It's that time of year again folks!
Holiday cheer, glittering lights, candles, presents, good food, warm hearths, friends and family. It is a time to celebrate life, love, joy and thankfulness for the blessings we have. 

In this holiday season, we cannot forget those who around us who haven't been as fortunate as us. Sometimes people need help turning their lemons into lemonade. This morning, a fellow member of a group I am in stood up and asked for help for a family they know of who is struggling to make ends meet this holiday season. Through collective compassion, and a little action, she is collecting and distributing major blessings for this family. We in the group were glad to help.

Merry Christmas! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Hannukah! Happy life, love, family gathering...whatever it is, Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

schedules, it can be overwhelming. And if it is overwhelming for us, how much more so for someone with Alzheimer's or dementia.

Someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia can become easily anxious, agitated and even aggressive, especially if they are in unfamiliar environments. It's important to keep them in comfortable, familiar surroundings and established routines to prevent these feelings and behavior from taking hold. Of course, with the holiday season in full swing, normal routines and settings are being thrown into festive chaos. The question now becomes how to celebrate the holidays with joy and peace while minimizing agitation, and how to deal if it occurs. Here are some tips.

a) Adjust your expectations. The stage of Alzheimer’s or dementia that a person has will determine largely how they participate in holidays. Traditions might have to be adjusted. If they are prone to agitation at a certain time of day ie. evening, perhaps open presents or have a gathering earlier in the day.

b) Set the tone, get their attention and state your message clearly, listen.  The holidays are happy and festive. Speak calmly and pleasantly with the person. Get their attention by reducing distractions like turning off the radio or TV, closing blinds etc. Address them by name, identify yourself and your relation to them. Communicate clearly using simple words and sentences. Get on their level and maintain eye contact. Use nonverbal cues; a calm, reassuring vocal tone; and gentle touch to help convey your message. Ask simple questions, keeping answers often to yes or no.

c) Keep a familiar environment.  Gentle holiday music, reduced distractions. Maintain as much of a familiar routine as possible. Keep family pictures and other keepsakes where they can see them. Reminisce with them. Ask questions about their lives that rely on long term memory.

d) Be patient. If they get agitated, redirect and reassure them. When doing holiday activities, break  them down into little steps. It’ll be easier to understand and they can participate more. If they get anxious or agitated, redirect to other subjects or activities ie. suggest going for a walk instead.

Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia can be stressful, especially during the holidays. Take a deep breath. Be patient. You’ll do great and enjoy a lovely holiday. 

Washing hands with soap and clean water (hot or cold) or at least hand sanitizer can help in avoiding getting those contacted sick especially senior citizens. The CDC has provided some guidelines for best practices. Click/tap here.

More About Washing Hands & Community Settings

more for his money than family, friends or fellow man. He declines Christmas dinner with his nephew, and only begrudgingly gives his employee the Christmas off to be with his family. That night, he is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner, in chains, and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. They show him scenes from his past, his present, and his future. They 
reveal what people really think of him and how they will rejoice at his death. He wakes a changed man, generous, compassionate, caring for the plight of others. We know this classic as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It has been adapted countless times for stage and screen, and the message rings true today, 175 years since it’s first publication, as it did then. The holidays are a time to 
celebrate, and they are a time to remember and give to those in need. Timeless lessons indeed. ​