Fostering Social Engagement During the Holiday Season
The holiday season can bring about feelings of loneliness and isolation. In this blog entry, we highlight some of the ways that organizations can provide older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers with additional social engagement opportunities throughout the holiday season to promote feelings of connection and help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Identifying and Planning for Holiday Engagement Activities
When developing holiday programming, consider the many holidays celebrated in the community you serve. Offer events and activities not just for Christmas, but for a variety of religious, cultural and secular holidays like Diwali/Deepavali, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah/Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and more. Plan early and involve your community in selecting which holidays it would like your organization to recognize. Requesting input for holiday engagement activities like baking, decorating, ugly sweater contests or storytelling, will allow members of your community to share their traditions with others and make new memories.
Working with community partners to help facilitate activities and events for celebrations with which your staff may not be familiar is a great way to expand your reach and make new connections. Some of the individuals you serve may even wish to help facilitate activities by sharing their own expertise and culture. Including a calendar of holiday activities in your newsletters or sending one with home-delivered meals can help older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers in your community plan ahead and look forward to special events.
Ideas to Incorporate into Your Organization’s Holiday Programming
Some ideas to incorporate into your holiday programming this holiday season include:
Cooking and baking classes focused on holiday favorites like Christmas cookies, latkes, sweet potato pie, rice kheer and more.
Holiday beverage gatherings, where participants can drink eggnog, apple cider, wassail, hot chocolate and other holiday favorites while sharing stories of past holidays and hopes for the New Year.
Outings to musical, ballet or theater performances of holiday favorites.
A holiday pen pal program, connecting students or other community members to older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers in your community.
Educational classes focused on the history of various holidays and how different cultures celebrate.
Group holiday movie watching with time for discussion after.
Tours of holiday decorations in the community.
Other activities with a specific focus on the holiday season to help foster holiday spirit and connection, such as art activities, talent shows, dance parties, ugly sweater contests, gift exchanges or decorating contests.
Resources to Help
For more holiday programming ideas, listen or watch Social Engagement During the Holidays: Creative Initiatives and Resources, a webinar hosted by engAGED. If those you serve need assistance with using technology to participate in virtual engagement offerings, the National Senior Planet Hotline can help. Administered by Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) from AARP, a member of the engAGED Project Advisory Committee, older adults can contact the hotline directly at (888) 713-3495, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.