Holidays With Seniors: How to Stay Connected | Blog

The holidays are the perfect time to spend with family and friends and stay connected with the people you love. For many, an older family member hosts Thanksgiving dinner at their home, and everyone gathers to enjoy classic recipes that are usually handed down through the generations.

However, when these older family members live in a senior living community, those Thanksgiving traditions may change, making it vital to keep them involved and connected with the entire family. Here, we’ll provide some ideas on how to navigate the holidays with seniors and stay connected, regardless of your situation.

How to Keep Seniors Involved With Family

When someone else hosts Thanksgiving after an older adult has moved into a senior living community, it’s easy for the older family member to feel like they are no longer as involved as they were before. However, there are many ways to show them they are still loved, valued, and welcomed at family celebrations.

Cooking and Baking Together

Cooking together is a great way to keep older adults feeling involved and engaged with the rest of the family. Whether that’s having them in the kitchen helping prepare the classics, helping with baking the desserts, or even setting the table with younger family members. Here are some ways to stay connected with seniors through cooking.

Have them help with cooking family recipes. If they have limited mobility, set up a cooking station where they can sit and assist with preparing food.
If they cannot cook but still want to contribute, have them help plan the menu, set the table, or act as a taste tester.
A great way to encourage connection during Thanksgiving is by having a younger family member work with an older adult to accomplish a simple task, such as mashing potatoes or baking cookies.

Decorating the Home

Decorating your home with other family members is a great way to spend the holidays with seniors! There are many ways they can be involved with decorations, even when they are not in their own home.

Many older adults hand down antique decorations when they move into a senior living community. You can include decorations they have given you and encourage them to share stories about how they got them, how they enjoyed using them, and more.
Have them make handmade decorations with younger family members. The younger ones can help with cutting tasks using steady hands, while the older members can offer creative ideas and fun stories of previous Thanksgiving crafts.
Ensure a safe holiday with seniors by avoiding the use of stepladders, keeping pathways clear, minimizing the need for stairs, and using lightweight and shatterproof materials.

Storytelling

One of the best ways to stay connected with seniors is by sharing stories and holiday memories. This is an excellent opportunity for older family members to reminisce with seniors about shared memories, and younger members can hear the stories and ask engaging questions.

Introduce storytelling by asking family members about their favorite Thanksgiving memory, or about what they are most thankful for.
Bringing out items to spark conversation is also a great way to stay connected with seniors during the Thanksgiving holiday. Photo albums, old decorations, and familiar music are great tangible things to encourage storytelling.
Place older family members in areas where they can easily see and hear everyone. Try to keep other noises, such as music or TV, to a minimum.

How Family Can Stay Involved With Seniors

Sometimes, family members have different plans on Thanksgiving. They may travel between different houses during Thanksgiving or take a vacation with their immediate family for the holiday. Thankfully, there are still plenty of opportunities to spend holidays with seniors in retirement communities.

Eating Together

Thanksgiving is all about sharing a meal. When family visits a resident in a senior living community, they are more than happy to support them in spending time together and helping them maintain the well-known Thanksgiving tradition.

When seniors spend time with family, they can join the community dinner and enjoy holiday-themed meals during and around Thanksgiving.
If residents would like to share a meal just with their family, all of our Mosaic communities have private dining rooms they can use to share a community meal.
Want to bring family classics? Whether you’re cooking food to bring or ordering in, family members can bring their own food when visiting with family living in a senior community.

Arts & Crafts

Many senior living communities host themed activities and craft nights around the holidays. They enjoy inviting family to take part in these activities to support engagement and connection during Thanksgiving.

When you’re looking at spending the holidays with seniors in a retirement community, check out the events calendar! You can see what events are available, which ones are resident-only, and which ones are kid-friendly if you want to bring young ones.
If you are joining a craft night, please let the community know. They may need to purchase additional supplies for family members who plan to join in.
You can also join a resident in their private apartment to enjoy arts and crafts in a more intimate setting. Families enjoy this because it allows them the privacy to enjoy connecting with their loved ones uninterrupted.

Thanksgiving Party

Many Mosaic communities host a community-wide Thanksgiving party. The community provides games, crafts, and other special activities that families can enjoy with their loved ones. Some of these communities even have them on Thanksgiving Day, allowing residents to enjoy the day even if their families can’t visit them. Then, if family members can join during the day, they are more than welcome to join in!

One way to stay connected with seniors on Thanksgiving Day is to stop by in the morning and watch the Thanksgiving Day parade! Our communities typically kick off the day by having a group watch part of the parade.
Family members can join in and listen to residents tell stories of their Thanksgiving traditions, memories, and things they are thankful for. All our residents enjoy‌ family member visits and appreciate when others listen to their stories.
Take part in fun games, enjoy activities with your older loved one, and savor delicious foods and snacks that our culinary team carefully prepares for our residents.

The Holidays Are Meant to be Spent Together

Our goal at Mosaic is to help support our residents, encouraging them to live their best lives every day. So when it comes to keeping seniors involved with family, we work hard to make sure loved ones can spend the holidays with seniors.

If you are interested in learning more about Mosaic Senior Living, ‌reach out to our team! We can answer questions, provide additional information, and more. If you’d like to find a community near you, you can explore all our communities to find the best one for you.

Thanksgiving Traditions: How Seniors Can Stay Engaged and Connected