Holiday and Christmas Activities for Elderly Adults

The holiday season can be the most wonderful time of the year.

Folks are a little nicer, the world seems a little cheerier, and above all else — we have an excuse to get together with our family and friends. Unfortunately, for some seniors, the holidays can be a pretty lonely time. Seniors who live alone — or who live in a care facility and don’t socialize as much as they should — are at risk of anxiety and depression, especially during the holidays.

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Whether you’re looking to make your annual Christmas party a little more senior-friendly, or if you’ve got a loved one living in a care facility who you want to make sure has a happy holiday, in this post, we’ll walk you through our best Christmas ideas for the elderly.

The Elderly and Christmas

Human beings are inherently social creatures — we crave the opportunity for connection with others, and even the crankiest senior in your life wants to know others and be known. A 2019 study by Harvard Medical School’s Journals of Gerontology found that “Older adults who interacted with people beyond their usual social circle of family and friends were more likely to have higher levels of physical activity, greater positive moods, and fewer negative feelings.”

Rather than wait for Christmas Day to invite your senior over, consider looking for opportunities to include them in your pre-holiday activities or help them make new traditions of their own. Especially ones where they’ll be encouraged to meet people and get out of their comfort zone — volunteer at your local church or homeless shelter, take them shopping for gifts with you or ask for their help decorating and party planning.

Christmas Activities for Elderly People

You may face some unique challenges if you’re looking for Christmas activities for elderly people with dementia, but regardless of your senior’s ability, it’s easy to make them feel more included in many of the most common Christmas traditions without much change.

Christmas Songs for the Elderly

Who doesn’t enjoy a nice Christmas Carol? According to a 2022 study by Northwestern Medicine, sharing in musical activities like singing, dancing, or playing instruments together builds an emotional connection between seniors and their caregivers.

Ask your seniors what their favorite Christmas songs are and make sure they make an appearance on your Christmas playlist. Bonus points if you take the time to learn the words and sing along!

Christmas Movies for the Elderly

Just like music, turning on a nostalgic Christmas movie can be a powerful tool for putting seniors in the holiday spirit. It can be especially comforting for seniors who are homebound, unable to leave their care facility, or who are dealing with cognitive impairment from dementia.

Figure out which Christmas movies they look forward to watching every year and plan for a movie night with the whole family.

Christmas Games for the Elderly

There are often Christmas activities for the elderly in nursing homes or senior daycares where they can socialize with people their own age who are also looking to get in the Christmas spirit. Christmas games for the elderly like Christmas Bingo or Name that Carol can be a great way to make new connections with their peers.

If you want to try an activity like this at home, you can’t go wrong with working together on a nice Christmas puzzle.

Christmas Crafts for the Elderly

If your senior is crafty, there is no shortage of projects you can do together to get your home(s) ready for the holidays. Christmas crafts for elderly family members are an especially good time if they’ve got grandkids who can join in on the fun.

Work on ornaments together, make snowflakes to hang around the house, decorate cookies, build a gingerbread house, and have them help you make Christmas cards. Whatever creative activity you can enjoy together is a great way to bond and create a memory that you’ll all cherish.

Take a Christmas Vacation

We’ll spare you the Chevy Chase joke here and simply say taking a family vacation together over the holidays can be a great way to get your senior out of their routine and ensure lots of quality family time in a new and exciting place.

To learn more about our home care services, contact our caregiving team today at 1-800-GRISWOLD or find a Caregiver near you.