Holidays in the era of Covid can be tricky for families, especially when an older family member may be medically fragile or vulnerable to illness.
Loneliness feels so much heavier during the holidays, so we must take great care to ensure all of our family members feel loved and included - especially when they are not participating in family traditions and get togethers!
Here are some ways to enjoy holiday happenings and strengthen the bonds of family love:
1. Ask Grammy to bake your favorite cookies and have a family cookie swap! It can be fun making cookie drops to one and all and really gives our elders something to look forward to! (See cookie recipe, below!)
2. Old fashioned cards! Deliver a few boxes of beautiful cards, some stamps, and a list of everyone's addresses to an older person and let them enjoy the spirit of sending out holiday greetings. Be sure that everyone sends old-fashioned cards to their older loved ones - it means the world to them and they will proudly display this outpouring of love and attention. It makes them smile every time they look at them!
3. Family sing along. Gather all of your friends and family and head on over to Grandpa's house! (Let him know you're coming!) Sing a few songs together out in the front yard and invite him to sing along.
4. Ask your elders about their childhood holidays and be sure to share their tales with the children in the family! Heck, make it a ZOOM event and make the topic their "Good Old Holidays." Give your elders the floor and soak up the memories that make them happy.
5. Decorate! Get the family together to decorate an elders porch, front yard, shrubs or mailbox. It's so fun for an older person to watch their younger family members working together out in the yard.
6. The Gift Of Time. Spend time finding ways to support healthy aging and independence. The stronger and healthier older people feel, the more empowered they become to embrace and revel in their independence.
If you or your loved one is struggling with completing daily tasks, feeling weak, tired or slowed-down during the day, High Thrive Therapy can provide an evaluation for therapy that can help restore and rebuild health and wellness, work with you on your aging goals and help with a plan to get you back to living the life you love! Submit your evaluation request and we'll get right back to you today.
Make Grammy's best cookie recipe, video your process and send her the video! Here's a treasured family recipe that you can make for your cookie swap:
GRAMMY'S SNOWBALL COOKIES
Ingredients: 2 ¼ cups flour ¾ cup walnuts finely chopped (or any nuts) ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup butter unsalted 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ cup powdered sugar plus extra for dusting
Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 3. Combine flour, walnuts and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. 4. Beat butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar with a mixer until creamy. 5. Turn the mixer to low and add flour mixture until combined. 6. Form dough into 1" balls and place on prepared pan. 7. Bake 8-10 minutes or until bottom edges of cookies are lightly browned.
8. Cool a few minutes until you're able to handle the cookes.
9. Roll in powdered sugar and place on a rack to cool completely.
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