Winter Holiday Activities for Nursing Home Residents
Short answer: How do you plan winter holiday activities for nursing home residents?
Ask each resident which holidays they keep, then run Hanukkah (December 4 to 12, 2026), Christmas and Kwanzaa (December 26 to January 1) activities side by side, with a winter option at the same time for anyone who doesn't celebrate. Hold the New Year countdown at noon, keep groups small, and skip food-like decorations.
Between December 4, 2026 and January 1, 2027, residents may be marking Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year's Eve, or none of them. This page gives activity ideas for each holiday, a winter option for residents who don't celebrate, and a short list of questions to ask before you fill the calendar.
General information for activity staff, families, and volunteers. Not medical advice. Activities here are for enjoyment and company. They don't diagnose, treat, or slow any condition. Follow each resident's care plan, diet orders, and your facility's policies, including fire safety rules for candles.
When are the winter holidays in 2026?
Hanukkah: first candle at sundown on Friday, December 4. The last candles are lit on Friday afternoon, December 11, and the holiday ends on Saturday, December 12 (Chabad.org: Hanukkah 2026).
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: Thursday, December 24, and Friday, December 25 (5 U.S.C. 6103).
Kwanzaa: Saturday, December 26, to Friday, January 1. Each of the seven days is given to one principle, and the Karamu feast falls on December 31 (Smithsonian NMAAHC: Kwanzaa).
New Year's Eve: Thursday, December 31. New Year's Day is Friday, January 1, 2027 (OPM 2027 holiday schedule).
What should you ask residents before planning?
A certified nursing facility has to base its activities on each resident's assessment, care plan and preferences, with group, individual and independent options (42 CFR 483.24(c)). Holidays are personal, so ask each resident, or family if the resident can't say:
Which holidays, if any, do you keep?
Is there a song, food or job you always did? (Lighting candles, trimming the tree, cooking.)
Is there a holiday you'd rather skip this year?
Would you rather join a group, have a one-to-one visit, or be left alone?
Write the answers on the activity record so the next shift doesn't ask again.
What Hanukkah activities work in a care home?
Watch a lighting. Chabad.org says traditional Hanukkah lights are real flames and that electric menorahs are fine for display. If your building doesn't allow open flames, ask the resident or family how they would like to handle the lighting, rather than deciding for them.
Foods to talk about. Chabad.org lists doughnuts and potato or cheese pancakes as traditional treats. A conversation about whose kitchen made the best latkes needs no diet orders. A tasting does, so get nursing sign-off first.
A slow dreidel game. Play for buttons or nothing at all.
Songs. Chabad.org names "Maoz Tzur" and "Haneirot Halalu" as the classic songs after lighting, and "Dreidel Dreidel" and "Oh, Chanukah" as newer ones.
What Christmas activities work in a care home?
Wrapping and decorating. The Alzheimer's Association suggests involving the person in safe tasks such as wrapping packages, decorating or setting the table (alz.org: The Holidays and Alzheimer's).
Cookie tins. The same page suggests that someone who once enjoyed baking may like helping pack cookies into tins or boxes. The packing works even if nobody bakes.
Carol sing-along with large-print lyric sheets.
Unbreakable ornaments to sort by color into a basket.
"Tell me about decorating at your house." Ask about the tree, the lights in the window, or who did the cooking.
What Kwanzaa activities work in a care home?
The Official Kwanzaa Website describes a kinara holding seven candles, one black, three red and three green, standing for the Seven Principles (The Celebration). It lists feasts (karamu), music, dance, poetry and stories as part of the holiday, and calls Umoja (unity) the first principle (Official Kwanzaa Website).
A principle a day. Write the day's principle in large print and ask one open question about it. For Umoja, try "Who held your family together?"
Music and poetry hour. Residents can listen, sing, or read a short poem aloud.
A Karamu-style lunch on December 31. A shared midday meal, served to each resident's diet orders.
Kinara display. An electric or unlit kinara with the colored candles in order gives residents something to look at and talk about.
How do you mark New Year's Eve without a late night?
The Alzheimer's Association notes that some people living with Alzheimer's become confused or agitated in the evenings and suggests celebrating earlier in the day.
A noon countdown with sparkling juice (per diet orders) and noisemakers for anyone who wants them.
"Tell me about a New Year's Eve you spent with family or friends."
A wishes jar. Each resident shares one hope for the new year. Staff can write it down for them.
What about residents who don't celebrate?
Some residents keep none of these holidays. Some are grieving. The Alzheimer's Association notes that a person living with dementia may feel a special sense of loss during the holidays. Plan for them on purpose:
Run a winter option alongside each holiday event. A snow word search, a cocoa-and-blankets afternoon (cocoa per diet orders), or a "winters where I grew up" talk lets people take part without joining a holiday that isn't theirs.
Make opting out easy. Ask privately, accept a "no," and offer a one-to-one visit instead.
Keep the normal routine. The Alzheimer's Association suggests keeping the person's usual routine as much as possible so holiday plans don't become confusing.
How do you keep the holidays calm on the unit?
One big event a week. Leave quiet days between concerts and parties.
Check the decorations. The Alzheimer's Association warns that candies and artificial fruit used as decorations can be mistaken for real food, and that blinking lights may confuse.
Small family visits. The same page says cross-talk can be hard for people living with dementia or hearing loss. Suggest visits in twos and threes, or help set up a short video call with a song or old photos to share.
Choose gifts with families. The Alzheimer's Association advises against gifts like dangerous tools, utensils, hard board games, complicated electronics or pets.
For holiday visits that run out of things to say:Reminiscence Conversation Cards are 108 large-print cards with open questions, including "Describe decorating for Christmas or another winter holiday," "Tell me about holiday shopping or wrapping gifts," and "Describe a New Year's Eve you spent with family or friends." No "Do you remember...?" questions. $6.99 for family use, or $24 for a care-home edition with unlimited printing at one location. To fill the rest of the calendar, Care Home Activity Library Vol. 1 ($34.99) has two large-print printable packs, The Sunny Windowsill Activity Book and The Front Gate Activity Pack, with a license for unlimited printing at one location. Try the free sample pages above first to see if the format suits your residents. For ideas on using the pages, see our Sunny Windowsill guide. Enjoyment and conversation only. Not a medical product.
General information for activity staff and families. Not medical advice. Follow each resident's care plan, diet orders, and your facility's policies.