People all around the world celebrate New Year’s Eve, whether they spend the evening at home with family, online with other like-minded individuals, or at community events with friends. As a family caregiver, you should encourage your senior loved one to bring in the New Year socializing instead of sitting at home alone. Below are some of the fun ways your loved one can celebrate New Year’s Eve and the benefits of each activity.
Attend a Senior-Friendly Holiday Party
Many senior centers have New Year’s Eve festivities older adults can enjoy, complete with food, music, and dancing. Getting dressed up and interacting with others could prevent loneliness and boredom and enhance your loved one’s mental health. Dancing at the gathering can boost physical health by strengthening the bones, reducing tension, and increasing balance and posture. Speak with the center or organization hosting the party to see if you can chaperone the event, and make sure your loved one has transportation to and from the party.
Do Word Searches
Seniors can exercise their brains while having fun with this activity on New Year’s Eve. The puzzles should include words that coincide with the holiday. For example, some of the words you could add to the search might include “noisemakers,” “champagne,” “flutes,” and “resolutions.” These games are a great way to pass the time while boosting cognitive health.
Professional caregivers with training in methods of cognitive stimulation can be a wonderful source of support for seniors. If your senior loved one needs help managing an illness or assistance with daily tasks, make sure you choose a top-rated provider of elderly care. Dallas Home Care Assistance is here to help your loved one live a happier and healthier life in the golden years. From the mentally stimulating activities in our Cognitive Therapeutics Method to our friendly Care Managers who are available to answer your questions 24 hours a day, we offer a wide array of high-quality at-home care services.
Make Snacks
The snacks at a New Year’s Eve party are always a big hit, especially themed treats and beverages. Your loved one can help you make champagne jelly flutes, resolution cookies, tuxedo strawberries, and more. The items on the menu should also relate to your family’s traditions. Ask your loved one to tell younger family members why each food is an integral part of your culture. Sharing this information may trigger memories for your parent and provide a sense of purpose.
Create New Year’s Eve Hats
The holiday isn’t complete without party hats, which is why you should encourage your loved one to put his or her creative skills to good use and design the accessories. Making New Year’s Eve hats can enhance critical thinking skills, focusing abilities, and memory. In addition to boosting cognitive health, creating New Year’s Eve hats can increase dexterity. Your parent can make the hats from scratch or find templates online to print, color, and fold into hats for family and friends to wear while counting down to the New Year.
A professional caregiver can help your parent prepare for the holiday celebrations. If your senior loved one needs hourly or live-in care, Dallas Home Care Assistance can help. Our caregivers can assist with exercise and mobility, prepare nutritious meals, provide timely medication reminders, and help with a wide array of other important daily tasks.
Play Bingo
Give this popular game a twist on New Year’s Eve by using confetti as markers and printing boards with holiday-themed photos and words or numbers that relate to New Year’s. Make the game more exciting by offering prizes, which can be monetary rewards, gift cards, or homemade items everyone can use. Playing bingo is an excellent way to stimulate the mind. It also provides something exciting to do while watching the countdown on television.
Aging adults can enjoy a high quality of life throughout the year with the help of a professional caregiver. Seniors who want to remain healthy as they age can benefit in a variety of ways when they receive professional at-home care. Dallas, TX, Home Care Assistance is here to help your loved one accomplish daily tasks, prevent illness, and focus on living a healthier and more fulfilling life. Call us today at (214) 363-3400 to discuss how we can give you the peace of mind that comes from knowing your loved one is being cared for with professionalism and compassion.