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As the holiday season draws near, it is crucial for families to prepare for the upcoming festivities. This period presents a unique opportunity for all generations of the family to come together, including older relatives. When organizing holiday gatherings for your family, it is essential to incorporate activities that cater to everyone’s needs.
It is important to recognize that elderly family members may not have the same energy or physical capabilities to participate in all holiday activities. It is crucial to consider their needs when planning the festivities to prevent feelings of boredom or exclusion. To ensure a fulfilling holiday experience for all, it is recommended to include a variety of activities that cater to the interests and abilities of older family members. This will facilitate meaningful interactions and enable elderly loved ones to partake in the joy of the season alongside the rest of the family.
How Hands-On Holiday Activities Benefit Seniors
It is common for seniors to feel isolated or lonely if their social interactions are limited or if they have lost their spouse. These feelings of loneliness can lead to depression which can really take a toll on seniors. Involving your senior loved ones in holiday festivities, including hands-on activities, can greatly benefit their emotional and physical health.
Family gatherings during the holidays give seniors the chance to be with loved ones and directly involving them in the festivities helps them feel a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Pairing them with other members of the family for certain activities, including their grandchildren, can help foster and strengthen their bond. Engaging in hands-on activities that are within the abilities of seniors can also help improve cognitive function as concentrating on simple projects stimulates brain activity which greatly benefits those affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
Holiday Activities for Your Senior Loved Ones
This holiday season, make sure to involve your senior loved ones in family activities. Interacting with family members in this way will improve their spirits and help them feel valued by their loved ones. However, it is important to involve them in activities that are safe and within their cognitive and physical abilities.
The following are some holiday activities that you can do with your senior loved ones.
1. Decorate the Holiday Tree
Twinkling lights and scents of a freshly cut Christmas tree invite families into the start of the joyous holiday season. Once the tree is firmly in place, let the decorations begin. Welcome your seniors loved ones to help with decorating the holiday tree, hanging the wreath, and stuffing the stockings.
Elderly parents are likely to have hung favorite ornaments in Christmases past. Take these treasured decorations out of storage and use them to decorate the tree. Start conversations about each special ornament as the adults, seniors, and grandchildren participate in decorating.
Safety while decorating with seniors is critical. Older people may mistake faux fruits for real food; limit the use of these ornaments. Choose non-breakable ornaments or hang them above eye level. Tuck the electrical cords underneath the rug to avoid tripping hazards.
2. Cook the Christmas Feast Together
A holiday home is filled with aromatic scents from the kitchen. Freshly baked gingerbread cookies and enticing hams are eagerly awaited by hungry guests. Give your senior parents an opportunity to be a special part of the holiday feasts by cooking and baking together.
Allow your senior loved ones to help with tasks that are less injury-prone, such as stirring or measuring ingredients. Adult children are advised to handle all the cutting and chopping. Rather than ask the parent to remove cookies from a hot oven, have them transfer cooled cookies into a jar.
Grandma and Grandpa will jump at the chance to join the grandkids in assembling a gingerbread house. Adult children can simplify the project for seniors by providing cookies, frosting, and tasty morsels. Intergenerational holiday projects strengthen family bonds.
To select healthy food options for your family’s quality meal this holiday, reference Good and Bad Foods for Seniors’ Brain Health blog.
3. See the Holiday Lights
The neighborhood will be lit up with showstopping Christmas lights. Aging parents who no longer drive can still appreciate the sights. Invite your senior loved ones to be passengers in the car, as the adult children cruise around town to see the spectacular colors and glow of the holiday light shows. Christmas activities are relatively similar every year, taking your seniors out to enjoy the holiday spirit can also be highly beneficial for memory care.
Adult children must ensure Mom and Dad dress appropriately for the winter weather, even as they ride in a heated vehicle. Seniors must wear loose layers of warm clothing. A hat and scarf prevent the loss of body heat. A waterproof coat or jacket is recommended on snowy days.
4. Give Back as a Family
The holiday season is abundant with generous acts. Older adults feel a renewed sense of purpose when they have an opportunity to give back to the community. The entire family might look around the home for donatable toys and clothes and give them to a local shelter.
Seniors who have knitted scarves or sewn face masks will be overjoyed to donate their handcrafted essentials to those in need. The aging parents, along with the rest of the family, might also meaningfully give back by volunteering together at holiday charity events.
5. Celebrate Virtually
Families who are unable to gather for the holidays due to distance and other hurdles can still be together virtually. Video calls are accessible via various platforms, such as Zoom or Skype. These applications are free, easy to use, and can accommodate calls of up to 100 people.
Today’s technology may also be utilized to send memorable e-cards to friends and family. Seniors can personalize their digital greetings by recording a video message. Older parents who are technically challenged will find invaluable help with using their devices from professional caregivers.
Lift elderly parents’ spirits this season by playing holiday music, singing carols together, and making hot chocolate or eggnog for the family. Even if the celebrations are virtual this year, seniors and family members can sit in front of their devices and enjoy the company of loved ones from afar.
6. Organize a Holiday Craft Party
In the days leading up to the holiday, host a craft party. Members of your family, including your senior parents, can get together and make Christmas crafts and use them to decorate the house for the upcoming holiday.
Fun holiday crafts include making Christmas ornaments and centerpieces and knitting clothing or stockings. If Mom knows how to knit, she can teach the whole family to knit stockings, sweaters, scarves, hats, and more for thoughtful, handmade Christmas gifts.
7. Reminisce Around the Fireplace
The holiday season evokes memories of past holidays. Sit around the fireplace and ask your elderly loved ones about some of their favorite holiday memories. This gives every generation of the family a chance to learn about relatives and family traditions that came before them. You and your children can also talk about some of your favorite holiday memories involving your senior loved ones.
Talking about past holiday memories is a great way for the different generations of your family to bond. Reminiscing is also beneficial for seniors with dementia as they are often able to recall memories from the past.
8. Host a Game Night
Hosting a holiday themed game night can bring the whole family together. There are many types of games you can play that can involve the children and seniors in your family, including board games and card games. To make game night more fun, you can turn it into a friendly competition and give out small prizes.
9. Watch Holiday Movies
Watching holiday movies is a great way for families to bond over the holiday season. There is no shortage of classic holiday movies to choose from the span generations. One idea is to have each generation of the family choose a favorite so your family can enjoy holiday movies from different time periods together.
You can make holiday movie nights more fun by making popcorn or putting out desserts.
10. Secret Santa Gift Exchange
Organizing a secret Santa gift exchange engages the entire family in the gift giving. You can involve all members of your family and even friends and neighbors to help preserve the mystery of the secret Santas. Gift exchanges are a great way to engage your senior loved ones in the festivities as they will not only give a secret Santa gift, but also receive one themselves.
11. Wrapping Gifts for Loved Ones
Wrapping gifts can be a big project, especially for big families and families with a lot of kids. Before having a gift exchange with your family, invite your senior loved ones over to help wrap the gifts. You can provide them with different types of wrapping paper as well as ribbons and bows so they can choose how they want to wrap the gifts. This activity gives your senior loved ones a chance to be creative and watching their grandchildren unwrap presents that they wrapped can bring them joy.
You can also have your elderly loved ones help pick out candy and other trinkets and stuff them into stockings for each member of your family.
12. Writing Christmas Cards
Sending personalized, handwritten greeting cards to friends and family is a holiday tradition. While people may no longer engage in this tradition, this is certainly something your senior loved ones did for years around the holidays.
Invite your senior loved ones over for an afternoon or evening to write and seal holiday cards so they are ready to be mailed. Allow them to write personalized messages on cards for family and friends who they may not see often as a way to spread some holiday cheer. If your senior loved ones cannot write due to cognitive limitations, they can still help by putting the cards in envelopes.
Senior Companion Care for the Holidays
During the holiday season, some seniors may experience feelings of loneliness despite the festive atmosphere. This may be worse for individuals who live alone or lack close friends or family nearby. Assisting Hands Home Care offers companion caregivers to combat senior isolation, ensuring that seniors receive crucial support during this time. As a reputable provider of high-quality senior care, Assisting Hands Home Care delivers essential services to families in need.
Our caregivers are well trained and experienced in delivering comprehensive non-medical care to seniors of varying abilities. Furthermore, we offer companion care to address feelings of depression and isolation. Caregivers assist seniors with activities of daily living including personal hygiene tasks, meal preparation, medication reminders, transportation, and light housekeeping in a discreet and professional manner.
Our companion care services include playing board games, starting craft projects, and engaging in conversations with seniors about their interests and life stories. The companion caregivers from our agency are dedicated to forming strong connections with the seniors we have the privilege of serving. During the holiday season, seniors may experience heightened levels of stress and loneliness, particularly those who live by themselves. By selecting Assisting Hands Home Care for companion care services, you can help prevent unnecessary emotional strain on your loved ones.
We can provide personal care and companionship for seniors in Glen Ellyn, IL | Warrenville, IL | Naperville, IL | Westmont, IL | Woodridge, IL | Lisle, IL | Wheaton, IL or the surrounding communities. We can schedule a complimentary in-home consultation and prepare a customized care plan to meet the senior’s care needs. Call us today at (630) 407-1932 to start any of our flexible home care options.
