The holiday season is the time we get together with our loved ones, celebrate our relationships, and appreciate each other’s company. But some of our loved ones have more difficulty getting out of the house than others. So, how do you create inclusive holiday traditions for your family and friends?
Who Is Included?
The first step to creating inclusive holidays is remembering who you’re including. While you don’t need to go overboard, ensuring everyone imaginable can enjoy your home or other gathering space, you should reflect on who’s coming and anyone they’re bringing.
If you’re unfamiliar with any of the guests, find out if they have any needs you should anticipate, especially regarding diet and accessibility.
Older Relatives
The holidays can be an especially meaningful time for our older relatives. They get to see how their family has grown, remember previous years, and share their traditions. For geographically dispersed families, holidays may be the only time everyone gets to see each other.
Unfortunately, older relatives may also be the ones who have the most challenging time participating in holiday festivities. While anyone can have accessibility issues, it’s prevalent for aging relatives. And they may also have dietary restrictions due to health conditions.
So consider planning your location and menu around the people it means the most to and who are most likely to have restrictions.
Dietary Planning
In many ways, dietary planning is the more straightforward health concern to plan for. When you know people’s food restrictions, you can usually just label the food with ingredients they need to avoid or limit.
In extreme cases of allergies (such as some nut allergies), you need to exclude dishes with the ingredient altogether, but usually, adjustments are all your guests will need.
People with diabetes can limit their sugar intake. People on low-fat diets due to health concerns can avoid fattier choices. Ideally, you should have enough food choices available so everyone can have something they love. Sometimes, that means having alternatives for that casserole!
Accessibility Inclusive Holidays
When planning for guests with accessibility limitations, it’s vital to pick a location they can reach. Sometimes, that means bringing the holidays to the person with the most limitations. Other times, it means careful planning.
If you have guests in wheelchairs but don’t have a stairlift in your home, you should consider having festivities somewhere with ground entry-level options or a ramp. You can also consider stairlift rental, especially if you have guests staying for more than a day or two.
Guests in wheelchairs and walkers also need wider spaces and clear transportation lanes to walk through the house. This can be especially nonintuitive for kids at Christmas, so let everyone know ahead of time what the expectations are for cleaning up toys and leaving the floor clear.
Even items like area rugs can become a trip hazard if they bunch up.
When In Doubt, Ask
We know that everyone is different and has their own challenges. If you’re unsure how to make your home welcome for inclusive holidays, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Start by letting your loved ones know how important they are to you and how much their presence will make the holidays special. This will go a long way toward making them feel welcome to share their needs and making your holidays happy for all!