Many seniors with dementia love celebrating Halloween. While they may not be as aware as their healthier counterparts, older adults with dementia may enjoy participating in the following Halloween activities.
1. Attending a Costume Parade
Your loved one may have fond memories of dressing up in his or her favorite costumes on Halloween during childhood. Help your loved one dress up in a costume, and invite a few friends and family members to join you, wearing their favorite costumes. Have a costume parade and take photos. Your parent may enjoy going through the photos and look forward to next year’s Halloween festivities.
Dementia can make it difficult for seniors to perform basic activities such as getting dressed. If your elderly loved one is living with a serious medical condition and needs help managing the tasks of daily living, reach out to Home Care Assistance, a Mississauga senior care agency you can trust. Our caregivers are available 24/7, there are no hidden fees in our contracts, and we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all of our in-home care services.
2. Decorating the Home
Purchase some Halloween or autumn-inspired items and allow your loved one to decorate the dining room table, coffee table, fireplace mantel, and front door. In addition to artificial decorations, suggest arranging fruits such as tangerines, oranges, and pomegranates in a basket and adorning it with a Halloween-colored bow. The fruit basket may stimulate your loved one’s visual senses and elicit an olfactory response. Pleasant smells from the fruit basket may also alleviate your loved one’s anxiety and help him or her stay calm.
3. Dressing Up the Dog
Dogs dressed in holiday-themed clothes tend to bring out the best in people. Your loved one may enjoy costuming the dog and getting the positive responses from trick-or-treaters who catch a glimpse of it. Make sure you supervise this fun activity so your loved one and the animal both stay safe.
Watching over an elderly parent can be a difficult task, especially if you have other important tasks to tend to. Families who find it difficult to care for their aging loved ones without assistance can benefit greatly from professional respite care. Mississauga, Ontario, family caregivers who need a break from their caregiving duties can turn to Home Care Assistance. Using our proprietary Balanced Care Method, our respite caregivers can encourage your loved one to eat well, exercise regularly, get plenty of mental and social stimulation, and focus on other lifestyle factors that promote longevity.
4. Baking Halloween-Themed Cookies
Baking Halloween cookies is a therapeutic and enjoyable Halloween activity, which gives older adults a sense of accomplishment and allows them to show off their creativity. Seniors with dementia may also enjoy eating the cookies and sharing them with others. Find out if your loved one has any dietary restrictions that might prevent him or her from enjoying the cookies. If your parent has diabetes, renal problems, high cholesterol, or liver disease, the sugar, eggs, extracts, and flour in the batter may exacerbate the symptoms.
5. Sorting Candy
If your loved one is around grandchildren who have just returned home from trick-or-treating, allow him or her to sort out the candy, separating the good from the bad. In the bad pile, have your loved one put all unwrapped candies, as well as candy that may contain allergens. All other candies can go into the good pile. Sorting candy could help your loved one feel useful and glad that he or she played a role in the safety of the kids.
Aging in place can present a few challenges for seniors living with dementia. However, they can still live independently at home with the help of professional dementia care. Mississauga families can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide their elderly loved ones with mental and social stimulation, timely medication reminders, assistance with meal prep, and much more. Our caregivers are available around the clock to help your loved one live a happier and healthier life. To learn about our high-quality in-home care options, give us a call at 905-337-1200 today.