The holidays should be a festive time no matter your age. It is a great time for the generations to bond and pass along family traditions. Even for grandparents who live alone and can’t get out to their usual activities easily, there are many fun in-home holiday activities.
If you’re looking for fun holiday events in the Tampa Bay area, we have you covered with local holiday events. If you have grandchildren coming to visit you in Florida during Christmas, there’s something here for everyone! Check out the Clearwater Marine Aquarium or our many other suggestions for must-visit Tampa Bay sites.
Holiday Activities for Grandparents and Grandchildren
Here are a few great holiday activities for grandparents and grandkids to do together:
- Bake holiday treats. Have Grandma show the grandchildren how to make a family recipe. Kids of all ages can participate in various tasks like mixing ingredients or decorating cookies. You can also try a new recipe together. A lot of local papers do yearly Christmas recipe roundups and you can let your grandkids pick one that sounds good to them.
- Watch holiday movies or shows. Here’s a great breakdown of when various holiday movies will be showing on different TV channels. Of course, you can also watch old favorites whether you have the DVD or simply stream through Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, etc. Why not pick one of your favorites to share with your grandkids and vice versa?
- Do some holiday crafts. GrandmaIdeas.com is a wonderful website for year-round ideas for things to do with your grandkids. Check out their holiday crafts for inspiration! Pinterest is another site full of craft and activity ideas. You will never run out of ideas and some are pretty simple and inexpensive. See the activity list below for more.
- Pass along the tradition of giving. Volunteer together or prepare holiday gifts for people in need. You might already participate with a charity in your area, or you can keep an eye out for organizations looking for holiday help.
- If you can’t be together on the holidays, video chat is a fun way to share holiday decorations, stories, and memories. Parents can pass along pictures and videos of kids’ holiday performances and more. Get grandparents set up with a computer or iPad to make sharing easier. Consider creating a photo book for grandma of the year’s events (they’re so easy and affordable to make online now!).
Holiday Activities for Grandparents and Caregivers at Home
- Family or professional caregivers can assist with shopping (locally or online), wrapping and sending gifts, and preparing holiday cards. To hire an EasyLiving caregiver to help with such tasks, holiday decorating or accompanying your loved one on outings, contact us (727-447-5845).
- Decorate the home (or assisted living/nursing home room) for the holidays. It may be overwhelming for someone who is ill or not very mobile to handle holiday decorating. You can help them keep up the festive atmosphere. You can always scale back the decorating, but a small tree and a few favorite items can have a big emotional impact. Window clings are one of the easiest and cheapest forms of decor. And, they work well even in small nursing home/ALF rooms.
- Now is also a great time to organize (and possibly downsize) holiday decorations. Get some plastic bins to easily store items and mark them with what’s inside/their corresponding room. Grandparents can consider giving their adult children or grandkids some of their special ornaments or other pieces. It’s a great chance to share the story behind the item too.
- Create a multisensory festive environment. Play holiday music and fill the home with holiday smells (baking, pine wreaths/small trees, scented candles…or even safer, diffusers).
- Check out this long list of holiday activities for elders and pick out a few favorites. Ideas include crafts, games, outings, and sharing memories. Many of the resources and ideas listed above to do with grandkids can also be enjoyed by elders and their caregivers.
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