What are great ways to celebrate thanksgiving with seniors?
- Participate in the festivities and interact with them.
- Do old family traditions.
- Listen to music from their time and sing.
- Don’t overstimulate them and allow them rest if they need it.
- Take them on a relaxing walk or drive.
According to providers of caregiver services in Illinois, thanksgiving is one of the most important events that you can spend with the older members of your family. If there’s one thing you have to be thankful for, it’s your life and you wouldn’t be around without the hard work of your beloved seniors. So give the caregiver services in Illinois the day off on thanksgiving and give your seniors that personal bonding time you need on this day.
Listen to Good Music
You know how much escape you can get out of just listening to your favorite songs while working? Just like everyone else, seniors also get that same escape when they hear the hits of their times. So try and find out what their favorite tunes are and play them during thanksgiving dinner. It’ll immediately put them in a more relaxed and festive mood. If you’re not sure what they like, then find out what decade it was during their teens and young adult years and download the hits of that time.
Practice Old Traditions
Aside from playing some of their old music, nothing will make your seniors happier than a TASTE of their younger years. So take thanksgiving dinner as an opportunity to cook some family recipes that everyone loves. Upholding tradition is a great way to let seniors feel like they are leaving a legacy.
You can take this even further by doing yearly games, movie viewings, story-telling, etc. The story telling is a great way for everyone to catch up and to let the seniors impart some knowledge and wisdom on you, younger folk.
Sing Along
Nothing livens up thanksgiving dinner like singing a few songs. Even if your seniors aren’t physically capable of singing, just seeing and hearing his/her relatives have a good time and getting along will be enough to lift any old heart up. If they’re able (only if they’re willing!) to play an instrument, that’s also actually quite useful for alleviating dementia symptoms. But if they can stand up and belt out some Earth, Wind, and Fire, then you’ve got a party!
Go On a Walk or Drive
Keeping in mind that elders love to relax, you should do something not so strenuous with them. Depending on how mobile they can be, you can go on a walk ‘ with a walker or wheelchair if needed ‘ or a drive. Sometimes, after being stuck in a room for days on end, the best way to celebrate thanksgiving with your seniors is to take them to places they can never go on their own, or at least without the help of caregiver services from Illinois.
Participate
The most important thing that you can do for you elders on thanksgiving is to be a part of their celebrations. Caregiver services in Illinois say that the most important connection their patients look for is the connection with family. Celebrating thanksgiving with them is already a big deal. But, more importantly, you have to interact with them when you attend the dinner. Ask the how they are, listen to them, help them with their tasks, etc. This simple act of love will lift their hearts and make their day.
Know When to End the Party
Of course, when you’re partying with elders, it’s best to end early so that they can rest. At the very least, they should have the option to go home or to go back to their room whenever they want to. They will get exhausted easily.
Don’t Do Too Much
With the previous point in mind, you also shouldn’t do too much during the party and overstimulate the elders. This is especially when they have dementia. According to caregiver services in Illinois, you should always keep a dementia patient’s mood in mind and stop the party when they start to seem agitated. All the commotion could make them even more confused than they already are. They could feel threatened and want to retreat. If this happens, then allow them to. But it would be great if the party is kept low-key in the first place.
Key Takeaway
Follow these tips and your elders will feel the love they need to feel on thanksgiving. It’s such a joyous time of the year that can inspire all to live and fight through all their stresses because there are so much good things in life. One of those is family. When elders feel the love of their family, they become strong; even in fighting dementia.
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