The holidays are coming fast. The holidays can be a happy time spent with family, but they can also be a sad time for many seniors. Seniors who have recently lost a spouse or a loved one, seniors who are aging in place and are stuck inside because of bad weather, and seniors who are far away from their loved ones all can struggle with depression during the holidays.
Even if you have plans to visit your senior loved one during the holidays, you should consider the many benefits of elder care during this busy time. If your senior loved one has regular visits from an elder care provider, you can be sure that they are getting the warm companionship and help that they need to keep their spirits up during the holiday season. And if your plans change because of a delayed or cancelled flights or bad weather you won’t have to worry about senior loved one being alone for the holidays. Some of the other ways that elder care providers can make the holidays bright for your senior loved one include:
Holiday Baking
The holidays just aren’t the same without delicious treats that only get made once a year. An elder care provider can help your senior loved one shop for all of those special holiday treat ingredients and bake cookies, cakes, candy, and other traditional holiday treats. Seniors will love being able to bake all their favorite holiday specialties for holiday parties, cookie exchanges, and other events. They will also enjoy just eating them with a cup of cocoa or tea on a cold winter night.
Hanging Holiday Decorations
Your senior loved one may no longer be able to easily balance on a step ladder to hang holiday lights and decorations. They also may need assistance putting up a holiday tree and putting out of their holiday decorations. Many people treasure their holiday decorations and have curated special collections of decorations over many decades. When you can’t be there to help your senior loved one decorate an elder care provider can make sure that your senior parent’s home gets decorated the way it should.
Singing Carols
Holiday music can turn anyone’s mood from sad to happy. An elder care provider can create holiday music playlists and play holiday music and sing along with your senior parent. It’s great for seniors to spend time singing and dancing, especially seniors with dementia. And holiday classics are great music for seniors because they are familiar tunes and lyrics that your senior loved one will recognize instantly as soon as the music starts.
Sending Holiday Cards
If your senior loved one has arthritis or a medical condition that makes writing difficult an elder care provider can help them write out holiday cards and get them ready to send. A senior home care provider can also take all of those cards to the post office or arrange to have them picked up so that they get mailed in plenty of time to arrive before the holidays.
