Celebrating the Season With Your Senior Loved Ones

If you’re caring for a senior loved one, you may spend much of the year worrying about them. You want to make sure they are safe in their home and don’t fall. You try to ensure they aren’t fooled by scams over the phone or the internet. And you worry that they are eating enough, that they aren’t lonely, and that they are taking their medications on time.

While those concerns won’t go away, it is the time of year for you to cast some of those worries aside, even if it is just for a little bit, and simply enjoy celebrating the season with your senior loved one. Though things may be different as your senior ages and some of their abilities decline, they still can enjoy the holidays, and especially enjoy their time with you. Often as loved ones start caring for their senior citizens, their main focus turns to caregiver and making sure everything gets done. During that process, they lose sight of why they worry so much, and how much they care for their senior. Take this time of the year to celebrate the season with your senior, and to be truly grateful that you can spend the holidays together again this year. 

Do What They Love

Find out from your senior loved one what they love the most about the holiday season, and then make a plan together to do those things. Do they love baking tins full of cookies for their neighbors? If so, plan a baking day together. You may need to put the goodies in and out of the oven or roll out the dough for the sugar cookies, but they still can put their stamp on the cookies by cutting them out, adding the icing and sprinkles, and even telling you the best way to make the recipe. However, maybe your senior loved one is fine with forgoing the homemade baked goods this year and insists that they still have the tallest tree in the neighborhood. Help them put up the tree, talk about their favorite ornaments as you help them put them on the tree, and then gaze at its beauty together while eating cookies from the local bakery.

It helps if you plan ahead with your senior for the holidays, and actually talk to them about what their priorities are. You may be surprised. Maybe they actually don’t like making gingerbread houses because it’s too messy, and instead prefer watching “It’s A Wonderful Life” together while sipping on homemade hot chocolate. Maybe they are fine with skipping the Christmas cards this year and would love to call up a select few family and friends this year instead. Find out what is important to them.

Bring the Celebrations to Them

Many of our senior loved ones can’t get out as they used to during the holidays. Perhaps in years past, you always camped out early together to get the best spot at the Winter Park Hometown Christmas parade. However, this year, they don’t feel comfortable leaving the house. If you’re still heading to the parade, and they are tech-savvy, facetime them from the route so they can see the entries pass by. Or, record the parade or take photos, and stop by afterward with a peppermint mocha from San Julian’s Coffee. If your senior loved one is homebound and can’t make it to the family celebration, bring the fun to them. You can stop by afterward with leftovers and give them the scoop on what all of the family members are up to. Or, you can plan a steady parade of visitors to come to see your senior loved one this year in their home, possibly one or two at a time, so that they feel included and a part of the group. No matter how you do it, make sure they are included and a part of the festivities in some way.

Hire a Caregiver

If you want to give yourself a little break from the worry this season and simply enjoy your time with your senior loved one, you may want to consider hiring a caregiver for them during the holidays, and even into the New Year. Agencies, such as Visiting Angels Winter Park, can help take some of that worry away. They can help your senior get dressed and bathe in the morning, so if you are planning to take them out for the day to celebrate the season, they are ready to go when you get there. They can offer companion care services so that you don’t need to worry that your senior is alone all day, while you are off running errands and finishing your to-do list to ensure your Christmas together is joyful. They also can do things such as light housekeeping, help prepare meals and remind them to take their medications so you don’t feel you are nagging them at this time of the year, 

We Can Help This Holiday Season

If you are looking for a compassionate caregiver to help your senior enjoy the holidays, visiting Angels can help. Our professionally-trained caregivers can provide companion care, fall prevention, help with getting ready each day and more.

Our compassionate caregivers help people in the Orlando Downtown East, Winter Park and surrounding areas of Orange County. We can come into your home to assess your needs and discuss how we can help make this journey easier. For information contact us at (407) 236-9997.