Assisting Hands Home Care | Chicago, IL and WI

Our Office Serves:

Call Us at (888) 559-3889 or Submit Contact Form Below

10 Activities to Celebrate Christmas with Your Senior Parents

10 Activities to Celebrate Christmas with Your Senior Parents

10 Activities to Celebrate Christmas with Your Senior Parents

As the holidays approach, families become busy planning for the festivities. This is one of the few times a year when every generation of the family gets together, including senior relatives. When planning for the holiday festivities for your family, it is important to include activities that involve everyone.

Your elderly loved ones may not have the energy or physical ability to keep up with some of your holiday activities. This can make them bored and leave them feeling left out. Make sure you plan several activities this holiday season that engage your elderly loved ones so they can spend meaningful time with you and your family.

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 Mom and Dad 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 senior parents an opportunity to be a special part of the holiday feasts by cooking and baking together.

Allow Mom or Dad 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 will 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 Mom and Dad 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 night 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.

Senior Companion Care for the Holidays

Senior Companion Care Naperville Illinois

Despite the merriment of the holiday season, some seniors feel alone. Loneliness and social isolation can plague individuals who live alone or who have no close friends or family nearby. Companion caregivers from Assisting Hands Home Care prevent senior isolation during the holidays.

As a leader in quality senior care, Assisting Hands Home Care provides vital support to families. Our caregivers are experienced and trained to provide comprehensive nonmedical care to seniors of all ability levels. We also provide companion care to ward off depression and loneliness.

Typical caregiver responsibilities include helping with the activities of daily living. Professional caregivers discreetly assist seniors with personal hygiene tasks, such as bathing and toileting, as well as prepare balanced meals, give medication reminders, provide transportation, and perform light housekeeping.

As companion caregivers, we engage elder care recipients. We play board games, initiate craft projects, and chat with seniors about their hobbies or life experiences. Companion caregivers from our home care agency take the time to build strong bonds with the seniors whom we are privileged to serve.

The holidays can be a particularly stressful and lonely time for seniors, especially those who live alone. Prevent unnecessary emotional stress by choosing Assisting Hands Home Care for the best in companion care. We see to it that seniors enjoy optimum well-being throughout the year.

Consider Assisting Hands Home Care if your aging loved one lives in Glen Ellyn, IL | Warrenville, IL | Naperville, IL | Westmont, IL | Woodridge, IL | Lisle, IL | Wheaton, IL  or the surrounding communities. We’ll 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.