Dementia Support for Loved Ones During Christmas
The festive season is all about spending time with family and friends. However, those who have parents or loved ones to look after needing dementia support may feel worried about upcoming celebrations:
- Will your loved one enjoy themselves?
- Will they be comfortable?
- How do I prepare family and friends to be more understanding of their needs?
- Will I enjoy myself?
If you’re a carer of a loved one with dementia, you are not alone in these worries. Likewise, at Flexi Support we’ve seen the importance of addressing these concerns.
Specifically for a person with dementia, the break from their usual routine, the noise of a party gathering, and meeting new faces they may not remember can trigger feelings like fear, anxiety, or aggression. Therefore, planning ahead to help your loved one feel at ease can go a long way in making an enjoyable and inclusive day for everyone.
Make Christmas More Dementia-Friendly
Drawing from our experience as professional carers, here are some ways to help your loved one feel more supported and involved during the festivities:
1. Go with the conversation flow
Approach conversations with flexibility to go with the flow of the person with dementia. Sometimes they will get names of people mixed up or repeat themselves, but go with the flow. There’s no need to correct them.
2. Consider the best time for shared celebratory meals
Routine and familiarity is important for dementia support. Therefore, changes to routines like their everyday mealtimes can cause a lot of confusion. Bearing this in mind, have some flexibility around meal preparation and the time everyone gathers to eat.
3. Create a sense of familiarity
Entering an unfamiliar environment can cause stress and frustration for a person with dementia. Accordingly, having familiar items on hand can help them feel safer and more comfortable. For example, these items could be photos, snacks they like, or a cushion they’re used to sitting on.
4. Gift giving and receiving
Encourage your loved one with dementia to be involved in gift preparation and giving. It can also help to suggest gift ideas to family and friends.
5. Share the care and activities
Where appropriate, reach out and ask family members to share the responsibility of supporting a loved one with dementia. In addition, include children with activities like looking through photo albums, reading a book out loud, or watching a movie together.
6. Allow for quiet time
Prepare a quiet room or schedule a short walk outdoors to give your loved one a break from the noise. If you know you’ll have your hands full on Christmas Day, organise this with someone ahead of time.
7. Allow for unhurried time
Christmas can be a busy time, but it can be worth giving some old traditions a miss in favour of more time to be unrushed and to enjoy the occasion. A person with dementia may not remember the details of their outing, but what is more important is that the moment is enjoyed.
Dementia Support: Plan Ahead for Christmas
In our experience at Flexi Support, we know that unexpected changes are not helpful for carers providing dementia support. Taking time to plan ahead can alleviate the worries and stress of the busy festive season.
Here’s our checklist:
- Are your health and care provider/s closed over Dec/Jan?
Providers like Flexi Support have both support workers and rostering team available 365 days of the year. This means our clients can call the Flexi Support office during the holidays to request support worker shifts.
However, other providers may have limited office hours or closures over Christmas and public holidays. As routine and familiarity is important for dementia support, check ahead of time to avoid any service disruptions.
- Do you need additional support for the extra social activities?
You don’t have to do it alone. Additional support can be provided to help you and your loved ones attend the celebrations. This could be extra support hours to help your loved one bathe and dress for the occasion, or safely transport them to and from the venue, or support to be comfortable during the social gathering.
- Do you need additional support for the extra social activities?
You don’t have to do it alone. Additional support can be provided to help you and your loved ones attend the celebrations. This could be extra support hours to help your loved one bathe and dress for the occasion, or safely transport them to and from the venue, or support to be comfortable during the social gathering.