How to Celebrate the Holidays With Someone in Senior Living

If you’re starting to consider senior living for a parent, the timing may feel complicated… especially around the holidays. You might wonder: 

Will the season still feel special? Will we still celebrate the way we always have? Will Mom feel left out?

We understand those worries. They’re natural, and they come from love. What we hope you’ll discover is that the holidays in senior living aren’t quieter or more distant. They’re often fuller, easier, and more joyful for families and residents alike.

Here’s a real look at how families celebrate the holidays with their loved ones at Heritage communities…. and how you can, too.

1. Share the Season Together in Comfortable, Welcoming Spaces

One of the most reassuring things families learn is that you can still gather just as you always have… just with more space, more support, and far less stress.

Every Heritage community offers inviting areas where families can celebrate together:

• Private dining rooms for festive meals
• Community rooms and cafés for large gatherings
• Converted chapel or wellness spaces for holiday parties

For Thanksgiving and Christmas, families simply reserve the room they want, bring in their favorite dishes – or let us prepare the meal – and enjoy being together.

There’s no need to choose between “home” and “community.”
You can create your holiday traditions right here, surrounded by comfort and support.

2. Keep Your Family Traditions Alive (and Start a Few New Ones)

Holidays in senior living can feel wonderfully familiar because residents and families help shape the celebrations. After gathering together in welcoming spaces, many families naturally keep the same traditions they’ve always loved – just with a little extra support and a lot more ease.

In Assisted Living and Memory Support

• A giant cookie exchange brings residents, families, and staff together.
• Santa makes a personal appearance with gifts that staff members thoughtfully choose for each resident.
• A resident plays piano while everyone sings carols over warm cocoa.
• In memory support, each resident opens a gift on Christmas morning: something small but personal.

In Independent Living

• Residents host music nights, invite choirs, and sometimes welcome a Grinch character for photo ops.
• Potlucks are a favorite: residents bring their signature family dishes, the same ones they made for decades.
• Social gatherings include festive cocktails, pies, and treats that make the season feel full.

These moments show your loved one isn’t just watching the holidays happen—they’re part of them.

3. Decorate Together and Bring the Season to Life

If you love decorating with your parent, you still can.

Residents help transform the community each year… putting up the tree, placing garlands, and decorating their front porches. Friendly porch-decorating contests encourage laughter, visits between neighbors, and plenty of holiday cheer.

You’re welcome to join in, help decorate your parent’s apartment or porch, or simply enjoy the sights with them as you walk through the building.

4. Decide How You Want to Celebrate: Inside or Outside the Community

Another concern families often have is losing the freedom to take their loved one out for the holiday. But here’s the truth:

Residents come and go freely. In fact, many do.

• Some spend Thanksgiving here because the meal is so special.
• Others head to a daughter’s home for Christmas Day.
• A few travel for the weekend, or even longer.
• Some residents still take winter trips or travel in their camper vans.

You can celebrate wherever feels right. And when the day winds down, your parent returns to a warm, safe home… not an empty house.

5. Stay Connected When Distance Makes It Hard

If you live far away or can’t be here in person every year, connection is still absolutely possible.

Staff help residents join video calls with family: Zoom, FaceTime, or whatever works best. Seeing faces, not just hearing voices, helps holidays feel close even across miles.

And for residents without nearby family, the community becomes a steady source of support, belonging, and warmth. One resident recently told us he’s thankful for his “Fox Run family” – a reminder that love and connection take many forms.

6. Enjoy Outings, Choirs, and Community Traditions Together

You’re invited to join your parent for many of the community events throughout December:

• Trips to see Christmas lights
• Holiday plays and musical performances
• Visits from children’s choirs and church groups
• Shopping trips for gifts and seasonal treats

December tends to fill up quickly because so many local groups volunteer their time. It’s a bright, joyful month with plenty to share.

7. Celebrate the Small, Sweet Moments You Love Most

The holidays aren’t defined by grand gestures… they’re shaped by the everyday moments that feel comforting and familiar.

At Heritage, those moments often look like:

• Watching holiday movies together in the theater space
• Decorating cookies
• Enjoying warm pies or caramel apples
• Sitting together listening to a concert
• Sharing stories over hot cocoa or a festive cocktail

You can join your parent for any of these. And when you can’t, you’ll know they’re surrounded by people who care.

8. Give Yourself Permission to Enjoy the Season, Too

For many daughters and sons, the holidays are when they realize how much their parent has been struggling at home… skipping meals, avoiding winter driving, feeling isolated, or falling behind on household tasks.

Senior living doesn’t change your family traditions. It simply gives you and your parent the support to enjoy them with less worry and more joy.

Instead of juggling caregiving and hosting, you can focus on connection, conversation, and being fully present.

See What the Holidays Could Look Like… Together

If you’re weighing senior living and wondering how it fits into your holiday plans, we’re here to reassure you: The season can still be warm, familiar, and meaningful. It might even feel better than it has in years.

You’re always welcome to join an event, visit a gathering space, or spend time decorating with your loved one.

Connect with us to explore how “Living Better” can include celebrating the holidays in a way that feels joyful, shared, and full of possibility.