Holidays come and go but caregivers keep caregiving.
If you're a caregiver and can arrange time off during the holidays, great.
If you can't, make your own holiday.
Caregivers who follow these three tips during the holidays will be re-energized and have the strength to go on.
Spend time with different family members and/or friends.
You need a refreshing change of pace.
Many caregivers fall into the trap of hopelessness that comes with spending day after day at home.
Unless you make arrangements to get out loneliness will be your companion and depression will be knocking at your door.
If you care for a loved one at home try to get away for at least a several-hour respite.

Some of my non-caregiving friends hosted us in their homes where they did all the cooking, cleaning, and even entertaining (of my father), giving David and me the opportunity to enjoy a refreshing respite in a different setting.

Consider in-home care if your loved one can't get around easily.
If making arrangements for professional in-home care feels overwhelming or impossible during the holidays, invite a half-dozen close friends, neighbors, or family members to your home for an afternoon potluck.
You want to keep it simple and not get overwhelmed.
You never know, they may be happy with the non-family change of pace your invitation provides.

I invited friends (present or former caregivers) to my home for a potluck with the idea that many hands make light work.
My spirits rose with friends around to help me prepare food and clean up while sharing funny stories and laughter.
Depending on the people in your life and how you explain the situation, you may be surprised by how well this works and how soon everyone wants to repeat it.
Try it!

Put a dent in your ever-growing To Do List.
If you're like me, it seems your To Do List gets longer and longer with each passing week.
Each time I have an extended weekend, I start with a long and ambitious list.
I "plan" to get "all caught up," but the truth is that list that has been growing over several decades.
I'm disappointed when I still see the piles of non-urgent mail, magazines, and books; the photos needing to be organized; or the older videos that need to be transferred and edited.
Over the years, since age eight (I'm not kidding), I've learned to carve out several-hour blocks of time.
For a while, I was getting through small piles one weekend a month.
That activity has given way to hours at the computer making a dent in emails which seem to multiply like minks! This steady work is yielding noticeable results and I sometimes feel lighter because weight is being taken off my shoulders.
Review your To Do list to see what you can accomplish in a 3-hour period.
Your accomplishment will lift your spirits and give you the energy to return to caregiving.
Take time out to do something YOU want to do.

My husband and I enjoy hiking in the mountains--mostly in the Angeles National Forest with some weekend trips high-up in the Sierras where the sky looks remarkably brighter above 10,000 feet.
Depending on the terrain and distance, we'll leave for a half-day five- to ten-mile hike or do a twenty-miler in the Sierras after an overnight stay.

If your care recipient can join you, consider a walk in the park, a museum, or aquarium, or visit an antiques store and reminisce about the things s/he grew up with assuming this is what you want to do.

While caring for my father, we would reminisce as we reviewed his old notes and photos.
He saved everything including his English composition book from 1929.

Enjoy time with your loved one.
Share the stories from the past that will one day comfort you through memories.
Before any holiday (whether official or one you create), consider doing one or more of the following in order to feel re-energized as you care for your loved one.

• Get together with different family members and friends for a change of pace.
  
• Set reasonable expectations to make a dent in your To Do List.
  
• Take time to do something YOU want to do.
  

Best wishes to you and to your success!