If you want to honor an elderly loved one, throwing them a big birthday party can be a great way to ensure they feel appreciated and valued by their friends and family. If your loved one lives in a nursing home, this can be especially important. If the responsibility has fallen to you to organize a nursing home birthday, you might need some tips and tricks to ensure it all goes smoothly. Luckily for you, that is exactly what we are going to do in this article.
If you do have a loved one inside a nursing home, it is important to make sure they are treated correctly. This means having a discussion with them. Although most elderly patients love the idea of celebrating with their family and friends, some may not. If they are quiet and shy, normally, they might not want a big fuss thrown for their birthday. You should also consider each patient’s needs, and if the person who’s birthday it is suffering from weak bones, a dancing party may not be a great idea – we do not want to see any fractures in nursing homes.
What does the resident want?
Obviously, the most important one in the whole scenario is the one whose birthday it is. So make sure you take the time to speak to that resident. They will probably tell you what kind of birthday celebration they want. Some might want to go for a quiet day out, and some might want their entire collection of family and friends around. Everybody is different. If they were a bit of a partier in their youth, then they may want a little get together with the rest of the residents in the home, and maybe their family. They are more than likely allowed some alcohol (they are not exactly underage!) However, to monitor it, you might want to take a look at some of the best canned cocktails out there for portion control. Each resident can have only one, if they are allowed to, taking into account medication and health, so they can have a good time. Check with the rules first to see what the protocol is, but it could be a nice birthday treat for them!
What parties to do?
Next, you need to decide what kind of party to throw and plan it out. A good idea for a relative who has a small group of family and friends could be a nice picnic in the park. If their group is on the large side, maybe a BBQ. If your relative struggles to walk, you could throw them a stay-in-bed party, where they celebrate from their beds. Alternatively, if your relative struggles to hear properly but loves music, you may want to enlist the help of an audiologist (search hearing aid doctor katy texas or something similar depending on where you live) to help them hear all of their favourite songs when the big day comes, including you singing happy birthday to them!
Monthly parties
When your nursing home is pretty big, throwing a get-together for every single patient is a costly endeavor. It is also time-consuming and difficult to plan and manage. Lots of nursing homes have decided as a result of this to adapt to a monthly birthday party. On a specific day of the month, the entire nursing home throws a party for everyone who has a birthday in that month. This is an excellent way to make sure that those who do not want a lot of attention get to enjoy the party.
Making people feel wanted at their birthday party is so important. Even if you are lacking the funds or resources to throw a huge party, you can still do lots of little things to show your love. Make them handmade cards, watch old movies that they love, find an old record player and their favorite song. It doesn’t take much to make them feel loved and wanted around their birthday.