“Dear Jan, Is it appropriate to celebrate Halloween in a care home? This is my first job as an AC and it will be my first Halloween working in a care home. We have lots of residents with severe dementia here. I worry that they will be confused or scared by Halloween decorations, but my colleagues keep asking me what I have planned!”
Bridgette
Hi Bridgette,
This is a common concern amongst care home staff. You are right to be cautious about how you handle this event; residents with dementia may struggle to understand what is going on. As a general rule, avoid anything too scary – very dramatic, scary costumes and realistic, scary decorations are probably not appropriate. Keep any costumes and decorations light-hearted and funny.
To start planning your Halloween activities, first of all hold a discussion with your residents. Ask them how they would like to celebrate it. You may find that lots of your residents won’t seem keen. I often hear comments such as, “It’s all too American,” or, “It’s modern-day nonsense,” but then those same residents will really enjoy taking part in the pumpkin craft session that I arrange.
Be considerate of any residents with a strong Christian faith. They may well feel against celebrating Halloween. If this is the case, it is important that you provide alternative activities for them.
Here are my Halloween activity ideas to inspire you:
- Invite your local preschool or nursery to visit your care home in their fancy-dress costumes. They will love parading their costumes, and because they are little, they won’t be too scary for your residents. Make sure you prepare some small treats for your residents to hand out to your little visitors!
- Cut the top off small pumpkins or squash. Hollow out the middle (give the flesh to your kitchen staff to use in a recipe, or donate it to a local farmer) and fill with fresh flowers in autumnal shades of yellow and orange. Use as a unique table centrepiece.
- Decorate cupcakes with orange icing, then add edible decorations from your supermarket, or you could pipe on black icing to look like spiders’ webs.
- Wrap up a small box of chocolates in several layers of newspaper. Between each layer add a trick or treat, such as a sweet for a treat and some potato peel for the trick. Use this to play pass the parcel, until eventually someone wins the chocolates in the centre!
Best wishes,
Jan
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