Planning Holidays with Dementia: A Caregiver's Guide to Guilt-Free Celebrations

If you're torn about whether to bring your loved one home from memory care this holiday season, feeling guilty about changing traditions, or wondering how to make the holidays special without overwhelming them—this episode is for you. Host Dawn Platt offers compassionate guidance on creating smaller, calmer gatherings that honor what matters most: connection over perfection. Learn practical modifications like timing visits when your loved one is most alert, simplifying menus, managing overstimulation, and preparing family members for realistic expectations. Dawn shares her own story of adapting her mom's cherished gift-giving tradition as dementia progressed, and reminds us that the smallest moments—a familiar song, a favorite dessert, holding hands by the tree—are often the most meaningful. This holiday season doesn't have to look like it used to for it to be filled with love.