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Posted on: 03.12.2018

Dementia Care at Christmas

Dementia care at Christmas can seem intimidating to many carers. With all the extra excitement and preparations, ensuring that loved ones with dementia cope with the festivities can be a cause for concern. While the festive season is fun to the rest of us, someone with the condition can find it confusing, and overwhelming. With a little thought and preparation, everyone can enjoy time spent with family and friends.

Tips for Dementia Care at Christmas

Both the Alzheimers Society and Dementia UK have plenty of useful advice and guidance for carers and families during Christmas. Both point out common aspects to build into your festive dementia care preparations and experience:

Get everyone involved, don’t try to do it all yourself – Christmas is a busy time for anyone, so don’t be afraid to ask for help from other family members. On the day itself, encourage the person with dementia to help with simple tasks like setting the table, or putting their favourite Christmas film on will help them feel part of the festivities.

Introduce Christmas gradually – all the decorations, excitement and noise can be confusing for people with dementia. Putting up decorations in instalments, allows them to come to terms with the change in their environment. Consider the situation, don’t play music too loud or have a lot of people trying to talk over the TV. Noise competition can be disorientating, creating a quiet space can help those with dementia cope with the day.

Have a practice run at the festivities – organising a meal and a smaller get together in advance will prepare everyone for Christmas. Any potential issues can be identified, and when it comes to the big day itself, it won’t seem so daunting…remember it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Wishing You a Happy Christmas from Our Care Homes

Here at Lovett Care, each resident has their own care plan and for those requiring dementia care, we take steps to ensure that Christmas is an enjoyable and fun time for everyone. By applying preparation and patience we take steps to get everyone involved at a level which suits their abilities.

Are you looking for dementia care provision for a loved one in 2019? Please get in touch and request a call back from a member of our team. We will be happy to provide further information on provision at our care homes.

Finally, we would like to wish all our residents, their families and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.