Festive Activities to Enjoy With Your Loved Ones in the Run up to Christmas

Introduction

The Christmas season upon us and it is a special time of year for many of us, but for those who are older and live alone it can sometimes be a difficult time. With that in mind, the run up to Christmas is both important and the perfect opportunity to involve your loved ones in the festive activities and help them to feel included.

Everyone would agree that spending quality time with your loved ones during the holidays is always important, and this is particularly so if they are living with dementia.

In this article we cover a handful of great ways you can make festive activities more enjoyable for you and your loved one.

Arts and Crafts

You can work on a festive project together - Christmas tree ornament blanks are available to buy, paint and personalise them as gifts or to put on your own trees. 

You can also make Christmas bunting, your own Christmas cards, crackers or handmade gifts like candles or knitwear. Stick on some festive music while you go!

For many, getting stuck in to a good art and crafts project can be a calming and therapeutic activity. By keeping the mind active, crafts can help to slow down cognitive decline, also giving a sense of accomplishment when the project is complete.

Baking

Coming together with your loved one to make some festive treats is great way to spend time together.

It doesn’t need to be stressful baking; you can use cake mixes or buy shortbread and plain cupcakes to decorate with seasonal toppings!

Why not bake the Christmas cake together and you can take it home to top up with brandy each week then enjoy the cake together as a family closer to Christmas or for your Christmas day pudding.

Start A New Tradition

Its never too late to start a new Christmas tradition. This can be anything you like, and you can also involve your loved one even if you are not spending the night together. One way to do this is to 'facetime'  together in your PJs whilst all enjoying a hot chocolate! A Christmas quiz is also a fun tradition, and again you can do this all together or by Zoom if you are unable to get together. A quiz can be done anytime in December and is fun for all ages.

Festive lights

Pack up a thermos or flask of hot chocolate or mulled wine and head out to look at all the Christmas decorations in your area.

It is a good way to spend quality time, exercise and taking in the fresh air whilst chatting with your loved one. You can do this locally in your loved one’s neighbourhood or venture into town to see their tree and shop window displays.

Watch Christmas Films

You could decide to do this once a week in the run up to Christmas. A Christmas film is a sure-fire way to get everyone in the Christmas spirit, and they can be enjoyed by everyone of all ages including the grandchildren. You can enjoy a classic like It’s a Wonderful Life, or even mix up the classics with some Netflix Christmas movies if you have a subscription like The Christmas Chronicles.

You could even venture out to your local theatre to enjoy a pantomime, which are also fun for all the family and sure to bring everyone together.

Board Games

If Christmas isn’t the best time to get monopoly out, then when is?! Get all the family together for a family game night.

You can find Christmas themed games if you want to go all festive like The Best of Christmas Game and Articulate Christmas or save some money and make games like charades and Pictionary festive by doing Christmas movies and festive items. It doesn’t even need to be a festive game, it can be Cluedo, card games or a jigsaw that you can keep coming back to.

Decorating For The Holidays

Some people living alone may not feel the need to decorate their home. But having decorations and a Christmas tree can brighten people’s mood each day in December.

Offer to visit their house and help them set up the Christmas tree and garlands, the items that they may struggle with putting up, things at heights or heavy items. Make an event out of it and enjoy some festive treats whilst you decorate and get some festive tunes playing!

There are a number of festive activities you can enjoy with your loved one, even if they have Alzheimer’s or dementia, and with a little planning you can make any activity festive and enjoyable for all involved. Spread the festive cheer, reach out to older neighbours who live alone and are without families nearby.

From the whole team at CareYourWay, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!