This festive season is joyous for most of us, but here are some tips on how to remember those who are grappling with illness or loss at this time of year from Gifts From The Heart: 500 Simple Ways To Make Your Family's Christmas More Meaningful (Insomniac Press, 2006) by Virginia Brucker.
• Call ahead to make arrangements. It's hard for sick people to do things spontaneously. Often they need to adjust their schedule in order to conserve their energy for your visit.
• Ask the person who is ill if there is anywhere special they would like to go during the Christmas season. Perhaps there is a special movie or a light display they'd like to see. Plan ahead, but be understanding if changes must be made.
• Go shopping together for a wig, a hat or a scarf with a very close friend who anticipates hair loss due to chemotherapy. Go out for lunch afterward. Your moral support will be appreciated.
• Set aside two half days to help put up and take down your friend's Christmas tree.
• Put up and take down their outdoor lights.
• Invite their children to your house for a baking or craft session so Mom or Dad can have a nap.
• Organize some friends, parents, or church members to bake an extra dozen of their favourite treat. Arrange an appropriate time to deliver the goodies.
• Ask your church group, neighbours, friends or school's parents to have a "freezer meal" blitz. Let the family receiving the meals know ahead of time to make sure freezer space will be available.
Virginia Brucker is the author of Gifts from the Heart: Simple Ways to Make Your Family's Christmas More Meaningful. Book sales support cancer research. To date, over $98,500 has been raised for the Canadian Cancer Society. A newly revised and expanded edition of Gifts from the Heart is available at bookstores across Canada.
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