* This article appears in our Holiday edition of the Home Improver digital magazine
Holiday celebrations are all about family and this means making everyone – from the youngest to the oldest – feel festive and at home. The key to accommodating everyone is simply to include them.
Older adults especially – even those with physical or cognitive limitations – just want to join in. And if you need to decorate your home for the holidays, there is no better way than to use their skills to do so.
Home decor that family of all ages can help create include merry holiday wreaths, ornaments and stockings, while everyone can also bake and decorate holiday treats together.
If family is to stay for more than just a few days, make sure there are spaces within the home to accommodate their different ideas of relaxation.
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Children adore outdoor spaces to run around in, or areas where they can play freely and noisily, or watch TV, while older loved ones will require an area or room where they can simply chat with each other away from the chaos or watch the festivities around them in relative peace.
If you have the room, you could set up a dedicated area where loved ones of all ages can interact by chatting and playing games. This area should preferably be free of kids’ toys and television. Music is great to create a festive atmosphere but be sure to include songs and music that appeal to all your guests.
Younger and middle-aged family may enjoy more modern tracks and songs, for example, while the older generations may prefer to hear the much-loved tunes of their youth.
The holidays can often be busy and exhausting, but amid all the chaos, life-long memories are made and relationships are strengthened.
So, if you are able to consider, and meet, at least most people’s needs in your home these holidays it will undoubtedly become – and be remembered as – a place of love and happiness for all who gather there.