Holidays are often a time of joy, whether people spend them with their families, traveling, or with friends. They’re an opportunity for people to enjoy time together and bond over shared traditions and celebrations. However, senior citizens are often left out of holiday plans, as travel becomes increasingly difficult in older age, and many do not live close to their families. To remedy this, senior living communities try to bring their residents together to celebrate holidays with fun activities. Hawthorne Gardens Senior Living Community is a small — 66 residents — senior living community located in Southeast Portland. Mimzy Buehner, the life enrichment director of memory care at Hawthorne Gardens, says, “We love all of the big traditional holidays, but we also love to fill our calendars with all of the fun random days; [for example], we just [celebrated] World Egg Day last month.” Staff there try to provide residents with festive celebrations to make the holidays at Hawthorne Gardens fun for everyone. “Holidays are a huge part of people’s lives,” says Buehner. Hawthorne Gardens provides many holiday-themed activities for residents. Buehner shares, “For Thanksgiving and our December holidays, we will usually [host] a lunch or a brunch where all the [residents’] families are invited, so that [community members] get to enjoy the holidays with their family members.”
Buehner says that when planning the holiday activities, staff listen to the residents and consider their ideas and preferences. “We’re trying to make sure that when we’re making changes, it’s based on residents’ feedback or interest,” says Buehner. It’s important that residents’ voices are heard, especially in such a tight-knit — 66 residents — community. The goal is that every resident feels comfortable expressing their personal beliefs and participating in holiday traditions, while feeling welcome to join in on holiday celebrations they do not personally practice.
This community strives to include everyone and incorporate new concepts into traditional celebrations. “I think [Hawthorne Gardens’ holiday celebrations have] changed by becoming more inclusive. … [Over time], we’re able to communicate and understand more about specific cultures,” Buehner adds. “[This year] we celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day … just to make sure that every[one] feels acknowledged, recognized, and included,” explains Buehner.
Hawthorne Gardens also takes a unique approach to celebrating Father’s Day. Buehner explains, “We gave all the gentlemen — regardless [of whether] they were a father or not — flowers, a water bottle, and a little [stuffed animal].” They wanted to make sure that no one felt left out, while still recognizing an important holiday. “I [added] the flowers specifically because I read an article about how most men get their first flowers at their funerals,” comments Buehner. They wanted to remedy this and make sure Hawthorne Gardens residents feel appreciated and recognized.
Mary Elizabeth Brown, a retired elementary teacher, currently lives with her husband in the Summerplace Homeowners’ Association, a 55+ resort-style living community in Portland. Summerplace has been a wonderful community for the Browns, a place where they have been able to participate in fun activities and bond with other residents. Most importantly, Brown loves how the community celebrates holidays.
Her favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, because, “It is not so commercialized and it is very family-oriented.” Thanksgiving was her mom’s favorite holiday as well. Brown loves how Thanksgiving is centered around “reflect[ing] on all the things we have to be thankful for in our lives,” she explains. Along with Thanksgiving, she also appreciates Christmas. Thinking back to her childhood, Brown’s favorite holiday memories were on Christmas Eve. Her parents would host a big family gathering, prepare food, and attend an evening service at her church. “It was always so magical that we’d come out of church, and it would be Christmas,” Brown says. She remembers having a hard time sleeping because of the excitement of opening presents.
Drawing from her family history surrounding holidays, Brown keeps the tradition of baking cookies every year. Her children and grandchildren come over, each with their own cookie recipes, and when they’re done, they bring cookies to her neighbors.
Summerplace features a ballroom that is specially decorated for Christmas. There, the community celebrates with singing, potlucks, and line dancing. Another important part of Christmas for the community is the car parade. “There is a parade of cars that drives around to look at all the [decorated] homes,” Brown says. “If you decorate your house and you want to be part of the route, [so] that people drive by your home to see it, then you let the people who organize the parade of cars [know].” Brown really appreciates community activities like these during the holiday season. She feels that everyone at Summerplace looks out for each other, especially around the holidays.
From Father’s Day flowers to Christmas community potlucks, senior living communities try to create fun activities that remind residents of old celebrations and create new memories. No matter which holiday is being celebrated, senior community activities bring residents together and create joy. Brown explains, “I love the music, [and] I love the gathering[s] we have, because [they] really make you feel really alive.”
