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With the year-round workplace schedules making family time even more precious, Theia Senior Solutions says it’s even more important to foster family togetherness during holiday gatherings by enhancing the intergenerational experience.

In a report called Family Gatherings and Preserving Memories, Director of Client Services Darlene Spagnola writes: “Stories that are passed down from generation to generation are a way that we create a legacy that will be remembered long after we are gone. These stories are precious in understanding who we are and where we came from, but in today’s modern era, the opportunities for families to have in-person time is less and less frequent.

“Too often, the people who hold the keys to family stories lose details to memory loss or pass away before their histories can be recorded. Summer vacation time and the holiday season are ripe opportunities for families to seize the moment to capture family history across generations.”

Theia Senior Solutions, an integrated eldercare platform and consultancy that helps advisers and families navigate the complexities of dementia and eldercare, suggests that people take time during the holiday season to truly interact with elders and encourage younger generations to learn their history by asking what their parents were like at your age.

Recommended conversation starters include: What are you most proud of in your life? What was it like where you grew up? What is your favorite family tradition? What is one of your happiest memories? What advice would you give your younger self?

Theia Senior Solutions’ full report can be accessed here.

In addition, Theia Senior Solutions also recommends that family members take extra stock of the welfare of aging loved ones – particularly for signs of needing help for daily activities or any cognitive decline. A full list of suggested considerations while visiting seniors during the holidays can be found here.