Celebrating the Holidays in Senior Living

The holiday season means gathering with loved ones, exchanging gifts and partaking in your favorite traditions. However, if you or someone you love has moved into a senior living community, you might be wondering how this season will look compared to previous years. While you might have to shift some traditions and rethink your schedule, it doesn’t mean this season won’t be as festive as ever!

At The Woodlands at Canterfield, our senior living community in West Dundee, IL, is a vibrant, luxurious setting with exceptional hospitality. From the moment you walk through our doors, you’ll see that our community is a step above the rest. 

To help you plan your holiday traditions, we’re sharing how you and your family can celebrate the season in senior living and make the most of this wonderful time of the year!

Prioritize Traditions That Can Continue

Every family has their special way of celebrating the holidays. You might be wondering if many of your family’s traditions can continue after a move to a senior living community. For example, maybe Mom always hosted Christmas dinner, but now that she’s in a smaller living space, she might not be able to accommodate a large party.

It’s true that a move to a senior living community might shift around some of your holiday traditions, but that doesn’t mean you and your family can’t come together and alter those traditions to make it easier for everyone to enjoy. Plus, you might come to find that some of these new traditions will become staples for future holidays! 

For instance, many senior living communities feature large dining areas that residents can use for parties and family gatherings. While Mom might not be able to host everyone in her apartment – she can still host everything at her community! This is also an excellent way to explore her new home, meet neighbors, friends and associates, and become familiar with the community.

Participate in Community Events

Think about when you first moved to your senior living community. One of the things that probably excited you was the diverse range of activities and events offered for residents, making it easy to find something interesting and engaging to do every day.

Senior living communities provide engaging opportunities for enriching socialization and fulfillment, and during the holidays, you can expect your community’s event calendar to be packed full of festive events! Whether they offer special holiday-themed meals, crafting and decor classes or even an afternoon of caroling, take advantage of the festivities and enjoy spending time with your fellow neighbors. 

You can also ask if family and friends outside of the community can participate with you so they can also get to know your neighbors and enjoy spending meaningful time with you in your community. 

Look for New Opportunities

While traditions are a way to honor family and pass customs to the next generation, the holiday season can also be a time for new beginnings! Don’t get so caught up in recreating past holidays that you forget to enjoy the season. There are new traditions just waiting to be discovered! 

In addition, the most important part of the holiday season is spending time with those we love. Sometimes, doing less is actually more. Prioritize being together and valuing each other’s presence.

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It’s natural to worry about how a major life change can affect your usual traditions during the holidays, and moving to a senior living community is no different. However, it’s important to remember that the real reason for the season is being around the people you love the most, no matter what the location or celebration might be!

At The Woodlands at Canterfield, our West Dundee senior living community provides all the tools you need to ensure your retirement years are spent relaxing, finding your purpose and making the most out of your days. Our luxury community delivers first-class hospitality with exceptional amenities so that you have every opportunity to make your retirement an adventure! Visit our website to learn more and explore our West Dundee senior living community.