The holiday season is known as a time of joy and celebration, but for individuals living with dementia, the festive period can also bring unique challenges, particularly when it comes to nutrition. Nutrition plays a crucial role in resident’s well-being, and the Christmas season may require care homes to provide additional support to ensure a positive and nourishing experience.

Residents with dementia may face difficulties in maintaining a balanced diet due to a range of factors such as memory loss and changes in taste and smell. During Christmas, the increase in rich and unfamiliar foods, coupled with potential disruptions to routine, can further complicate mealtimes.

Tips for supporting residents living with dementia:

1. Familiarity is key:

During the holiday season some eating habits may change with more seasonal, festive options being offered on the menu and mealtimes sometimes becoming disrupted. For residents living with dementia, enjoying Christmas-related recipes may bring back happy memories and encourage a positive festive period. However, for some, they may struggle to recognise these different foods and wish to stick to familiar meals that provide comfort and ease any potential anxiety. To support these individuals, make sure to continue incorporating traditional and familiar dishes onto menus throughout the festive period to enable that personal choice.

2. Adaptive dining aids:

Experiencing difficulties using utensils, cups, or plates is common for those living with dementia. Having adaptive dining aids available, such as easy grips utensils or specialised plates, may enhance residents’ ability to independently enjoy their meals with dignity and enjoy more sociable mealtimes with others.

3. Dining environment:

As we all know, the dining environment is extremely important to promote good nutritional intake and a positive dining experience. At Christmas, there may be more decorations displayed throughout the home such as festive lights and added table ornaments. It is important to recognise that, although these may bring joy to most, it could be distressing for someone with dementia. Reducing noise, avoiding flashing lights or those that change colour, and a clear table place setting minimises distractions during mealtimes and enables individuals to focus on their food and enjoy the dining experience.

4. Small and frequent meals:

Whilst food is often the centrepiece during Christmas, for individuals with a poor appetite - a common consequence of dementia - a large plate of food may feel daunting. Offering smaller, more frequent meals to residents may be more enjoyable and can provide a steady intake of essential nutrients. For those who are easily distracted at mealtimes, serving finger foods might be a good option to encourage independence while still supporting them in meeting their nutritional requirements. The Finger Foods range from apetito includes meals such as Chicken & Mushroom Bake, Sausage Casserole and Veggie Bolognaise – providing a nutritionally complete hot meal in bite-sized pieces, without any mess.

Get in touch to find out more about how apetito can support your residents all year round: https://apetito.link/ch-speaktous