Hello everyone,

With the holiday season upon us, we hope that many family and friends will be visiting their loved ones at your nursing homes. You and your staff may already be planning special holiday events for visitors to attend with the residents.

 But when there isn’t a specific event planned, visitors can sometimes feel unsure of what to do with their friend or family member, especially if their loved one has challenges with communication or mobility.

 A nursing home in Pennsylvania has a great solution for this! The Meadows developed a travel activity box, an open suitcase that sits in the foyer and is filled with activities for residents to do with friends and family. The box contains magazines, adult coloring pages with colored pencils and crayons, checkers, crossword puzzles, puzzles and decks of cards. Guests are encouraged to pick some activities, and then return the games and supplies to the box when they leave.

 Why not make one of these boxes for your facility in time for the holidays? Be creative with what you include in it! To encourage visitors to engage in more physical activity with residents, you might include resistance bands for exercise or balloons to blow up and toss back and forth. The grandkids will love it!

Have a great week!