When you experience a major life event right before the holidays, everything may feel topsy turvy. That major life event can be anything: the loss of a loved one, a new addition to the family, a marriage, and more. However, you might not think of moving as a huge deal.
For some seniors in retirement centers and independent living communities, moving is a huge deal at the holidays. Downsizing from a large family home to a senior living apartment can be quite a huge adjustment, and that out of place feeling is only exacerbated by the holiday season when things just don’t feel quite right.
Moving doesn’t have to be the end of family traditions and holiday celebrations, though! There’s no reason why you can’t modify your traditions just a little bit to keep them going even when you’re no longer living where you used to.
If you’re worried about keeping the holiday spirit alive after moving to senior living, here are some tips to keep the fun alive and well:
1. Choose what traditions are non-negotiable
Many times when you’re celebrating the holidays, your family will have several traditions that they participate in every year, from baking cookies to going out Black Friday shopping.
Whatever your family traditions are, figure out which ones are the most important to you that can be continued even after your move to senior living. A Saturday with the whole family decorating the entire house with Christmas decorations may no longer be feasible with your new smaller space, but having everyone decorate the Christmas tree may be your new go-to. Your annual baking frenzy to hand out cookies to your neighbors may be limited, but you can still bake cookies with the family and hand them out to your neighbors in the Madison Heights independent living community.
Though your traditions may look a little different, it’s the spirit of keeping them around and being with family that’s the most important.
2. It’s okay to cut down on the gifts
When you downsize to senior living, sometimes it feels like you just have so much stuff. While our apartments in our Madison Heights independent living community are spacious, they still aren’t as large as your average house would be. Because of this, giving a lot of gifts during the holiday season isn’t as practical, since you have to figure out where all of those gifts are going to go!
Instead of investing in a lot of gifts for the holidays, giving experiences is a fun way to give your loved ones something that you know they’ll enjoy without having it add to the clutter in your apartment that you don’t have the room for. Experiences can be anything from movie dates, to a concert, to a hike, or a cooking class. They don’t have to be extravagant.
After all, the most important part of gift-giving at the holidays is making sure that you’re getting something that your loved one will enjoy. It doesn’t have to be material.
3. You don’t need to stay in your senior living apartment
This may come as a surprise to you, but you don’t need to spend the holidays in your apartment! Just like millions of Americans do every year, you can head out and go visit other places, like a family member’s house or a friend’s house.
If it was your house that was the usual gathering place over the holidays, then you might want to switch it up and go somewhere totally different! There are ways to rent entire houses for even just a couple of days, like through AirBnB, so you might want to have everyone meet up in a brand new location for the holidays.
While it might not feel the same as meeting up at “grandma’s house” for Christmas like you normally do, the important part of the holidays is simply being together with the people that you love.
4. Enjoy being with your loved ones
No matter what it is that you do for the holidays, the most important part of the holiday season is to spend time with the people that you love. Put more value on the people you spend your time with instead of what you do or what you bring.
This can feel especially important when you’re living in a senior living community. When you’re away from your family and out of the normal way of things, then it can be difficult to spend the same amount of time with your family as you’ve done in the past. This is why it’s so important to cherish the time that you have together without worrying so much about everything that goes with it.
5. Get involved in your community
If you’re a big proponent of getting out and getting involved in your community during the holidays, there’s no reason why you can’t continue to do so once you’ve moved into a senior living center. In fact, there’s even more of a reason to get involved because you’re surrounded with so many incredible people!
Speak to your neighbors, especially those who might not be able to be with family or other loved ones during the season. Have a cookie baking session, or a movie night, or go caroling to the other residents in the center. Just because you might not be at your traditional home during the holidays doesn’t mean that you can’t make it feel like home!
Reserve at Red Run
There’s no place like home for the holidays, and those of us here at the Reserve at Red Run Madison Heights independent living community want to be that home for you. From our incredible luxury amenities, to our guest suites for family and friends, to our delicious on-site restaurants, we’re positive that you won’t be missing out on any of the holiday cheer this season.
If you’re interested in making Reserve at Red Run your home this holiday season, contact us and schedule a tour today!
