Family gathered around a Thanksgiving dinner table

(Credit: skynesher / Getty Images)

LeadingAge members shared their plans Wednesday during a membership call, revealing a variety of approaches to managing holiday events, including use of common areas, guidelines for guests, dining venues and services, and protocols in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming height of flu season.

Simpler holidays

Pre-COVID, Operations Support Manager Beth Knoll said Rose Villa Senior Living in Portland, OR, would gather “shoulder-to-shoulder” in a large event in the continuing care retirement community’s performing arts center, “crammed with tables, meals, finger foods.”

Halloween typically featured a costume parade, Halloween-themed foods and children of staff members in attendance. “That didn’t happen,” Knoll said, adding that, instead, the community tweaked its Halloween event by creating a walk-through display and a “spooky tunnel” between buildings.

The community is hosting events outdoors, weather permitting, and residents are able to entertain in their homes or reserve common areas to host individual gatherings or meals. 

Knoll said the pandemic helped the CCRC “push the reset button” on event planning and “learn to take a breath.” Rather than create a full calendar of events, a resident and staff team now focuses on providing more focused, meaningful activities. The change has been well received by both staff and residents, she said.

“We have fewer activities that more people can participate in in more meaningful ways,” Knoll said. “We found a lot more organic, resident-driven things happening, making connections with people, making friendships.”

‘As normal as possible’

Marketing Counselor Marc Zirolli said Seabury ​​of Bloomfield, CT, like Rose Villa Senior Living, welcomes its residents to entertain in their own apartments or cottages, but holiday gatherings and special holiday meals are reserved for residents only. 

The single-site life plan community also has a continuing care at home model with 252 members who live off campus and still are classified as visitors. Zirolli said that as the community begins to ramp up for holiday events — including a holiday concert and an Episcopal bishop service in its chapel — those Seabury at Home members will be invited to participate as they did in pre-pandemic days.

Social distancing is still in place, he stressed, adding that anyone outside of his or her residence continues to wear a mask.

One event that will bring employee families back into the fold is Seabury’s Gingerbread Brunch. The pre-pandemic celebration typically involved a brunch in the community’s main dining room. This year, however, the brunch will be replaced with prepackaged goodies and snacks for the kids, a singalong, and treats and books for the children to take home.

“We have a lot of things on tap to make this as normal as possible,” Zirolli said, adding that Connecticut has a 1.75% COVID-19 positivity rate and there are no cases on the campus. “We’re preparing for this as if all of these events can — and, hopefully, will — happen.”

COVID-wary

Richmond Terrace Administrator Robin Garnett said that with a 100% resident and staff vaccination rate, the St. Louis freestanding assisted living community was able to open up more freely. Being COVID-wary, however, the community has made changes to its holiday plans.

Pre-pandemic, the community opened its Christmas dinner to residents and their families. This year, the dinner is limited to residents, with a resident-chosen meal, special decorations, lighting, music and a visit from Santa.

In a separate gathering for families and visitors, the community will provide music, but no food or drinks. And everyone will wear masks and practice social distancing, Garnett said.

Better than in a house

All members said that the changes have been well-received by community residents and their families, who expressed appreciation for keeping everyone safe during the “darkest of times.” 

“At the end of the day, they can’t say enough how thankful they are for what we’ve done for them, and their families are appreciative that their loved ones were in a safe place,” Zirolli said. “We’ve had such a busy fiscal and calendar year, with so many more new people moving in because they understood what great lengths we took to maintain as much safety as possible in our community.

“It’s really a better place to be rather than isolated at home.”