The Top 7 Christmas Activities for Elderly People
Christmas time is not called the most wonderful time of the year for nothing. It’s a time for getting the family together, eating all you can, and being merry. For some older people, the holiday season can feel like an isolating time; family members may live far away, and support networks may be hard to access, especially with complicated Covid restrictions. For this reason, it is important to spend some time doing activities with elderly people.
To combat this isolation, it can be a good idea to engage in some festive activities to meet existing or new friends and spread some holiday cheer. Some care homes offer activities and clubs for their residents and welcome people who are not residents. Alternatively, some community centres also offer activities for elderly people, such as board games and puzzles and arts and crafts activities for the elderly.
Below is a list of some activities to begin this Christmas with your elderly loved ones and friends.
Cooking
Cooking (and eating) is one of the best parts of the holiday season. It could be a nice idea to visit your elderly loved one and do some cooking for the festive period. You could make little cakes or biscuits to gift to neighbours or other relatives and friends. Alternatively, you could batch cook some meals to donate to a charity or homeless organisation and feed some of the less fortunate this festive season.
Christmas décor
A fun activity to do at any age is decorating Christmas décor, such as wreaths, stockings, fruit garlands and other festive décor to dress your home and tree. Christmas decorating is a great way to get creative this Christmas period. Getting young children to join in too means fun for all the family, and some memories you can treasure forever.
Gift wrapping
If you’re visiting an elderly loved one or friend, perhaps you should both sit down and wrap all your presents together. Play some Christmas music, maybe have a drink together and get down to wrapping gifts together.
Board Games & Puzzles
A Christmas classic is sitting down after a big meal and playing some board games together. Why not move this forward and have a family games night with your older relative? Prepare some drinks and dinner and have a night of game and puzzle fun with the whole family.
Carol singing
A classic holiday activity: carol singing. You could join a community group and go around people’s homes carolling, take part in local products or go to care homes and entertain the residents with your elderly loved one. Outdoor activities for elderly people can be a little harder in the cold. If getting out and about is a bit of a harder task, perhaps just getting some friends together and singing some festive tunes in the comfort of your home.
Christmas movies
There’s no more of a classic Christmas tradition than watching all the Christmas feel good movies on the sofa. Elf, Love Actually, The Grinch; have a little Christmas film festival complete with hot chocolate and biscuits.
Early Christmas
Seeing everyone you love on Christmas can be difficult. It’s a busy day after all. Perhaps you could arrange some early Christmas celebrations and exchange gifts early. Get all the extended friends/family together to celebrate and swap gifts and cards before the big day. It makes the run-up to Christmas that little bit more exciting.
Whatever you get up to this festive period, make sure you stay wrapped up warm and safe. Take all necessary Covid precautions and keep your loved ones and yourself safe. Wishing you all a happy holidays.