For those who have a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia, the thought of holiday get-togethers with family and friends may leave you feeling exhausted, anxious, or just plain overwhelmed. And while it can be a challenging time of year, with some planning and adjusted expectations, your celebrations can still be happy, memorable occasions.
Here are our top tips for surviving the holiday season with a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia:
LET GUESTS KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT BEFORE THEY ARRIVE
Sending a letter or #email in advance, letting people know about what to expect and how they can help will ease some of the burdens when guests arrive. In the early stages of Alzheimer's, the family can help with #communication by being patient, not interrupting or correcting, and giving the person time to finish his or her thoughts. In the middle or late stages make sure visitors understand that changes in behavior are caused by the #disease and not the person.
PARE DOWN YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
The #stress of caregiving layered with holiday traditions can take a toll. Give yourself permission to do only what you can reasonably manage. If you've always invited 15 to 20 people to your home, consider paring it down to a few guests for a simple #meal. Let others contribute. Have a potluck dinner or ask them to host at their home. You also may want to consider breaking large gatherings up into smaller visits of two or three people at a time to keep the person with Alzheimer's and yourself from getting overtired.
AVOID TRIGGERS
If evening confusion and #agitation are a problem, consider changing a holiday dinner into a holiday lunch. If you do keep the celebration at night, keep the room well-lit. Make sure that you're careful with decoration choices- blinking lights may confuse or scare a person with dementia, and decorations that look like food could be mistaken as edible.
KEEP THE PERSON INVOLVED
Focus on #activities that are meaningful to the person with dementia. They may find comfort in singing old holiday songs or looking through old photo albums. As the person's abilities allow, invite them to help you prepare food, wrap packages, help decorate or set the table. This could be as simple as having the person measure an #ingredient or hand decorations to you as you put them up.
LOOK FOR HELPFUL GIFTS
Diminishing capacity may make some gifts unusable or even dangerous to a person with dementia. If someone asks for gift ideas, suggest items the person with dementia needs or can easily enjoy. Ideas include - an identification bracelet comfortable #clothing, their favorite music, videos, and photo albums.