Christmas and the extra present it can give to people living with dementia

After the restrictions and separation that Covid brought to Christmas last year, this year is going to be even more momentous than usual as we hope to celebrate with friends and families again. Christmas can also bring an extra special gift for the thousands of people with dementia and their families because, although we celebrate it each year, it is part of a lifetime of Christmases that are stored in our long-term memories. When these memories are stimulated in people with dementia it helps restore the person’s sense of identity and, at Christmas time, strengthen their faith.

With this in mind Pilgrims’ Friend Society have produced a special Christmas edition of our ‘Brain and Soul Boosting for Seniors’ (BSBS). The BSBS programme is run in faith groups, churches, family homes, sheltered housing and by chaplains in some hospitals, with very good results. There have been improvements in mental thinking (cognition) and spiritual wellbeing.

The Christmas session is something that the whole family can enjoy. It prompts discussion and uses ‘guided discovery’ in a way that stimulates memories for people with dementia or cognitive impairment, while at the same time being fun and faith affirming. It can lead to feelings of contentment that sometimes enable people with dementia to step through the fog and reappear as their old selves for a little while. A wife said about her husband, ‘He doesn’t usually say much, but afterwards he began talking with us.’

It is based on the biblical story of the Nativity, with relevant Scriptures, and includes suggestions for activities to do together, ending with a reflection and closing prayer. This year’s Christmas BSBS leaflet is available for download, free of charge, from the Pilgrims’ Friend’s website.

Other things that families can do together are two new jigsaw puzzles, based on Psalm 34 and Psalm 150. The two puzzles are available here.

There is also a new picture book, ‘God’s Word in God’s World,’ that is already proving popular with older people, though it is elegant enough to be a coffee table book for people of every age. Each picture captures a part of God’s creation and is captioned with a Scripture verse. It was the brainchild of a daughter who used to visit her father when he lived in a Pilgrims’ Friend Society care home. He loved looking at the pictures and hearing her read the captions. The book is now blessing hundreds in the same way – it is obtainable here.

For more information about the BSBS programme or about any of the mentioned resources, email info@pilgrimsfriend.org.uk.

 

This guest post was written by Louise Morse who is a cognitive behavioural therapist and author of several books on dementia. She is also media and external relations manager with the Pilgrims’ Friend Society, a 214 year old Christian charity with housing and care homes for the elderly.