With the festive season well and truly here, many people living in care homes are asking themselves what they should expect from the service. After all, it’s a very special time of the year.
Fortunately, this guide has some answers. These are some of the things you can (and should) expect from your care home at this time of the year.
Special Meals
Obviously, care homes should be putting on special meals. You don’t just want beans on toast for Christmas day, and cheese on toast for Boxing Day. You want something that’s going to light up your tastebuds and remind you of Xmases gone by.
Fortunately, most care homes will put on a roast dinner meal for their residents. These usually have all the trimmings, including cranberry sauce, roast turkey, Yorkshire puddings, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, gravy and a selection of vegetables.
You can usually call care homes and ask them about their festive season policies. Many work with external caterers to ensure residents get reasonable food during Christmas week if they can’t be with family.
Family Visits
As a resident, you should also expect family visits over the Christmas period. These help it feel like a more special time of the year.
Care homes are usually more generous with when people can visit as well over this period. Instead of limiting visitation hours, homes may open them up to allow more people to see their family members.
Family members will also sometimes bring their homemade treats to make the experience even more enjoyable, getting rid of any holiday sadness that might be affecting you.
Activities
Care homes will also put on various activities over the Christmas season. These include things like putting on homemade treats or organising more social events and parties.
Taking part in these is usually optimal, and more care homes don’t do them at night. However, they can be a fun way to get involved with everything that’s happening and enjoy yourself more. Often, going to these parties feels like a breath of fresh air.
Gift Giving
The best care homes will also give you gifts at this time of the year. These create a sense of warmth and community.
If you want to go out shopping to buy gifts for other people, care homes can usually arrange this for you. Staff can help you choose things family members might like and encourage you to get the things they might want.
Decorations
You also want your care home to invest in a festive atmosphere over the Christmas period. It should feel like the seasons are changing and things are different at this time of the year.
Decorations are a critical part of this process. You want them in communal areas and perhaps even your room.
Quiet Time
Finally, it’s nice to have some quiet time over the festive season. It’s a chance to say goodbye to the year that’s just gone by and hello to something new and different in the following year.