Tips for Planning Holiday Season with Elderly Parents

It’s starting to look like the most wonderful time of the year, the holiday season! Where people get together to celebrate with family, friends, food and fun. Here are some tips for planning the holiday season with elderly parents.

Halloween Tips

Ask your loved one if they want to celebrate Halloween with you this year. If so, ask them if they would want to help pass out candy to trick or treaters. It would be nice and refreshing for them to see some smiling faces. Or if it’s a short distance, ask if they would like to accompany their grandchildren to go trick or treating. That way they can get some exercise and spend time with their grandkids. If they’re into costumes, you can get them a silly hat or headpiece to wear during the holiday.

Thanksgiving Tips

Invite your loved one over for Thanksgiving whether you’re having lunch or dinner. Ask them what their favorite dish is and make sure you have it prepared for them. You can even ask them if they would like to help prepare a certain dish. Make sure you can make them comfortable by getting a nice spot on the couch ready for them, or if you have a recliner ready to go.

Christmas, Kwanza, and Hanukkah Tips

Whichever holiday you celebrate in December you can invite your loved one over for the holiday. Ask them if they would like to help decorate a Christmas tree by putting on ornaments, light the Menorah or the Kinara. Have a meal with them. It would also be a really nice gesture to have a gift or a few gifts for them to open during the holidays.

Tips for Caregivers

As a person taking care of someone, you should communicate with them and their families about the holidays that are approaching. Discuss what the plans and/or festivities are so you can help them get ready. Be encouraging and get them excited about the holidays. Even if they don’t have any family members, try reaching out to their closest friends. If they want to spend the holidays alone, try to make it as comfortable and enjoyable for them as possible. There are so many holiday movies and shows to watch, holiday songs to listen and sing to, holiday meals to try and indulge in, and holiday crafts to create. Take a stroll around the community, the weather gets cooler during the holidays since it falls during the fall and winter seasons. During the fall, you can see leaves change colors and during the winter if it snows in the area you live in, you’ll be able to see and catch snowflakes. Be sure to bundle up so you all are cozy.

With the holidays, it’s important to not stress about anything and focus on the true meaning of the holiday season. Enjoy this quality time spent with your loved ones and make wonderful memories you all will be able to cherish for a lifetime. Caring Home Care provides caregivers where home health aides and certified nursing assistants are trained to help, spend time and accompany your elderly parents to any and all holidays.

Learn how you can match your loved one with a caregiver today.