Top 10 Items to Pack for your Loved One with Dementia for a Holiday Visit with Family

A holiday outing with your loved one with Dementia can be a challenge. There are a view things that we have learned that we want to share with you. Here are a few tips to make your holiday visit a little easier.

1. Let your loved one bring a “Go Bag” that they can pack themselves and bring with them whatever that they like. The bag should be a medium or large travel bag. Add some of their favorite drinks and snacks. Dementia patients like to pack things, it seems to be very common and comforting.
2. Bring along an incontinence pad. You can find a pad at our store here. If your loved one is wearing Depends or any type of incontinence underpants she/he can have leakage. There is nothing more embarrassing than an accident on someone else’s furniture. Also, bring some extra incontinence underpants.
3. Bring an extra set of clothes. I can’t tell you how many times we had to change my mom’s clothes due to accidents and spills.
4. Bring along any favorite song list to play in the car on your phone or Bluetooth. The music will help to soothe any anxiety.
5. Dress her/him in their most comfortable and sturdy shoes or boots. Visiting an unfamiliar house can introduce trip hazards so having on a good pair of shoes will help to keep them stable.
6. Don’t forget any medication that needs to be taken during your visit.
7. Pack a comfort pillow or neck pillow, especially if they are wheelchair-bound. Your loved one may feel tired and want to take a break from the festivities.
8. If you have any fidget toys, bring them along. Small stress balls work well. Fidget spinners are great too.
9. Prepare and bring along a photo album book that she/he can look at during the visit and share with her/his family and friends. Our mom always liked to look at photos of herself when she was a young child and a young adult. For some, the disease affects the short term memory quicker than the long term memory. Emotionally, we felt that mom’s younger years were a happy time for her and that she felt good about reminiscing about those times.
10. Let her/him give the hostess/host their own gift. The gift can be something from their holiday past. A treasured family ornament, a piece of their costume jewelry or a favorite trinket. Our mom loved to give her things away and when we realized this we took all of her valuable items away for safe keeping.  Although this is very sweet, we found that the dementia took away her ability to reason these decisions out, but we didn’t want to take away the joy that she experienced when giving something of hers away.

We hope this helps you to prepare for a visit with your family and friends and we wish you and your family a wonderful holiday!

Wishing you Luck, Light and Love, Julie & Shauna