Thanksgiving is all about good food and sharing quality time with family and friends. This is the time when the elderly adults in in-home care start missing their family and all the celebrations. Family caregivers should prepare for the day to keep the elders happy and engaged.
In-home senior care facilities should plan activities for Thanksgiving to spread cheer and joy.
Home decoration – Start with involving seniors to decorate the in-home care center. The staff can ask elders to assist them in decorating with basic things like candle holders, wreaths, acorn garlands, light displays.
Handmade cards - Another fun way to engage seniors is by involving them in making Thanksgiving handmade cards. Festive posters, banners, leaf garlands, and lanterns are a few other easy decorative items that are easy to make.
Painting turkeys – With the assistance of caregivers, seniors can make turkeys out of paper plates and paint them. It will add some holiday spirit and give them a sense of belonging.
Set up a thankful bulletin board – Get a few pre-cut paper leaves and ask the elders to write what they are grateful for and add the messages on the bulletin board.
Play scavenger hunt – Scavenger hunt is a socially active game, thoroughly enjoyed by elders. The game is ideal for memory too.
Decorating pumpkins – To add to the festive spirit, seniors with the assistance of Newport Beach caregivers, can decorate pumpkins with acrylic paint, markers, ribbons, and other accessories.
Prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal – To celebrate old memories, preparing a meal for Thanksgiving can bring joy to many seniors. In-home senior care staff can get elders to stir the cake mix, roll out cookie dough, or set the table.
Host a Thanksgiving dinner game – Gather all the senior residents at the table and play the fun memory game. Ask the first member to kick-start the game by saying, “At Thanksgiving dinner, I will eat turkey.” Then next will say, “At Thanksgiving dinner, I will eat turkey and pie.” and continue the game.
Make a football jersey – Get your in-home senior care residents to make their own football jersey. Let the seniors decorate their jersey with paint and stencils, and instill a sense of accomplishment.
String popcorns – Get the elders to use plastic needles to string popcorn and later hang the finished popcorn garlands on the trees.
Have a cook-off – Have the seniors participate in the cook-off to make their signature Thanksgiving dish. There can be awards for the winners as well to encourage them for future events.
Arrange for grandchildren’s visit – What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving is having the grandkids visit? Get the grandchildren over to celebrate and play exciting games with their grandparents.
Puzzle competition – To strengthen visual and spatial skills, a puzzle competition can be ideal for seniors at Thanksgiving. Cut out pictures and distribute among the elders, the group that joins all the missing pieces together will win.
Word building – Give a word like Thanksgiving, turkey, or cranberry and let the in-home care seniors make as many words as possible from the word.
Youth chorus or play – Spread the cheer among seniors by inviting school kids or youth group to sing Thanksgiving songs or put up a play for the seniors.
Newport Home Care is always at your service for part-time assistance or live-in care for your loved ones.
