Common-sense ideas for holiday caregiving

As we move into the heart of the holiday season, it’s important to keep your wits about you and your stress level at a sane level. This is especially true if you are a caregiver.

When you normally deal with the holidays, you think about family, friends, and so on as you make plans, attend events, or travel. If you have the added responsibility of being a caregiver, things can get out of hand very fast.

Your best bet is to use common sense as you plan your days. For instance, if you work with someone a day or two a week and will be gone for a week or more during the holidays, you’ll need to let them know that and see what you can do to find a temporary replacement for the days you’ll be gone.

For those who are homebound, the holidays can be very stressful from an emotional standpoint so, as a caregiver, it’s important to take that into consideration. If the person in question is a family member, is there a way to include him or her in family events, dinners, parties, and so on? Is there a special gift that would really be appreciated (besides your time and presence)?

If the person you help is not a family member, can you help to get her together with her family in any way? If he has no family, what else could you do to make his holidays brighter?

Beyond these considerations, never forget that, even if you don’t volunteer with Community Caregivers to help others, most of us are still caregivers within our own families and the holidays can make that harder. Try to never lose sight of the big picture at this time of year.

Take things a day at a time and don’t try to do too much. Remember that spending time with family and friends is what the season is all about and the most important gift you can give is your time and love.

The parties, the dinners, the tree, the gifts and cookies, the decorations and shopping are all part of the season. Just don’t forget that those are not necessarily the most important parts. And above all, don’t forget at this busy time of year to take extra good care of yourself because there are people who need you.

From everyone at Community Caregivers, may you have a wonderful holiday season and please let us know if we can help you or if you have some time to help us. That’s what it’s always been about: Neighbors helping neighbors.