Preparing for Christmas: Ideas For Carers

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Information and resources on helping to ensure your client has a great Christmas, with a focus on their wellbeing and health, as well as helping them to make memories.

Christmas is well on the way and at this time of year as a carer, you need to be making plans to ensure that your clients wellbeing is completely taken care of over this festive period.

As a carer, you have a huge amount of input over the kind of Christmas your client has. If they are one of the 1.2 million people in the UK who don’t have anywhere to go on Christmas day, your input is even more important will influence their memories of the big day this year.

To help you with preparing for Christmas as a carer, take a look at these tips:

Get Your Shifts Setup

If you are a live-in carer you need to know if you are spending Christmas at home whilst another carer is with your client, or whether you will be spending it with your client. Get the shifts planned well in advance so that everybody involved can plan ahead. Even if you are not a live-in carer, knowing how much help you client needs on Christmas Day and that those needs are met is really important.

Stay Practical

This might sound completely inhuman but, your client needs you to stay practical and focused on your job. That includes keeping their routine, helping them stay social and taking care of their medical needs. It can be easy to feel very sad for them, or feel like you need to overcompensate for people they no longer have, but you have to stay focused on your job to be the best carer you can be. Taking care of their wellbeing and practical needs with compassion and kindness is a really great approach to caregiving.

Don’t Be Afraid To Let Your Client Be Sad

Emotions of all kinds are normal in a balanced amount. If your client is sad about the loss of their partner or, about the fact Christmas isn’t going to be spent with their children, let them be sad. Addressing those emotions naturally leads to a renewed focus on more positive things. Bypassing them may be suffocating for your client, who needs a healthy way to let their emotions out.

Be Mindful Of Your Clients Needs

49% of people with dementia find a change in routine at Christmas stressful. 38% of dementia sufferers find the extra noise at Christmas frightening. Being mindful of your clients needs means you can make Christmas as comfortable as possible for them. Slowly putting decorations up, taking your client shopping at the quietest times, and keeping social situations down to smaller numbers will help keep your client comfortable over the festive period.

Be Creative

Your skills as a carer are varied and Christmas is a great time for you to truly excel in your creativity and experience. From choosing the right Christmas activities to excite your client, to connecting them with friends and family, your input makes a huge difference to their quality of life at this time of year. Don’t be afraid to be creative, it will help you tackle unique challenges and hurdles your client has during Christmas and New Year.

Become A Live-in Carer And Make A Difference To The Lives Of Others All year Round

If you are currently caring as a profession, but want to make a real difference to the lives of others without having to stretch your time and skills constantly under pressure, why not consider becoming a live-in carer? Live-in care is a compassionate, dedicated job role with lots of benefits for both client and carer. It is where you can make a true difference to your clients life, and there is no shortage of jobs in this area as the population ages and more and more people seek a better alternative to care homes. Take a look at The Live-in Care Hub today for more information.

 

 

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