can scan text, which allows blind people to access directions that are not already available in a digital form. When the text is basic and clear, the apps work better. Fonts like Times Roman or Arial work great, and a font size of 14 is the ADA guideline.

Tips for describing visual content during tours and shows

Describing visual content can be extremely helpful for both blind and low-vision attendees. Here are some ways to do that.

Give descriptions of the surroundings

Having your surroundings described is always useful for blind people. We have taken our kids on light tours and haunted hayrides or to holiday shows, but there were no audio descriptions. Many blind people find certain experiences fuller when audio description is provided.

Provide the option of audio-described live performances

Bigger theaters typically have systems set up to provide audio descriptions for shows. Participating audience members are given a Bluetooth headset and a live narrator describes the performance as it's happening.

Some organizations provide this service so that theaters can outsource it. For example, I live in Omaha, Nebraska, and Radio Talking Book and Outlook Nebraska provide AD services for nearby productions.

Offer tour guides

If doing a tour with a group, a guide can describe the sights along the tour over a microphone and speaker system or with a megaphone. Whether it's holiday-lights tours, cemetery tours, or special displays, announcing the sights works well and provides a fuller experience for blind and low-vision people.

My family enjoys an annual holiday-lights tour led by a tour guide. The guide stands at the front of the bus with a mic and gives a running commentary on the holiday scenes around us. Zoos, museums, and amusement parks may offer guided tours upon request.

These are simple ways for blind people to feel more engaged in holiday activities, as well as have more agency during an event. But these accommodations are also helpful for sighted people. Inclusive design works for everyone, not just one group.

And while these things make holiday events more enjoyable for everyone, it would be great to make events and activities more welcoming to people of all abilities all the time. Find organizations that can provide resources and suggestions for creating accessible events. Make inclusive design a part of every activity throughout the year.

Now that it's December, the fam and I are going to make mint hot chocolates, listen to holiday music, and hang in our cozy clothes, making plans for our next adventure.