Tips for Caregivers This Holiday Season

Posted: November 25, 2024

For many families, the holidays are about spending quality time with loved ones. But the holidays can be challenging for people with a disability or dementia and those helping to provide them care. With a few helpful holiday tips for caregivers, we hope this season can be less stressful and more enjoyable.

Caregivers may feel overwhelmed by trying to maintain holiday traditions while providing care. There may also be hesitation about inviting family and friends over to share the holiday for fear they will be uncomfortable with the changes they see in the person with the disease.

Holiday tips for caregivers

It’s important that you update family and friends about your loved one’s condition. This is especially important if changes in appearance or behaviors and increased memory loss have become more apparent. Be honest. The purpose is to maintain your loved one’s dignity, avoid embarrassment, and create a calm and comfortable environment.

Set your loved one up for success

Recognizing agitation, stress, and discomfort and responding early can help your loved one feel more at ease. Signs of distress include withdrawal and seeking isolation, repetition in actions and speech, pacing, and outbursts. If your person is self-isolating, allow them that time. Avoid continued coaxing, as this may increase agitation.

Here are some tips to avoid overwhelming your loved one this holiday season:

• Consider having family and friends visit in small groups rather than one big gathering. Or, consider scheduling it at a time that’s best for the person you are caring for, such as the time of day or evening when they feel their best and are most alert.
  
• Be sure to serve foods that your person likes, that they recognize, and that will be easy to eat.
• Incorporate level-appropriate activities that your person can participate in so they feel included.
• Choose soothing music.
• Limit holiday decorations. Avoid clutter and possible tripping hazards.
• Ensure proper lighting and room temperature.
• When memory loss is involved, ensure that people introduce themselves and state who they are in relation to that person. Better yet, wear name tags.

Communicate clearly and with empathy

• When recalling past events, start with, “I remember when we…,” rather than, “Do you remember…”
• Be aware of the tone of your voice. Dementia doesn’t mean deaf. Speak slowly and clearly and allow the person time to respond.
• Follow and engage in their conversation.
• If the person uses a wheelchair, meet them at eye level. Do not talk down to them.
• Make eye contact.
• When assisting with personal needs, whisper in their ear.
• Above all, be patient.

This resource for communicating with a loved one with dementia can be downloaded and shared with family and friends.

Your caregiver self-care checklist

For people caring for the estimated 6.9 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s Disease, the holidays can be filled with stress, disappointment, and sadness. Because of the changes caused by Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, families, as well as the person with the disease, may feel a deep sense of loss during the holidays.

Prioritizing your own self-care is an incredibly important part of being a caregiver, especially around the holidays. When your physical, mental, and emotional well-being are tended to, you are in a better position to be able to provide care and a special experience for your loved one. Taking time to de-stress and reenergize is beneficial for everyone.

Here are a few ways you can take care of yourself and avoid burnout this holiday season:

• Join a support group.
• Don’t take anything personally.
• Don’t get stuck in tradition. Make memories with new traditions.
• Breathe deeply and allow family and friends to provide you with moments of respite. Step away, mingle and enjoy.
• When others ask if or how they can help, don’t be shy. Tell them, and be specific.
• If guests ask what they can bring, suggest gifts that really will help, such as frozen prepared foods, an IOU for caregiving that offers you respite, an offer to run specific errands, etc.
• Take photos and videos to record special and humorous moments.
• Above all, love, laugh and enjoy. Cherish every moment.

Take this online assessment to learn more about care options and if it’s time to seek support

Ongoing Caregiver Support

Caregivers wear many hats and must be skillful in numerous areas. Being responsible for the health and safety of another adult is no easy feat. Caregivers may be called upon to do things that they have never been responsible for, such as paying bills, tracking medications, or providing personal care, including bathing, toileting, and oral hygiene.

Planning and executing activities for an adult is a full-time job. There is a delicate balance in structuring activities to meet the person where they are. You don’t want to set them up for failure by giving them something that is beyond their ability, but you also don’t want to take away their dignity with childlike games. When dementia is involved, caregivers must be able to move, think, and act quickly in their support of the person with dementia.

Caring for a person with dementia can be very stressful. Caregivers will need help at some point, but where can they turn for that support?

Cappella of Grand Junction hosts Memory Café, a wonderfully welcoming place for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia or brain disorders and their caregivers. In this safe and comfortable space, caregivers and their loved ones can socialize, enjoy good food, listen to music, play games and take a break from the normal routine. For more information on either of our community support programs, please contact us at 970.822.7070.

Surviving and thriving as a caregiver

In a 2023 discussion about surviving and thriving as a caregiver, Christian Living Communities President & CEO Jill Vitale-Aussem spoke with Mary Daniel, nationally known caregiver advocate, speaker, and founder of Caregivers for Compromise Facebook Group, and Cameron Crawford, owner of Next Steps Senior Placement and founder of the Aging Parent Tribe Facebook Group, about the importance of taking care of and being compassionate with oneself on the caregiving journey.

Originally written by Joni Karp, former Sales & Marketing Director at Cappella of Grand Junction