Gratifying Ways to Help Residents Celebrate Safe, Joyous Thanksgiving
The holidays can be wonderful and stressful times for senior living residents and their families. Community leaders and staff can do much to make holidays – starting with Thanksgiving – a joyous, positive time for everyone.
Doing Decorations Right
Start with the décor:
Keep it simple and tasteful. While pumpkins, squash, dried corn, and fall foliage make for festive decorations, don’t overdo it, especially when budgets are tight. Focus on decorations that evoke warm, comforting feelings and memories of happy holidays.
Make sure decorations don’t present trip/fall or fire hazards. Avoid candles or lights that can generate significant heat, especially when next to dried flowers or leaves. Decorations should not block walkways or obstruct lighting or signage.
Consider a theme to guide your decorations. For instance, Thanksgiving Memories could feature vintage or nostalgic decorations, or in a community in Florida or Hawaii, Tropical Thanksgiving could combine beach-themed and Thanksgiving décor. Ask residents to suggest themes, then vote on the most popular one. Involve them in decorating and planning holiday meals and events.
Scents matter. Smells such as pumpkin, cinnamon, pine, and apple spice can trigger warm feelings and memories. Create these with diffusers and other devices, but, again, don’t overdo it. Have common areas without holiday scents for those who have allergies or are sensitive to smells.
Rev Up Recreation
Thanksgiving-themed fun is a great way to kick off the holiday season. A few possibilities include:
Holiday movie nights. Feature Thanksgiving, autumn/winter, or other holiday-themed movies every week, perhaps as a countdown to the new year. Have themed snacks such as cranberry smoothies, pumpkin spice cookies or cupcakes, snow cones, and gingerbread.
Holiday hahas. Have a comedy night where residents (and local comedians and entertainers) can share jokes or funny stories about Thanksgiving or the holidays. Have sing-alongs where the words “pumpkin” or “turkey” are substituted for words like “love” or “happy.”
The great outdoors. Partner with a local farm or orchard for events such as a hayride, corn maze, apple picking, midday hike and picnic, or evening bonfire.
Don’t forget the family. Be sure to invite family members to join in some of these activities and have some kid-focused events. For instance, they can paint pumpkins, decorate wreaths and ornaments, or march in a Thanksgiving parade led by a resident or staffer dressed like a turkey. Have a family talent night where family members can sing, play music, recite a poem, or do magic tricks. Hold a fall fair with pies and cookies, games, and music.
Holiday art show. Have residents display something they created with a fall theme – paintings or drawings, ceramics, crafts, birdhouses, furniture, clothes, or other items.
Hold a Friendsgiving event. Some residents may not have family or friends to spend Thanksgiving with. Have a party (possibly the Saturday after Thanksgiving) where residents can gather, enjoy good food and drink, and make new friends and acquaintances. Such events can help ward off loneliness and depression during the holidays, especially for individuals who have lost loved ones, are alone, or can’t travel to spend time with family. Consider including volunteers and others or partnering with local churches, universities, or other organizations for a Friendsgiving celebration.
Gratitude trees or boards. Residents can create a board with photos, mementos, thoughts, and ideas that express what Thanksgiving means to them. The community can have a gratitude tree where residents can post what they’re grateful for.
Pet parties. Have a party where residents dress their pets in a Thanksgiving costume; then give a prize for the best costume. Include treats for both pets and people. Consider partnering with a local vet clinic to share expenses (as a way for them to promote their services to your residents).
All these efforts help demonstrate the personality of your community and are great marketing tools. Invite prospective residents and older adults in the community at large to participate in one or more Thanksgiving activities. Let them experience for themselves how people live and thrive in the community.
