Enjoying Time With Your Loved One
Creative Activities
Some of the best times are spent with loved ones, sharing family stories. Plus, some people with Alzheimer’s disease like to spend time on activities that connect them to the past.
Create a scrapbook
Scrapbooking, putting photos and keepsakes in an album, lets you tell a story with your own family history. You can collect your shared memories into a scrapbook that you can revisit together whenever you want.
Scrapbooking may be an ideal project for you and your loved one to share. People with Alzheimer's may have a lot to gain from this type of work. Art projects may help people with Alzheimer’s feel a sense of pride at helping with a project or activity. Plus, they may feel helpful and relaxed while at work.
If turning your memories into a scrapbook sounds like something you and your loved one may like, treat it like an art project. Here are some tips that may help:
- Help your loved one start the project.
- Choose things that don't need more than basic help.
- Use safe materials such as blunt-ended scissors, nontoxic glue sticks, and bright, easy-to-grasp items.
- Guide your loved one's use of scissors, glue, and other tools.
- Don't rush your loved one.
- Choose projects that don't have to be finished in one sitting.
Build a family tree together
You can take it one step further and make a family tree. When they have a choice, many people with Alzheimer’s choose to spend time on activities that can be connected to their past.
Making a family tree offers a special benefit: it's a good way to involve children and grandchildren in their family history. Family trees can be plain, simple papers or fancy works of art. It's up to you. Get started by:
- Looking at old photos and talking about the people in them
- Listening to music that is tied to events in your loved one's life
- Spending quiet time together talking
- Asking your loved one to "teach" children or grandchildren things about their family history