October 6, 2021

5 WAYS TO CREATE MEANINGFUL HOLIDAY MEMORIES WITH YOUR LOVED ONE

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One of the best things about the holiday season is the chance to spend quality time with our loved ones and the resulting memories we create together. Making the holiday meaningful for you and your loved one is important, so here are five ways you can create unforgettable moments with your family.       

Volunteer.

Make this holiday season meaningful for you and your loved one by giving to your community. You could do this by going somewhere your loved one would enjoy helping at, such as a hospital, a food bank, or a church. The idea is to get them out and doing something they will feel is productive and helpful to others. According to the Mayo Clinic Health System, volunteering is beneficial to an individual’s health. It helps you stay physically and mentally active and can even help with depression. This makes volunteering a great way to enjoy your holidays and give them meaning by helping both others and your loved one.

Enjoy some fireside activities.

Have a fire this season and enjoy company alongside your loved one with music and games. While by the fire, you could listen to or play some music to help with your loved one’s mental health. WebMD discusses how music therapy helps seniors feel less isolated. Play a game or two, such as Name that Tune or Scrabble. Another meaningful way to pass the evening by the fire is to go around sharing stories that your relatives may not have heard. Your loved ones are likely to have several interesting stories they would appreciate sharing with a willing audience. Everyone could also talk about the things they are grateful for that year.

Organize a family picture.

The holidays are the best time to do family pictures. You already know everyone will be in the same place for the holiday, so it makes for a good time to pose for a picture. If you cannot schedule a photographer, there are timers that you could set on your devices or personal camera to capture pictures without leaving someone out. Do a couple of different poses, including a silly one. Divide the family branches or do one with just the grandkids. Pictures are a great way to reflect on your holidays with family.

Decorate together.

You and your loved one could spend this holiday season decorating in preparation for guests or just to get into the spirit of the season. You could make a wreath or a center piece for the dining table and put out some nice autumn colors around Thanksgiving. Later, you could hang ornaments on the Christmas tree and set out a nativity set. Put out colorful tablecloths and place mats to give your space some color. This is a chance for your loved one to be creative and have fun doing something out of the norm.

Work together to prepare the holiday meals.

Food is a vital part of the holiday season, which is why the heart of the holidays is typically the kitchen. With so much to accomplish, you and your loved one could work together to get everything set up for the meal, and it would be a great way for your loved one to remember past holidays and enjoy themselves at the same time. The smells from the food combined with the activity will give you and your loved one a memory to reflect on, and your loved one will enjoy helping and spending time with you. Another idea to create a meaningful memory is for the entire family to sit at the table with your loved one. This will provide them with a way to feel included and create a memory for everyone.

At Provision Living, we cherish every memory.

We know how important the holidays are to our seniors and their families, which is why we want our seniors to have a chance to create new, meaningful memories every year. Contact our care consultants today to see how we help seniors create meaningful memories over the holidays.

Image credit: istockphoto.com