This Insidious Dementia
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click on it and make a purchase I'll receive a small commission at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.
If you’re a dementia caregiver, then I’ve got a holiday planner for you.
Life around the holiday season is hectic. Add in someone with dementia that you are the caregiver for and that makes the season even more hectic. Especially if you have a family as well.
Here is a holiday planner, I created as a product in my Etsy store, to get all of you through the Christmas season. All those little items that swirl daily around your brain now have a place to land in this planner to keep you organized.
Dementia Caregiver holiday planner
Here’s what’s included in the planner –
Calendar
You may be juggling multiple calendars for yourself, your family and probably one for your loved one as well. Print as many of the blank calendars as you need. There’s space for events, to-do list and for notes.
Planner page
You can treat this page as your daily planner. Either for all the days of the holiday season or the important days leading up to special events or holiday parties. This page takes your day and breaks it down into time slots. A space for meals, notes and to-do list is included.
Gifting Planner
Print as many of these pages that you need for all the people you buy gifts for. You can list gift ideas or note gifts purchased. You can then have the satisfaction of checking off another job once the gifts are wrapped.
Holiday Budget
On this page you can keep track of all your expenses for the holiday season and find out if you stay within your budgeted amount or your spending gets out of hand.
Activities and Concerns
Now, these 2 pages are for the caregiver of someone with dementia or mild cognitive impairment. There are some questions to think about regarding planning activities for your loved one and the activities page is for list making.
If you need some insight on how your loved one will handle the holiday season, you might like the suggestions in this post, A Caregiver Guide for Dementia and the Holidays.
Name Tags
This is a strange one to put in the planner, but this might come in handy. If you have family that is visiting, especially family that your loved one doesn’t often see, you might like to have everyone wear a name tag. You could either pin these on people or run it off on label paper.
Table Layout
Another strange page to include! This page is a large rectangle representing a table! I included this so you could plan out where everybody sits and where you’re going to put all the serving dishes, condiments, etc. Days before my mom hosted a party she would plan out where she was going to put all the serving dishes on the table and then write notes where everything would go. I thought that was a great idea so now I do that as well.
Holiday Card List
Whether it’s digital cards or snail mail here’s a card list. You can also keep track of cards sent and even those received.
To-Do List and Guest List
For all you list makers you get a page just for making a list (and checking it twice!) of your to-dos and one for party guests.
Holiday Checklist
Another planning page, but this one is to use 4 weeks out from your holiday party so you can break that planning down into weekly lists.
Food
On the subject of food, there is a page for recording recipe ideas, menu ideas and then your menu plan. The menu plan is broken down into Christmas Eve, Christmas morning, Christmas Day, and desserts, snacks and drinks.
Holiday Party Plan
If you are planning a party, whether it be for kids, adults or family, here’s a page for notes.
Holiday Decor
This is a page to record your notes/thoughts on what you’re going to decorate with in various rooms.
Storage Inventory
This page is more for after the holiday season once you start putting everything away. You can use this as a master list for all your boxes that get stored/stashed away to know what’s in what box.
So there ya go. An organizer to keep yourself sane through the season.
While you’re at it, check out all the other products in my store, Dementia Helping Hand, as well. Remember, I have products for you as the caregiver as well as those for your loved one with dementia.
You might also be interested in these posts –
Christmas Holidays with Dementia