Celebrating Thanksgiving with Seniors in Your Community

Celebrating Thanksgiving can be often be painful and difficult for senior citizens.. Our culture uses the Thanksgiving feast as a time to celebrate what we are thankful for and to pay tribute to our abundance as Americans. This can be difficult to do when you are aging, ill, have lost your home, are living in assisted living or nursing home and feel you have little to be thankful for at this time in your life.

Having been an activity director in long term care facilities for seniors for 25 years, I have seen so many seniors struggle to find a reason to continue living each day, let alone celebrate a Thanksgiving holiday. But there are ways to use a holiday or special event to not only have some enjoyment but to help seniors cope with their situation.

A Thanksgiving celebration that focuses on Thanksgiving tradition allows a senior to participate in a very important aspect of growing old; reminiscing and putting into order our memories of our lives. For seniors who have dealt with losses remembering the special traditions of their past can offer them comfort and help them resolve their lives.

A Traditional Thanksgiving Party

A traditional Thanksgiving party for seniors living in an assisted living facility should begin with involving them in the planning. Too often, seniors feel they have no say in their daily lives. The foods they eat have been selected for them, the clothes they wear have been purchased for them and they have lost the ability to plan their life in any effective way. Gather them together at a party planning committee meeting. Even this simple act of meeting together to plan the party is a great activity for seniors.

At this meeting talk to them and listen to their ideas. You might have a simple agenda for the committee meeting that lists the topics that need to be decided for the party; like foods to be served, activities, entertainment, who will attend, location and who will do the work of preparing for the party. I'm always amazed at the great ideas I get when I work with seniors and listen to their input.

Food for a Thanksgiving party for seniors

Obviously most people have preconceived ideas about what foods constitute a Thanksgiving celebration and we might think it would be turkey, gravy, green beans, stuffing, cranberries; but often there are special dishes that your group of seniors always had and they'd like some of those served at the party. For instance, oysters in the stuffing or pecan pie versus pumpkin pie might be the choices or perhaps someone wants deviled eggs because they always made them and they have a great recipe for them. Even if they can't cook, they have recipes to contribute and suggestions.

At your committee planning meeting for the Thanksgiving party, put together a menu of familiar foods that can be prepared and placed on a buffet for self service. Have a variety of traditional foods to allow everyone's choice to be served!

Decorations for a Thanksgiving party for seniors

This is an area where seniors can really contribute. Perhaps they want to assemble some centerpieces ahead of time. If you, as the party organizer, gathers some fall materials and colors, seniors can put together centerpieces for all the dining tables. Gather the materials, and perhaps make up a sample or too and then recruit some teens to come help make up the centerpieces and make the centerpiece making day a part of the plan. It will be an enjoyable activity in itself, almost as much fun as the party. Also working on decorations builds the excitement and interest for the special party.

I always strive to include in the decorating for a Thanksgiving party for seniors, familiar fall and Thanksgiving elements, like pumpkins, Indian corn, cornucopias and of course, Pilgrims. You don't make it too juvenile, instead focus on creating an elegant table with white linen cloths, real cloth napkins, and candles.

Guests

Seniors love to see children and inviting area children or grand children or church group children to the Thanksgiving party is a great way to help seniors remember their own special Thanksgiving parties and celebrations. One way to include small children is to have a Thanksgiving feast party where the kids are involved in helping making some of the elements, like homemade butter in tin cans with popsicles sticks. Serve corn bread and apple butter that the seniors made ahead of time to share with the kids. Have the children come dressed in pilgrim or native American costumes to add some fun for the kids, but also for the adults.

Sometimes it's difficult to get family to come to a senior Thanksgiving party but sending out written invitations help. Often part of the pre planning can be a invitation party time, where you help seniors make out some invitations for the party and involve them in the process. Family and friends are going to respond to a personal invitation that they can see and hold in their hand, more than a phone call.

Entertainment and Activities

Again, keep these activities adult. Often we involve seniors is playing games and activities that are rather child like and not appropriate. Turkey bean bag toss doesn't appeal to me now and I can't imagine that it will when I'm 80. But if I'm playing turkey bean bag toss with children..I would do it in a heartbeat just to be playing with children!

Having a choir from a local church come to sing favorite Thanksgiving hymns or a school group of teens coming to perform is a great entertainment idea. There are many local performers who would come and entertain seniors if asked and most activity directors have built a nice file of names of local entertainers.

Who is going to do the work?

During the planning process, make sure that seniors are encouraged to be part of the work process. Even handicapped seniors can be useful at the party. Involve them by having them choose tasks, like folding napkins, handing out programs, setting the tables, decorating, even serving food at the buffet, and helping with clean-up. Make up committees so they know what they are supposed to do and offer assistance only as needed. A good activity director understands that seniors enjoy the process of party planning and work at the event, more than just sitting around being waited on.

Recruit some volunteers from senior's families to involve them in the thanksgiving party and again, the more young people you can find, the better!

Being thankful

Helping seniors with illness and disability enjoy the ritual of Thanksgiving is also about getting them to think about others. Encourage citizens to take on a special project of collecting can food for a local shelter, or crocheting or knitting warm blankets for a children's project. There are many ways to involve our seniors in their community and to get them to think outside of themselves, which will help them feel stronger and more independent.

And finally, allow seniors a time during all the Thanksgiving party planning to reminisce about their past Thanksgivings and to look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving this year.