Key Takeaways
- Focus on what you can do this season instead of what you can’t.
- Avoid decorations that may be unsafe, such as small beads.
- Tailor any crafts and activities to your loved one’s abilities.
- Let family know what to expect and how they can help.
Maintain Familiar Routines
Individuals with dementia find stability and comfort in routines. While holiday excitement is wonderful, it often disrupts daily rhythms. To help your loved one enjoy the season, prioritize maintaining a regular schedule for things like medication, mealtimes, and sleep when planning activities.
“When the caregiver encourages and supports familiar routines, it gives the person living with memory loss more predictability. This helps build confidence and support their independence,” Altman explained.
If you’re celebrating in your loved one’s home, avoid major changes to their environment. For example, moving furniture could cause confusion or distress—especially if they use the space to relax or do other daily activities.
“If you need to move furniture around to make room for holiday decorations or additional seating, be cognizant of what you’re moving,” Altman advised. “Try to keep your loved one’s favorite chair, end table, or favorite items in the same place to provide predictability.”
If you’re hosting a family gathering, it may get noisy, so be sure to designate a quiet space where your loved one could take a break. If you’re visiting someone else’s home, ask the host in advance if there’s a calm space available should your loved one need it.
“The holiday sometimes brings chaos, making it difficult to keep track of the whereabouts of your loved one with dementia in the home. For instance, they may leave the room if they’re overstimulated,” Altman said.
“It’s crucial to be extra vigilant about keeping an eye on your loved one, especially if they like to go outside. To help prevent a dangerous situation, consider using safety features like GPS monitoring devices or door alarms. Or make sure family members and friends are taking turns spending quality time with them,” Altman emphasized.
It’s also important to be flexible—let your family know that you may need to leave early if your loved one becomes overwhelmed or if it becomes difficult to provide the care they need. Altman mentioned another positive aspect of keeping a familiar routine: it can help reduce caregiver burden, especially when tasks are broken down into simple steps.
Adapt Decorations and Home for Safety
Safety is especially important when planning for the holidays and Alzheimer’s care at the same time. A person with dementia may mistake holiday decor like pinecones, faux berries, candy cane ornaments, or beads for food or medicine, so avoid displaying these in their space. Altman also advised families to avoid keeping poisonous plants, such as holly or mistletoe, in the house.
While home safety is always important when caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, it’s especially crucial during busy seasons because it can easily be overlooked. If you’re visiting another home, communicate your loved one’s needs ahead of time.
“It’s crucial to remove clutter from any articles that tend to end up on the floor and maintain clear pathways to prevent any tripping hazards,” Altman said.
To keep your loved one’s environment safe and comfortable for them, make sure to:
- Clear floors of tripping hazards, like wrapping paper, toys, or mismanaged electrical cords
- Avoid putting up any bright lights that may cause overstimulation
- Use nightlights throughout the house to make sure it’s well-lit and easy to navigate
- Place non-slip mats near doorways, by the kitchen sink, and in bathrooms
Adjust Traditions and Activities
When planning holiday activities for seniors with dementia, focus on what your loved one enjoys and can still do—rather than what’s no longer possible. Adjusting expectations helps everyone feel less stressed. Altman said nearly any tradition or activity can be adapted by simplifying the tasks into easy-to-follow steps.
“If your loved one always lit the menorah candles, you could adapt this by guiding their hand or involving them in saying the blessing. Or you can use an electronic, LED menorah,” Altman suggested.
Multi-sensory activities are especially beneficial. Research shows that these activities can help reduce agitation and improve emotional well-being. Luckily, the holidays offer plenty of sensory experiences. You can add holiday music, scents, and textures to make almost any activity more meaningful for your loved one.
Try these sensory activities this season:
- Drive through a holiday light display while listening to nostalgic carols
- Watch a classic holiday movie while enjoying festive snacks
- Follow a simple family recipe while playing a slideshow of cherished holiday memories
“The holidays present a great opportunity to reminisce with individuals with dementia. Childhood memories are often retained—even in later stages of memory loss,” Altman noted. “Playing familiar holiday music or singing along can add a pleasant element.”
Christmas Crafts for Seniors with Dementia
Making Christmas crafts can be a great way for seniors with dementia to stay connected. Choose familiar, low-stress projects and adapt tasks as needed. For example, if wrapping a present is too difficult for your loved one, they can help choose the wrapping paper and tape the gift.
Fun Christmas crafts for seniors with dementia include:
- Baking or decorating cookies together
- Making ornaments or wreaths
- Arranging garlands and hanging ornaments
“If your loved one with dementia enjoys cooking or baking, you can still involve them in some aspects of food preparation,” Altman suggested. “They can help add in the premeasured ingredients, mix ingredients together, or add icing and toppings to a holiday treat.”
Prepare and Manage Expectations
The holidays may look different now and that’s okay. It’s natural to feel sadness or nostalgia but focusing on what’s still possible can help you find joy in the present.
Before holiday festivities begin, take some time to prepare yourself and your guests. If you’re the primary caregiver for your loved one, you may want to send an email or note so others know what to expect. Let them know about your loved one’s condition, what they’re capable of now, things they enjoy, and any triggers to avoid. You can also ask for help to help ensure an enjoyable celebration—whether it’s help with safety-proofing, giving you a short break, or assisting with other activities.
“One of the best gifts family members can give to their loved one living with dementia is to try not to have specific expectations for them and enter their world to join their journey,” Altman emphasized. “As hard as it may be, we must realize that we can no longer expect our loved one to do all the things they once did.”
Be Present and Supportive
Navigating dementia and Alzheimer’s during the holidays often bring feelings of loss, but they can also remind us to cherish the present. It’s important to focus on the joy you can still experience with your loved one. You may gain a new appreciation for their favorite carol, or they may surprise you with stories from a holiday season years ago.
“In order to be fully present, we need to center ourselves first,” Altman advised. “This means taking a few deep breaths to shut down our internal thoughts and being fully open and present for them.”
To help ensure you stay centered and present with your loved one experiencing memory loss:
- Make eye contact with them at their eye level, instead of standing over them
- Use physical touch, like holding their hand, to convey your love
- Be quiet and simply listen to what they have to say
Staying in the moment is also a crucial caregiver tip for the holidays. It’s easier to stay calm and patient with your loved one if you’re focusing on the here and now instead of the past or future.
Be sure to consider your own well-being during this time. Planning activities, coordinating with family members for events, and decorating can take up a lot of energy. Adding caregiving responsibilities to that list can be exhausting. Asking for help is not only okay, but it’s essential during these times. Let your family know if you need to take a break or delegate tasks.
Seek Additional Support
As you gather with family for the holidays, you may realize that you need more support with caregiving or that your loved one needs more help than you can provide. These realizations can be difficult and may bring feelings of grief as you process the changes your loved one is experiencing.
If you’re struggling with sleepless nights or overwhelming sadness, Altman suggests joining a caregiver support group. She also recommends speaking with your doctor if your physical health is also being affected.
As you navigate the holidays and dementia care together, you may notice increased forgetfulness, wandering, or social withdrawal in your loved one—which could indicate that it's time for memory care. At Sunrise, our memory care communities—called Reminiscence Neighborhoods—offer a safe, engaging environment with personalized dementia care. Many of our communities also offer caregiver support groups to help families cope.
To learn more about how memory care may benefit you and your loved one, reach out to a Sunrise Senior Living community near you.