Navigating the Holidays during COVID-19

The holiday season is upon us and with recommendations to avoid gathering with others outside of your immediate household, celebrations won’t be traditional. But, that doesn’t mean you and your families can’t experience the joy, laughter and memories typically evoked by the season.

The Alzheimer’s Association has a nice guide to navigating the holidays during COVID-19. We at Home Instead thought we’d call out a few key suggestions:

• Adjust expectations and begin conversations in advance.
• Celebrate safely by scheduling a “holiday parade.” Ask friends and family to drive by your loved one’s home with festive decorations and signs.
• Familiarize others with your loved one’s current behavior and memory changes. Sometimes this update can be easier done in a letter or email.

In addition to the suggestions provided, we encourage you to keep it simple and use a person-centered care approach by focusing on what your loved one with dementia enjoys and ensuring your holiday plans are flexible.

Here are a few other “caregiving during the holidays” resources you might find helpful:

• Home Instead’s free American Society on Aging webinar 12/2: “Alzheimer’s Caregiving During the Holidays” – Register Now.
• Caregiver Chat with gerontologist Molly Carpenter: “Diminishing Stress During the Holidays”.
• Caregiver Chat with memory care expert David Troxel: “Caregiving During the Holidays”.

We hope these tips are helpful to you and wish you and your loved ones a healthy, safe and happy holiday season.

P.S. If you’re looking for a way to cheer up lonely and underserved older adults in your community this season, we encourage you to check out Home Instead’s Be a Santa to a Senior program.

Alzheimer's & dementia care services in Burnaby & Vancouver

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CALL (604) 432-1139