Making Thanksgiving Dementia-Friendly

Seven Tips from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America

(November 15, 2022)— With Thanksgiving approaching, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is offering seven tips to help families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related illnesses ensure their Thanksgiving celebration is dementia-friendly.

“Families caring for a loved one with a dementia-related illness deserve to join together and celebrate Thanksgiving, and there a few simple steps they can take to make that celebration as joyful as possible,” said Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., AFA’s President & CEO. “Being proactive and prepared are the best tools caregivers can use to give their loved one a Happy Thanksgiving.”

AFA offers the following tips to help make a Thanksgiving celebration dementia-friendly:

Prepare your loved one. Try to familiarize them with the guests beforehand by showing photos, sharing stories, or arranging a phone or Facetime chat prior to the celebration. You could also make an invitation to the event to share with your loved one so they know details and that it will be happening.

Prepare your guests. Consider sharing beneficial information with guests about your loved one—such as ways to communicate with the person, what they respond well to, and what may cause distress—especially if they have not seen the person recently. This will help facilitate positive interactions and engagement.

Factor the person’s routine into the scheduling. Changes in daily routine can be challenging for someone living with dementia, so to the greatest extent possible, plan the celebration around that routine. For example, if the person usually takes an afternoon walk, build in time for that.

Hold the celebration early. Individuals living with dementia are prone to “sundowning,” a syndrome which can cause agitation and confusion in the late afternoon-early evening as the sun sets. This can be compounded when adding a celebration with a house full of guests. Consider holding the celebration earlier in the day so your loved one feels more comfortable.

Plan for help. Preparing and holding a holiday gathering can be stressful even without the additional responsibilities of caring for a loved one with dementia. Relatives and friends are often eager to help, but may not know how. Don’t be afraid to let them know what you need, whether it’s asking them to bring a dish, help with cooking, shopping, or decorating, or spending time with your loved one while you are preparing for the celebration.

Keep your loved one involved.  Make adaptations that enable your loved one to participate in the celebration by focusing on what they can do, rather than what they cannot. Invite them to help by preparing ingredients for a simple dish, setting the table, decorating, and other activities. Playing familiar music or going through old photos are great forms of reminiscence that can bring joy and foster positivity during the celebration. For intergenerational activities, try singing familiar songs together, doing art activities, and having a snack together.

Have a quiet space available. Prepare a quiet place away from the crowd where the person with dementia can go if the celebration becomes too much for them. Have familiar comfort items available (i.e., favorite blanket, sweater, stuffed animal) that will help them feel safe and comfortable. Try to control the flow of visitors when possible; those in early stages are better able to interact than those in later stages.

Families who have questions about creating a dementia-friendly Thanksgiving celebration or any other question relating to dementia or caregiving can contact the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Helpline, seven days a week, by phone (866-232-8484), text message (646-586-5283), or web chat (click the blue and white chat icon in the lower corner of the page).

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Making Thanksgiving Dementia-Friendly

Basket Brigade Delivers More Than Just Turkeys this Thanksgiving

This past weekend, over 300 volunteers braved both rain and snow to gather together with the Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago to assemble and hand-deliver complete Thanksgiving dinners to 673 local area families-in-need.

The Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago was founded by Streamwood residents Brian and Cherish Walsh with the mission "to put the GIVING back into Thanksgiving." Founded in memory of Brian's mother, Lorraine M. Walsh, the Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago combines aspects of fundraising and volunteerism along with personal and spiritual growth.

Each Thanksgiving basket delivered includes a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, corn, marshmallows, cranberries, vegetables, and more; even a delicious pumpkin pie for dessert.

Volunteers assist in packaging the meals, and are then provided with the names of families-in-need who have been nominated by a variety of sources including private nominations on the Basket Brigade's website as well as names provided by other local nonprofits, churches, daycares, schools and other social service organizations.

"Each basket contains enough food to feed a family of five," says Basket Brigade Treasurer, Eric Hartmann, "and the thought that we are literally bringing Thanksgiving to over 3000 people in our local area is absolutely mind-blowing."

"Part of the magic of the day," says Brian Walsh, "is the aspect of growth for the volunteers as well as for the recipients. The volunteers get a direct person-to-person experience in seeing how their volunteerism is directly impacting the lives of these families-in-need."

Also included in each Basket are handmade coloring pages with notes from the children of the volunteers. "We really tried to make the overall experience of the Basket be both functional and inspirational," says co-founder Cherish Walsh, "and we definitely want our kids to get an early start on a giving heart. We've had recipients tell us that the coloring pages were their favorite part, and it was going to be hung prominently on their fridge!"

The Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago Committee spends several months fundraising, planning, organizing and finding the recipients. "We work closely with our communities to find the volunteers and the encourage the necessary donations, both private and corporate," said Brian Walsh, "we have also been able to partner up with many cool organizations, nonprofits, and civic organizations to identify families -in-need. It is really a team effort, and we are excited to have expanded our delivery area to nine different communities this year; Streamwood, Hanover Park, Bartlett, Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg, Palatine, Elk Grove, Elgin and South Elgin."

"The whole process is always an emotional one," says Cherish Walsh, "but the stories, and the notes of thanks that we receive from the recipients, and the reports we receive back from the volunteers of the joy that they witness are truly inspirational. We received one photo back this year of a young boy literally HUGGING the turkey that his family had received. It simply does not get any better than that!"

"The Basket Brigade provides much more than just a Thanksgiving dinner; each basket also delivers a message of hope for those receiving it, the spirit of giving for the volunteers assembling and delivering the basket, a sense of community for those individuals and corporations who have donated and sponsored the costs to purchase the basket, and a sense of gratitude for the person who nominated the family to receive the basket," concludes Brian Walsh, "the secret to LIVING is GIVING."

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Basket Brigade Delivers More Than Just Turkeys this Thanksgiving