The holidays can be a challenging time of year for families living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. With some planning, adjusted expectations, and the tips below, your celebrations can still be happy, memorable occasions:
Be good to yourself. Consider inviting just a few guests for a simple meal. Let others contribute, and consider breaking large gatherings up into smaller visits of two or three people at a time to keep the person with Alzheimer’s and yourself from getting overly tired.
Build on past traditions and memories. Focus on activities that are meaningful to the person with dementia. They may find comfort in singing old holiday songs or looking through old photo albums.
Involve the person in holiday preparation. As their abilities allow, invite them to help prepare food, wrap packages, decorate, or set the table. Be careful with decoration choices. Blinking lights may confuse or scare a person with dementia, and decorations that look like food could be mistaken as edible.
Maintain a normal routine. Sticking to the person’s normal routine will help keep the holidays from becoming disruptive or confusing. Plan time for breaks and rest.
Encourage safe and useful gifts. Diminishing capacity may make some gifts unusable or even dangerous to a person with dementia. Suggest gift ideas that the person needs or can easily enjoy: an ID bracelet, comfortable clothing, CDs of favorite music, videos, and photo albums.
Put respite care on your wish list. If friends or family ask what you want for a gift, suggest a gift certificate or something that will help you take care of yourself as you care for your loved one.
