Keeping Elders Safe and Engaged During the Holiday Season

The holiday season brings with it an opportunity to spend time and enjoy with family and friends accompanied by our favourite holiday meals. But for those who provide care to an elderly, holidays might significantly affect their typical routine.

Ensuring Holiday Activities Keep Elders Safe and Engaged

Here are 10 ways to balance doing holiday-related activities while taking care of the elderly in your family:

1. Celebrate holidays that are important to you. Involve your loved one in the preparations. Participating with you may give them the pleasure of helping and enjoying together.

2. Ensure a regular routine for your loved one as much as possible. Make sure they stick to their daily habits of eating, resting and medication schedules.

3. With so much going on during the holiday season, you can think of shopping for gifts online if it gets challenging to find time to go out for shopping.

4. The winter holiday season often leads us towards a more sedentary lifestyle. Make exercise and physical activity a new holiday ritual. Ensure that your loved one is benefited by making fun physical activities a regular part of their holiday season.

5. While you’re busy with the preparations, provide a “safe space” for the elderly by inviting one or more close friends with whom they feel safe and comfortable to talk to.

6. Keep in mind that holiday meals should not stretch out for days on end. Make sure your loved one has something nutritious and healthy within reach between those holiday meals.

7. Be aware of any safety risks to the elderly. Take note of things like door mats, barriers in hallways or any loose items that may pose a fall risk for older adults.

8. Recognize any symptoms of seasonal depression. The holiday season can intensify depression and its symptoms in elders. Consult a doctor if their symptoms do not improve.

9. Accept help whenever offered. Often family members, close friends or relatives will offer to help in some way while preparing for the celebrations. This support can ensure smooth preparations and prevent you from burning out.

10. Behind all these, take care of yourself. Be aware of emotional ups and downs, tiredness and fatigue. Get plenty of rest. It is only when you take care of yourself, you take better care of others.

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