Caregivers need care too, especially during the rush of the holiday season. Many friends and family members are happy to pitch in and help this time of year, but might not know exactly how they can be of service. Fortunately, there are tried-and-true ways to show caregivers our appreciation and help them better enjoy the holidays.
We’ve come up with a few ideas for you to consider. By choosing those that seem most appropriate, the family caregiver in your life may be able to relax and enjoy the season.
4 Ways to Help a Caregiver Better Enjoy the Holidays
Caregivers work hard all year long tending to the needs of our senior loved ones. The holidays are a time when families can show their appreciation and help caregivers better enjoy the festivities.
1. Connect Them with Respite Resources
One of the things caregivers need most during the holiday season is downtime. Most would love a few hours here and there to decompress, slow down, and enjoy the holiday festivities.
Respite services are an ideal way to give a caregiver the personal time they desire during the holidays. These services are offered at local senior living communities and can include everything from meal service to transportation. Connect your family’s caregiver to one of these communities and they’ll have a much easier time this holiday season.
2. Help with the Shopping and Wrapping of Holiday Presents
While buying holiday gifts for the family can certainly be a pleasurable activity, it can also be stressful, time-consuming, and burdensome for a caregiver who’s already overloaded with responsibilities.
You can reduce their workload considerably by helping them with gift buying and wrapping. Both can be time-consuming tasks.
3. Arrange the Family Holiday Party
The annual holiday party is a time of warmth, love, and togetherness for most families. But unless you’ve actually arranged one of these parties, you don’t know how taxing, time-consuming, and complicated it can be.
Hosting the holiday party can be especially difficult for caregivers. You can help them by assuming responsibility for this year’s festivities. Arrange a family committee and assign each person a few tasks. This will free up time for your caregiver and allow them to be a guest for once.
4. Have Visiting Family Members Act as a Caregiver for a Day or Two
If you’re like most families, you’ll have loved ones visiting from all over the country. Because many of these family members haven’t seen their senior loved one since their last holiday visit, they’d probably welcome the opportunity to spend quality time with them. This can also give the primary caregiver a few days off.
Arrange for a few family members to look after your senior loved one for a day each and the caregiver will get what amounts to a holiday mini-vacation.
Five Star Senior Living Cares for Caregivers Too
We know you and your family want to do everything you can to ensure that your senior loved one and the primary caregiver enjoy the holidays. At Five Star, we’re always thinking about caregivers too. It’s why we offer respite services in our communities. Please contact us with questions about respite care or stop by the Five Star Senior Living community nearest you to learn more about holiday respite for an older loved one.