3 Ways to include seniors in your holiday celebrations this year

If you have parents or loved ones who are older, it may be challenging and even stressful to include them in holiday celebrations. Perhaps they live in a care facility, can’t drive or struggle to climb your front steps.

Don’t let that stop you from including seniors during the holidays, however. You might just need to be a little more creative to make holiday celebrations with elderly loved ones successful. With a little planning, you can create holiday memories with your parents and older relatives that you’ll never forget.

Continue Traditions and Create New Ones

You may have cherished memories of family traditions from when you were younger. If possible, maintain those traditions even now. Favorite foods, expressing gratitude or any other customs are a way that can make the celebration for seniors familiar and comfortable.

Some traditions may not be possible anymore, but that creates space for new traditions. Based on your older family members’ needs and desires, consider creating a new holiday dinner tradition at a local restaurant or perhaps schedule an evening to do something else special together.

If your loved one resides in an assisted living center, like Banyan, there will be ways you can join them there for community holiday celebrations, in addition to your own family event.

Banyan Place Boca Administrator Pavi Ruether recommends families join residents to help them decorate their personal space if possible. “We invite families to assist our residents in decorating personal trees and wreaths for their space. We also encourage families to participate in the holiday celebration we have for our residents. This is a great way to create new memories for residents and families who may be experiencing a holiday in an assisted living for the first time,” she says.

When you maintain your traditions and create new ones as needed, including seniors during holidays is meaningful for the whole extended family.

Offer Help with Holiday Tasks

Your loved ones may be less mobile than they once were, but they still cherish their independence and the ability to spend time with family.

Take this into consideration and offer to help with certain holiday activities that aren’t as easy as they used to be. For example, you can take senior family members shopping at the mall, spending the day with them as they enjoy getting gifts for others.

Another idea is to work together on a family meal or perhaps spend an afternoon together wrapping presents while your older parent or relative looks on. You’ll be keeping each other company, sharing stories and building new memories.

Ask For Stories

Older relatives hold the key to many entertaining family stories. Often they love reliving them by telling stories to their children and grandchildren. Why not take time over the holiday to simply listen as they talk to you about how they grew up, what it was like when they had young children, and more?

You may find out about relatives you haven’t met or learn more about your loved one’s sense of humor. You might even find yourself longing for certain aspects of the past while being grateful for other things that have changed for the better. The holidays are a great time to grab your phone and record your loved one telling these stories too.

When you listen to seniors, you honor them. Asking for stories is a great way of including seniors during the holidays.

Enjoy Your Older Relatives

Holidays can be stressful for all sorts of reasons. Adding another layer of complexity can make it harder. But, planning ahead so that the seniors in your in your life don’t feel pushed aside and ignored is important for all of your family’s members.

Your parents or senior relatives have a lot of memories and emotions associated with the holidays, just like you do. Taking the time to include them during your celebration can help you connect with your loved ones, build new memories, and create new traditions.

Enjoy the holidays with everyone in your family!