When the weather gets colder and the year begins to draw to a close, we start to anticipate the flurry of holidays and time spent with the ones we hold dear. While transitioning to senior assisted living might change some of your holiday traditions, it can also provide a great time to rethink them and get creative about how you celebrate these special days. You may even find it helps you find a healthy break from the frantic to-do lists and mad rush that sometimes can overtake the holiday season.
At Regency Senior Living of Birmingham, we love finding ways to make the holidays extra special for our amazing residents and their families, and we enjoy celebrating these days together year after year. Over time, we’ve also figured out a thing or two about festivities that make sense in the senior assisted living setting, and we have some tips for celebrating the holidays in style within your Birmingham community.
1– Get Festive & Decorate!
You don’t have to have a 9-foot decked out Christmas tree in your space to decorate for the season. Add a little holiday flair, but do it simply, in your room or hall! Think of adding a wreath to your door or a nutcracker to the countertop. Little hints of the Christmas spirit throughout your room can help to serve up some big-time cheer! Low effort, big reward.
2– Prioritize Traditions Your Family Can Continue
Even though the way you approach the holidays may need to be adapted with time and as needs change, you can still find ways to honor family traditions, just maybe in a new way. Perhaps your family does an annual ornament swap? Or do you all send each other holiday cards? These are traditions you can carry on no matter where you are.
3– Participate in Community Events
Regency loves to celebrate the holidays with our residents in a myriad of ways. From parties to maybe a little holiday BINGO or Christmas-themed craft days, keep your eye on the special activities calendar for ways to stay plugged in and celebrate the season with all your fun neighbors!
4– Reimagine the Way You Give Gifts
Maybe it’s time to reel back the spending for the holidays and simplify your list of friends and family members you buy gifts for each year at Christmas. If gift shopping and giving is a lot to manage, think about instead drawing names with family, and take the stress out of the holiday. Sometimes rethinking the way you approach gift giving can result in more time to spend together– the real reason for the season.
5– Enjoy of Friends and Family
The Christmas season is all about joy and the enjoying ones we love the most. Whether that means visits from family members, or hanging out with your best friends from your hall– try to remember that these human connections are really what the holidays are all about. Savor the moments you have together, and find gratitude for how rich our lives are because of the people who are in it.
No matter how you and your loved ones approach the holiday season, the team at Regency is happy to have you here with us. We look forward to celebrating the holidays with you!