Holiday tips for planning with your loved ones:
The holidays are here again! Everyone is rushing around, and schedules are filling up. If you have a loved one in a nursing home, we have some ideas for how to make your holiday plans that include them in the festivities.
The most important thing to remember is to plan in advance. You may need to get clearance with a doctor, plan for medication, or make transportation arrangements. It’s a good idea to call ahead of time and find out what you need to do to take your loved one out for a holiday celebration.
You may want to evaluate your family traditions and see if they are still a good fit for everyone in the family. Elderly family members may find long gatherings with large crowds, tiring. So it could be time to adjust your celebration in some way that makes it more manageable for the elder members of the clan. You could shorten the visit, or take the celebration to your loved one in the form of leftovers, photos and gifts at their nursing home Merrillville IN.
Make sure you let your loved one know ahead of time what the plans are. It’s important that they know if they will be going somewhere, or if they won’t be going out, if someone is coming to pick them up, or someone will be coming to visit them in the nursing home. That way they can adjust their expectations accordingly. It can be upsetting to spring holiday plans on someone at the last minute.
The most important piece of advice we have is just to remember to include your loved one in some way in your holiday plans. They want to know that they are still remembered and still part of your life. During the holiday season it’s especially important to stay connected.