As the holiday season is just around the corner, it is officially that time of year where you may begin to feel overwhelmed with planning meals, trips to visit family, holiday shopping and everything in between. The holidays are the perfect opportunity to bring family together and enjoy quality time. The good news is – even if you’re loved one isn’t living at home anymore, you can still bring them good cheer by planning holiday visits, outings and celebrations.
The holidays are all about spending time with those you love, so be inclusive and make your loved ones feel right at home by bringing the holiday spirit to them!
Here are some great tips for creating a delightful holiday season with your loved ones:
- Decorate: enjoy spending time together by decorating their living space together! Even if they don’t have a large area, you can always find room for a small table-tree and other decorations. If you know that your loved one has favorite holiday decorations from the past years, be sure to include that, so they have the opportunity to enjoy their memories. String lights, hang holiday cards and add any other festive touches that can liven up their space and bring them that holiday cheer.
- Movie night: another fun way to celebrate the holidays with your loved ones is to have a holiday-themed movie night. Grab some of their favorite holiday movies, treats, plenty of popcorn and hot-chocolate (of course!). Kickback, relax and enjoy the evening watching movies that celebrate this special time of year.
- Other activities/Holiday Events: Keep it simple by heading out to the mall together to do some holiday shopping or an evening drive to check-out holiday lights and decorations.
- Gift exchange: if opening gifts together was a tradition, you always had in the past, consider planning a big gift exchange so that your loved can enjoy opening presents and watching others in the family open their presents too! If you have children, a great gift from the kids can be homemade cards to hang in their living space to remember that special moment.
- Plan a meal: depending on the size of their living area, you may be able to plan a dinner at your loved one’s place, whether you make it yourself or have the feast catered. If there’s not enough room, consider having the meal at your home and bring your senior along for a festive meal that’s packed with fun, laughter and plenty of time with the family.
- Video chats: if everyone in the family can’t make it to the holiday festivities, we live in a world where we have video chat at our finger tips! This can be a great tool to utilize if your loved one is long distance to keep them included with gift exchange or the family dinner.
- Take a lap down memory lane: even if your loved one’s memory isn’t what it used to be, looking at holiday photos from years gone by can bring back some wonderful memories! Pack up those photo albums or get techy and create a digital slideshow of favorite photos.
While you can’t recreate the holidays you have shared together from the past, you can create new traditions and memories. What is important is to spend quality-time with your loved ones as these memories will last a lifetime.