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There are so many fun ways to celebrate the holiday season with a loved one in a senior living community. Listening to festive music, enjoying special foods, and decorating to make your loved one’s space feel special are all perfect ways to feel cheerful around this time of year. Another great way to get into the spirit is to create Christmas crafts.
Crafting provides an opportunity to embrace inner creativity and have fun with everyone making the craft. Older adults also gain a lot of benefits from crafting, including:
Take a look at these 11 easy Christmas crafts for seniors to find the best ideas for you to do with your loved one to celebrate the holidays.
All you need is craft sticks, glue, glitter, ribbon, and paint. Arrange six craft sticks in a star shape, glue them together, then add glue and sprinkle with glitter. You have the option to paint the sticks for an added touch of color before you glue them together. Attach a ribbon loop for hanging.
You’ll have a beautiful sparkling snowflake ornament that can go on a tree or in a window to catch the sunlight.
The classic stocking makes a great ornament to add to your holiday tree. Use the following materials: red and white felt, fabric glue, ribbon, small decorations (like sequins or bells).
Cut out stocking shapes from the felt (or you can provide an already cut piece of felt to your loved one). Then, it’s time to get creative with the decorations. Your loved one can glue on the provided materials to personalize their stocking ornament. Remember to attach a ribbon loop so they can display it for all to see.
This craft is fragrant and provides soft lighting to your loved one’s space. You’ll need cinnamon sticks, a rubber band, ribbon, and small battery-operated candles.
Place cinnamon sticks around the candle and secure it with a rubber band. Use the ribbon to hide the rubber band and add a festive touch to the craft. Turn on your candle and enjoy the rustic look of the cinnamon stick candle holder.
Paper plate wreaths are an easy craft that your loved one will definitely have fun making. You will need paper plates, colored paper, glue, scissors, and ribbon.
Cut the center out of a paper plate to form a wreath shape. Glue on paper decorations and add a ribbon bow.
What’s better than a handmade Christmas card? You can use construction paper, glue, glitter, paint, scissors, and a pen or marker to write on the card.
Fold the construction paper in half to create the card outline. Your loved one can use the materials to create any kind of holiday art and message with their materials. They can paint a Christmas tree, a holiday wreath, or a wintery scene – it’s all up to them!
Christmas wouldn’t be the same without a Santa Claus craft. Your materials include clothespins, red and white paint, cotton balls, googly eyes, and small pompoms.
Paint the top half of the clothespins red and the bottom half white. Attach cotton for the beard, googly eyes, and a pompom for the nose.
Garland ties any holiday look together. If your loved one is decorating a communal area, they can work on this craft with others to make it even more special. All you need is red, green, and white construction paper strips and glue sticks.
Create a loop with one of the strips and secure it with glue. Then, select a strip with a different color and loop it through the first one. Repeat this process until you have a festive garland with alternating red, green, and white colors.
To create a handprint reindeer card, you’ll need cardstock paper, brown paint, googly eyes, and red pompoms.
Paint your loved one’s hand with brown paint and make a handprint on the cardstock. Add eyes, a nose, and antlers.
Adding a bell to the door gives a merry welcome to the person entering the room. To make a jingle bell door hanger, you’ll need jingle bells, ribbon, and glue.
Thread jingle bells onto a ribbon and tie it in a loop. Hang it on a door handle for some cheerful jingles.
The snowman sock doll will help you welcome the winter into your loved one’s apartment without the cold! This craft uses these materials: white socks, rice, rubber bands, buttons, ribbon, markers.
Fill a sock with rice, and tie off sections with rubber bands to create the body and head. Decorate with buttons and use markers for a face.
Mason jar snow globes are a lovely craft addition to any decorative display. Use a mason jar, small decorations (like mini trees or figurines), water, glitter, and glue to create a sparkling winter scene.
Glue the decorations to the inside of the lid. Fill the jar with water, add glitter, and seal the lid tightly. Place the jar lid side down and enjoy your DIY snow globe.
All of these crafts are fun ways to make the holiday season special. Whether you’re doing the craft with your loved one or are assisting them as they create the craft with other residents in their community, making any or all of these crafts is a perfect way to spend quality time together during the holiday season.
Celebrate the Season at Charter Senior Living
At Charter Senior Living communities across the country, we believe in celebrating the season! Call us at 331.305.5078 to schedule a visit or a tour of one of our festive communities.
Whether to enroll in Part B or use FEHB as primary coverage is a personal decision, based on your individual circumstances. You should look at the costs and benefits of each insurance plan and make the choice thats best for you.Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB)Cover current and retired government employeesAdministered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)Can be:Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs): Have networks of providers that you usually must see. Out of network costs may be lower.Fee-for-service (FFS) plans: Allow you to see any medical provider, but you may have higher costs.When you become Medicare-eligible, you have a few options:Keep FEHB and turn down Medicare.Even if you have FEHB retiree coverage, it will continue to provide you with primary coverage if you dont enroll in Medicare. In this way, FEHB retiree coverage is different from most other retiree coverage.If you choose this option, consider turning down Medicare Part B but still enrolling in Part A. Part A is usually premium-free, meaning that you can have this additional coverage at no cost to you.Keep FEHB and enroll in Medicare.The two will work together to cover your health care costs, but you will owe premiums for both.Disenroll from FEHB and enroll in Medicare.You might not be able to enroll in FEHB again in the future if you change your mind.For a full list of questions to ask yourself when choosing the option that is best for you and more on identifying billing errors download this helpful handout by the Medicare Rights Center.Who to contact for more information: Contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) if you want to discuss your Medicare enrollment options with a Medicare counselor. Contact your Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) if you may have experienced Medicare fraud, errors, or abuse. In Southwest Florida it is 866-413-5337 or email shineinfo@aaaswfl.org. Contact the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) if youre a federal employee or retiree and want to learn more about FEHB. You can call 317-212-0454 or visit www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance. Contact United States Postal Service (USPS) if you are a USPS employee, retiree, or eligible family member and need more information on PSHB. Current employees can visit www.liteblue.usps.gov and retirees can visit www.keepingposted.org.The Medicare Rights Center is the author of portions of the content in these materials but is not responsible for any content not authored by the Medicare Rights Center. This document was supported, in part, by grant numbers 90SATC0002 and 90MPRC0002 from the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy. [April 2024]
Established in 1963, Older Americans Month (OAM) is celebrated every May. Led by a federal agency, the Administration for Community Living (ACL), OAM is a time to recognize older Americans contributions, highlight aging trends, and reaffirm commitments to serving the older adults in our communities.This years theme, Powered by Connection, focuses on the profound impact that meaningful connections have on the well-being and health of older adults a relationship underscored by the U.S. Surgeon Generals Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community.Its not just about having someone to chat with, its about the transformative potential of community engagement in enhancing mental, physical, and emotional well-being. By recognizing and nurturing the role that connectedness plays, we can mitigate issues like loneliness, ultimately promoting healthy aging for more Americans.How can community groups, businesses, and organizations mark OAM?Spread the word about the mental, physical, and emotional health benefits of social connection through professional and personal networks.Encourage social media followers to share their thoughts and stories of connection using hashtag #PoweredByConnection to inspire and uplift.Promote opportunities to engage, like cultural activities, recreational programs, and interactive virtual events.Connect older adults with local services, such as counseling, that can help them overcome obstacles to meaningful relationships and access to support systems.Host connection-centric events or programs where older adults can serve as mentors to peers, younger adults, or youths.What can individuals do to connect?Invite more connection into your life by finding a new passion, joining a social club, taking a class, or trying new activities in your community.Stay engaged in your community by giving back through volunteering, working, teaching, or mentoring.Invest time with people to build new relationships and discover deeper connections with your family, friends, colleagues, or neighbors.For free local events and services, visit our event calendar. For more information, visit the official OAM website and follow ACL on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #OlderAmericansMonth.
Many people assume that their family members would automatically be able to make decisions about medical treatments if they were to become incapacitated. However, rules vary greatly from state to state:Your family may have to go through a costly and time-consuming court process to get the legal right to make medical decisions for you.Your family members may disagree on who should make medical decisions on your behalf, which could lead to legal disputes.Someone unfamiliar with your preferences may be placed in charge of your treatment choices.Its important to have a plan ahead of time to avoid disagreements around treatment issues and to ensure your wishes are honored if you are incapacitated. Advance directives, living wills, health care proxies, and powers of attorney can help ensure that decisions made on your behalf meet your needs and preferences.Important documents to have include:Health care proxy Names someone you trust as your proxy, or your agent, to express your wishes and make health care decisions for you if youre unable to speak for yourself.Living will A written record of the type of medical care you would want in specified situations.Advance directive Often refers to a combination including both a living will and health care proxy documents.Power of attorney Names someone you trust as your agent to make property, financial, and other legal decisions on your behalf.For detailed tips on preparing these documents download the Preparing for Future Health Care Needs handout by the Medicare Rights Center. To understand how Medicare covers hospice and for answers to other Medicare coverage questions, contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). You can visit www.shiphelp.org or call your local SHINE Medicare Counselors at 1-866-413-5337.
Charter Senior Living's Springwood Court in Fort Myers, Florida, offers exceptional assisted living services that enhance the human spirit. As part of Charter Senior Living, we are committed to providing a true sense of community and personalization to older adults with specific needs and wants.Our philosophy is simple: Do the right thing for residents, whatever it takes. We strive to improve the quality of life for residents and their families each day. We believe in cultivating warm, meaningful relationships among residents, staff, leadership, and families, creating a homelike neighborhood in Fort Myers that you wont find anywhere else.At Springwood Court, we specialize in assisted living, ensuring that every person who calls our community home lives their absolute best life, every single day. We offer a warm and welcoming atmosphere, an array of convenient services and amenities, exceptional programming, and a staff that treats every resident like family.Whether you're looking for yourself or a loved one, when you choose Charter Senior Living, you're choosing a community where you'll be welcomed with open arms, treated like family, and feel comfortable in a place where you'll find the best assisted living services.Contact us today to learn more about our community and schedule a tour. Visit us and experience the Charter Senior Living difference firsthand.