Spending time with family members during the holidays can be a great way to enjoy each other’s company and make new memories. It can also be quite an eye-opening experience. Some families begin to notice an ever-widening gap between generations, with the younger members hunched over their phones and iPads while Grandma sits by the sidelines looking on.
If you’re planning to get the whole family together this holiday season and want a way to engage everyone, regardless of age, one of our favorite activities is to create a family memory book of an older adult’s lifetime legacy.
Begin by deciding whether you’d like to record the memories in writing, as an audio recording, or on video (or a combination of any of the three). Then, compile the questions you want to ask the senior. These can include input from all family members, from the youngest to the oldest. Here are several ideas to get you started:
- What is your favorite memory from a previous holiday?
- What was your first job?
- What was school like when you were a child?
- How did Grandpa propose to you?
- What are some values that are important to you that you would like to see continued in our family?
- What’s one thing you wish you had done that you never had a chance to do?
- Tell us about your favorite vacation.
Get the kids involved by having them interview Grandma or Grandpa, ask questions about old pictures, or record the interview using their phone or tablet for the family memory book.
The holiday season can be both fun and challenging when bringing together multiple generations of family and friends. For more tips to help involve seniors in holiday activities, or to learn about our senior care in Denton, TX and the surrounding areas, contact the professional in-home senior care team at Heaven at Home Senior Care any time at (940) 380-0500.