The holidays are a great time to plan on visiting loved ones. And for loved ones that may be living in an assisted living facility, having friendly faces to share the holidays with can be priceless. 

During the time that you’re spending together, one great activity you can do together is to create some type of craft. This can help them spend meaningful time with you, create something that they can keep with them when you leave, and remind them of the holiday season that’s taking place around them.

To help you in choosing a great craft that you can try, here are three holiday crafts to make with your loved one in assisted living. 

A Holiday-Themed Heating Pad

For many seniors in assisted living facilities, the cold weather that comes along with the holidays can leave them feeling frigid. So if this is something that you know will affect your loved one, you might want to make a craft with them that can help warm them up when they need it, and a holiday-themed heating pad is a great option. 

If you know how to sew, you can choose a holiday-themed fabric to make your heating pad from. Otherwise, you can use a long holiday sock that you could easily tie a knot at the end of. Then, you help your loved one fill the bag or sock with rice or other materials that can easily warm-up in the microwave. This way, when they get cold, they can have someone throw their heating pad in the microwave and get warmed up instantly. 

Create A New Christmas Stocking

If your loved one celebrates Christmas, crafting together a Christmas stocking for them could be a great idea. You can bring along all kinds of crafting materials and let them choose what they want to decorate their stocking with. Depending on their abilities, they can attach the craft items or you can take on this responsibility.

In addition to making this craft together, you can also leave things in their stocking for them throughout the holidays to help them feel special and know that they are loved. 

Holiday Nail Polish

For loved ones who are interested in getting a little manicure or pedicure, you could bring the holidays to them by giving them holiday-themed nail polish. This can be incorporated into all of the holidays throughout the year, not just the ones at the end of the year. 

If you’re feeling crafty, you can try your hand at painting something festive on their nails. But if this is above your capabilities, you can always use nail stickers to achieve the look they want. 

If you’re wanting to do something crafty over the holidays with your loved one living in an assisted living facility, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you choose a craft you both will enjoy.