Seniors Site

Going on a cruise indeed highlights your retirement life. In fact, it’s every American’s dream to join one even those who are not yet—or still far from—retiring. However, due to time constraints and of course, budget, going on a cruise remains to be a thing you do after you retire from the workforce. Problem is, cruising this late in life usually puts seniors in greater risk especially in terms of their safety and well-being.
We most probably have heard about several horror stories associated with cruising such as disappearances and violence while on board which got us thinking if going on a cruise is still safe for seniors. To appease your troubled mind, most of these reported incidents did not occur onboard so it is safe to say you don’t have to worry while you’re inside the ship sailing. Going off it, however, is a different story.
Here are some tips on how to stay safe while on a cruise, and of course, be able to enjoy the ride!
•    Keep your valuables with you at all times, on and off ship. These would be your documents, medications, spending money and whatnot. Invest in a good, sturdy cross body bags or messenger bags—light and convenient enough to be carried anywhere.
•    Cruise ships have safe boxes. Please use them as you already paid for it the minute you signed up for the cruise. Safe boxes are provided so that you will have a place for your other valuables which you don’t have an urgent need at the moment.
•    Keep in touch with those you left behind. Call them, email them, just make sure you stay connected during the whole trip. If you have no intentions of hooking up with a fellow cruiser and getting caught, perhaps it would be best if you give someone back home your itinerary and where in the world you should be at certain day and hour. This way, it will be easier to track you if and when something happens.
•    Report anything suspicious. Even if it’s fairly safe while inside the ship, you still need to keep your radars up. Anything suspicious and out of place, you report to authorities. Bear in mind that a ship, no matter how big it is, can be a very small place for con artists, scammers and unscrupulous people to find you—or the frail lady next door.
•    Avoid unfamiliar places. That includes someone else’s room or darker parts of the ship. Always be where people are and never wander alone.

Healthy lifestyle and vacations don’t really mix well, if you are to ask me. If you are out there with all intentions of having fun and not holding back, is it possible to still remember you are on a diet? Or perhaps remember that old, trusty running shoes you have packed to start your day with a 30-minute power run everyday for the whole duration of your summer vacation? Even elderly with health restrictions will find it hard to enjoy a summer vacation and still maintain healthy “habits”. However, there are still few of us left, brave enough to prove that it can be done. Fortunately, most tourist spots nowadays are making it easier for seniors to do so! Today, it’s all about making wise choices, even with your summer vacation! Here are some handy summer vacation tips to help you stay healthy:
•    Don’t forget your sunblock! You don’t go anywhere without a sunblock especially if it’s summer. Even if you are not intending to go for a swim, you have to remember you still have to go out and be at sun’s mercy, no matter what.
•    Bring your own healthy trail mix for snacks. I find it weird that everytime I go for a vacation, chips and sodas are the cheapest to buy while healthy choices are either hard to find or too expensive to even bother with. Bringing your own will ensure you of a healthy snack when you need it.
•    Always go for water—and lot’s of it! A summer vacation can indeed be boring if you limit yourself to drinking water. This is why I don’t necessarily mean that while your friends are out drinking alcohol, you are stuck with water. What I mean is, for those unimportant parts of your vacation such as uneventful breakfast inside your hotel room, try to load up with water instead of reaching for a can of soda.
•    Avoid prolonged physical inactivity. That is sitting or standing for hours like in an airplane or traveling by car. If it’s safe for you to do so, try to stretch your body every hour or so. This is to help your blood circulate properly.
•    Get moving. You don’t have to be immobile to enjoy your summer vacation. You can ask your partner to have a walk down the beach every morning to catch sunrise or perhaps volunteer to accompany your grandkid around a nearby museum.
•    Limit yourself to one no-holds barred meal per day—preferably lunch. Dining out can easily break, not only your health but also your wallet. Also, I find it hard to enjoy a good meal if I get loads of it. Indulging a little everyday will make it more worthwhile.
•    Get enough sleep. It is important to have your energy last you the whole day, it is not possible if you lack sleep.

Indeed, traveling with your loved-ones makes a vacation more special than usual. However, vacations made with your grandchildren were the most memorable and it’s no wonder! Just imagine lively, youthful sounds to keep you going for more. There’s just something these little ones are able to give you—like an energy potion to make the most out of your vacations!
Unfortunately, no matter how jolly we all are the moment we leave our houses, there’s no telling how everything would be as soon as we reach our destination! Vacation blunders are bound to happen, especially if the organizer was not too careful in making everybody happy. And, it doesn’t take much to blow everything out of hand, mind you. Here are some vacation and travel tips for grandparents to make your vacations fun and hassle-free:
·    Plan according to everyone’s schedule. Apparently, your generation lives in a completely different timezone than that of your grandkids! As a general rule—and especially if you are not living with your grandkids—ask their parents what time do the kids usually get up when in a vacation and chart your activities from there. If you plan to start your day early, make sure you talk with “late-risers” so they are forewarned.
·    Have a pre-vacation talk with all participants. Make sure you discuss all necessary points such as where and what time exactly activities will happen. This way, you would know your grandkids’ priorities and be able to plan from there.
·    If you encounter conflicting priorities, work on a schedule that would be very beneficial for all even if it means not being together all the time. By grouping yourselves according to preferred activities, everyone is guaranteed to have a good time.
·    Imagine how you would fare when you get there. Your vacation should be a trip you and your grandchildren will enjoy and not, in any way, a baby-sitting job. If you feel your body won’t be able to handle your grandkids, it is much better to admit it now, get help and not regret anything later.
·    While it is normal for grandparents like you to spoil your grandkids especially when out on a vacation, try to control yourself and save the spoiling activities later! Remember that when you’re somewhere far from home, you should be the one in charge and not cause any trouble by allowing your grandkids to have their way.

How time flies! I barely felt January and guess what, the next thing I know it’s already February—and a weekend too! Few more days and we’ll find ourselves thinking of ways to spread the love, either with our partners, loved-ones and even with people we barely know. Actually, I’m already seeing stores and malls sporting heart-shaped cutouts and cupids, even supermarkets are flooding with chocolates of all shapes and sizes. In truth, it’s hard to miss that giddy feeling that goes with every Valentine’s Day when everybody around you has nothing but love!
As much as love knows no age, Valentine’s Day is also a celebration for all ages. It doesn’t matter if you have a partner right now, what matters most is that you are with your loved-ones and that you really want this day to be celebrated with them. But for those who are with their spouses or partners, lucky you! Here are some activities you can do to celebrate Valentine’s Day:
·    Impromptu getaway—there’s nothing as romantic as an impromptu getaway to somewhere no one knows where! If you are currently with a partner, surprise him or her by dropping by their office and asking for a date. It doesn’t matter if it’s near or far, just as long as nobody knows where and no one will be able to reach you. Yes, it’s time to turn off those phones as well. Consider this as your special day when no one else matters but you and your partner!
·    Visit places you both have fallen in love with—Nothing fancy here. It may be a café where you first dated as a couple or a nearby ice cream shop you used to bring your kids when they were younger. Something to rekindle that “fire”.
·    A day of surprises. Hide love notes and little somethings here and there. Seniors can add spice to it by organizing something like a scavenger hunt wherein the hunter will ultimately arrive at a price.
·    Pamper yourself. With or without a partner, go for a relaxing spa. Your Valentine’s Day can be more enjoyable if your body is without its usual aches and pain. Pampering your aging body will surely make you feel a lot lighter—and younger too! It will also prepare you for the long night ahead!
·    Cook for your special someone. Expect popular restaurants to be jam packed and overly crowded. If spending a quiet, romantic night with your partner is more of your type, then gather those dusty cookbooks and find something that can easily be prepared. It need not be something elaborate, besides, it’s just you and your partner.

We, seniors, are all for restoring our once-green environment and as much as possible, we adapt certain lifestyle adjustments just to keep up with the advocacy. In doing so, we believe that somehow we are alleviating the stress of the human impact which apparently, Mother Nature is not taking it anymore. I say, we can’t blame her!

Holidays are one of the occasions when we tend to forget our green ways and just do what pleases us. To celebrate a joyful occasion without making the environment pay for it IS indeed possible, if we just act consciously. In time, it will be like an instinct deeply instilled within us.

The idea behind green holidays is to reduce waste as much as possible. The problem however, is that the notion of a festive holiday always involves all things new and shiny. This even includes gifts and the box they should be packaged in. Here are some suggestions to make your holidays as green as possible!

·    Seniors should invest in a sturdy, fashionable eco bag, weeks before your scheduled holiday shopping. This will come in handy during Christmas rush when you just have to put everything in one place and not worry about misplacing any. Eco bags are usually big to accommodate your shopping needs with a small pocket for receipts. Eco bags will eliminate the need for several plastic bags and unnecessary, nonreusable packaging that come with each and every purchase you make.
·    Seniors should make sure that their gifts are something that can be used by the recipient and not something that will be considered as a white elephant! If you don’t know the recipient very well, then go for gifts that you know they will eventually use, such as organic soaps, wines or even a fruit basket!
·    Break the real-or-fake-Christmas-tree debate by adorning your pretty and very much alive tree firmly planted in your own front yard! If there’s no suitable tree in sight then it’s about time for you to plant and care for one! Inside your home, you can choose a right sized plant together with its pretty pot, to stand as your Christmas tree.
·    If seniors need to ship their gifts to their loved-ones living faraway, go for shipping companies that practice environment-safety precautions like measuring their carbon footprints and such. Information about their practices can usually be found in their websites.
·    I’m not a huge fan of reused gift wraps since they tend to be a not-so pretty sight to look at. My suggestion is to buy a 100% recycled gift wraps or better yet, put your gifts inside an eco bag. While you’re at it, encourage the recipient to use the eco bag when shopping!

After Christmas comes New Year and New Years clearly signify deep soul searching and assessment of your life especially what you’ve been doing these past 365 days. From there, seniors are compelled to move on from these things, leave them completely behind and start anew hence New Year’s resolutions!

What I love about New Year’s resolutions is that they represent hope and actually looking forward to something. Another thing that makes it more special is that the warmth feeling of Christmas can still affect the way you get your resolutions together. Sadly, soon after the holidays and we go back to our normal, 365-days-kind-of-life a.k.a reality, New Year’s resolutions can be quickly forgotten.

Every year, our resolutions evolve to what suit our lives at the present. Generation to generation, it seems that New Year’s resolutions take different faces, different hopes and different levels of will power to make it work. For seniors, it’s mostly lifestyle changes and new things to conquer. Here some popular New Year’s resolution for seniors:

•    Start exercising. I think this is the most popular New Year’s resolution for all ages. By the time you start noticing you don’t look too great in the mirror and the clothes you wear are no longer age-appropriate, that’s when exercising becomes a serious business. For seniors, exercising becomes all the more important due to whatever health condition you might be having right now.
•    Reach out to other people. As crazy as it may seem, when you reach a certain age, friends become important to one’s life. It’s because seniors do need someone to accompany them. To share their emotions, whether happy or sad, or even mad. No matter how much you successfully multiplied during your younger years, it’s not uncommon at some point, to find yourself lonesome without someone to talk to. Reaching out to other people, in your community, at workplace, can help you get over these lonely times and enjoy life in general.
•    Catch up with friends and families. If you have been busy making new friends, you might have disappeared entirely from your old ones’ lives without you even realizing it. Now is the best year to make both worlds coexist with one another.
•    Downgrade your lifestyle. That is, if you haven’t yet. When we say downgrading, it doesn’t always mean we’re going penniless. Downgrading nowadays means doing without the things we don’t really need and disposing of the things that have been cluttering our lives to make way for newer and greater things.
•    Learn new things. The more we learn, the wider our horizons. Even if we are already hitting the golden years, it doesn’t mean there are no more to learn. There are always new things to learn, we just have to know where to find them.

One of the most common practices we seniors usually do during the holidays is reflection. Together with your reflection comes self check. During these times, we try our best to assess what we were able to accomplish and what we missed in our lives. After much deliberation comes planning for the coming year, including short and long term goals. This is done to encourage yourself to always look forward and hope for the best. The downside however is the so-called holiday blues.

Holiday blues can be triggered by the season. Holiday season brings forth sweet memories from the past which may include your lost loved-ones. Also aggravating the bad feeling are health problems you might be having now. Another reason to have the holiday blues is your current financial situation. When combined, it can be a recipe for disaster!

Holiday blues are deeply acknowledged by health professionals since it was observed as a common occurrence during holiday seasons. However, there are ways to avoid holiday blues from attacking seniors, as suggested by doctors:

·    When loneliness strikes, seek other people’s company. This doesn’t mean seniors just calling a friend and talking over the phone or social-network marathon but you have to force yourself to go out and have fun, with real people. Be physically there. If you don’t know where to start, or are afraid of being rejected then go for volunteer programs where you can share yourself to new faces and personalities. Actually, it’s impossible to not have somebody, it’s just, you’re not reaching out hard enough.
·    Avoid drinking too much. When you do, it effectively brings down your inhibitions, making you more vulnerable to hurt. Alcohol is a known depressant that is why your doctors strictly advise against it when suffering depression.
·    Get someone to talk to you. You need to take it off your chest. Senior centers have counseling groups to assist you when nobody is available to talk, don’t hesitate to seek help when you need them.
·    Depression has signs, it is best if you get yourself familiar with them. The soonest you recognize these signs, the better you’ll be able to handle the situation.
·    Try to divert your attention to something else totally unrelated to what is bothering you. Do something daring or a task you’ve been meaning to do for a long time. Sense of accomplishment can easily counteract depression.
·    Even if it seems easier to stay at home and be with yourself, resist it. You need to be out there and discover the world and what it has to offer you now. You can never find these things alone.

Depression is a state wherein the only person who could help you overcome it is yourself. Yes, help can be sought but it can only do so much for you. Deciding what’s best for you, still, is the best way to beat the holiday blues.

Holidays are not only meant for giving gifts and exchanging cards. Along with it comes good food and unhealthy practices. While it’s quite understandable due to the jolliness of it all, we should always remember that keeping healthy still means a lot to an aging body but that doesn’t necessarily mean we must miss out on the fun!

By the way, staying healthy is not limited to the physical aspects of it alone. Sometimes, holidays can also bring about emotional and mental stress. In order for us to really enjoy our holidays, we must take some precautionary measures thus allowing us some time to breath. This is really important so that after the holidays, we can easily slip back to our old routines and not feel drained and emptied.

For quick and easy ways to maintain right equilibrium over the holidays, here are some suggestions:

·    Renew your spiritual grounds—Christmas rush can easily make us forget what the holidays are really for. Renewing your faith in God will certainly give you the spiritual satisfaction you might have been looking for.
·    Renew your senses—It’s easy to overlook things that are there for you to see especially if you were bound with obligations and responsibility. This is the perfect time to get to know your self again and discover new things around you.
·    Plan ahead—To plan is to organize. If you plan early, you will be able to do things according to their right timing thus allowing yourself some time to rest and relax before the big day. Also, planning eliminates stress of last-minute whatnots.
·    Let go of your baggage—Holidays can also mean family get-togethers which sometimes prove to be a painful affair. Old quarrels can easily be brought up and long overdue spats rekindled. You, being the oldest of the pack should be the first one to let go of old arguments and promote love within the family.
·    Indulge yourself—Not by eating of course! Indulging yourself should mean keeping your overall outlook happy and light. Treat yourself to a day in spa with your partner or do something you have been meaning to do for quite sometime.
·    Discover outdoors—If you are one of the many seniors working indoors and spending too much time doing everything else over the internet then now is the time to go out and discover the joys of outdoors. You’ll be amazed on how the world evolved the last time you were out!
·    Choose what you eat—People nowadays are more conscious of the food they eat so it’s fairly easy to skip on the unhealthy stuff and be on the healthier side. If you feel you are going in a war zone where healthy foods are not an option, then it’s best to prepare and bring your own food while disguising it as your contribution to the festivities. This way, the host won’t feel offended if you choose not to eat the unhealthy stuff.
·    Stick with your exercise routine—This may be the hardest to keep since it’s really tempting to just sleep, eat and be merry all holiday long. Unfortunately, two weeks of being “merry” will certainly make a dent out of our healthy lifestyle so better exercise than regret later.
·    Hydrate yourself—Make water your best buddy this Christmas. Why? It’s because it’s never good to be dehydrated. That’s why.

So it’s time for Christmas parties and your officemates have just appointed you as the official party organizer, what now? While party organizing may not be new to you—and must be the reason why you were dearly voted by your fellow coworkers—still, it can be quite troublesome to think of new and inventive ways to keep your party rolling.

If you think keeping children entertained all throughout a party is hard, then you must have been out of the party scene for quite a while! Even if older adults have, in time, developed an ability to entertain themselves during the most boring of parties, the fact that they do remember who threw that party tends to ruin the party organizer’s reputation. So if you happen to have thrown a flop party, expect a minimal amount of people attending your next. With that said, you should know that each and every time you organize a party, you must make sure it will be a hit or else, never attempt again. EVER.

Here are some Christmas party ideas for seniors and older adults to give your party a little spice:

·    Christmas Charades—charades are always fun and they never fail to crack up a roomful of adults. Just make sure that you throw in some Christmas feel into it such as dressing up the person who would act out with Santa hat or elves’ vest.
·    White Elephant Gift Exchange—the game of gift exchange has many variations as its mechanics keep on changing over time. The original way of doing it involves stealing and swapping gifts until you get the most coveted gift in the pack.
·    Pictionary—if your guests can act out, then they can also have fun drawing things up to win a price! The fun begins when hard items come up so make sure you have lots of them mixed with easy ones.
·    Icebreakers games—there are lots of variations for icebreakers but what I love most is the one where you get your question and answer it out loud no matter how embarrassing the question is! Icebreakers are great for getting to know your officemates more, in a way, an activity that promotes team-building and camaraderie.
·    Spa party—if you have money to spend and your officemates are willing to have a relaxing night to prepare their tired and weary bodies for the holidays ahead, spa parties are the greatest for older adults! Spa packages are available inhouse and oncall, whichever is the most convenient for you and your guests.

Personally, the greatest place to spend Christmas is right inside your own home with your family and loved-ones gathered together. But, in some cases, Christmas can be the only time to get away from it all, i.e your tiring work and never-ending responsibilities. Because of this, we know how important it can get to find the perfect place to celebrate Christmas and capture that joyful feeling once again.

Many seniors opt to use the holidays to visit friends and families who live far. This includes daughters and sons who somehow managed to live oceans apart from us. It’s the perfect time to get to know “new additions” to the family and compensate for the lost time with our grandchildren. Meanwhile, some senior couples who have money to spend treat the whole family to a vacation. This way, they will all be able to spend time as one big family and at the same time, make new memories in great places.

Indeed, Christmas is a very busy time for everybody. If you haven’t checked flights yet, you’ll be amazed to see that most of them are no longer accepting passengers. If this is not the time for you to host parties, check out these great Christmas destinations to visit:

·    If the whole family is coming with you and you have kids in tow, be sure to check out Disneyland in Orlando, Florida. Disneyland has all the right ingredients for a perfect Christmas celebrations for seniors and kids alike. It’s a theme park, it has great hotels and of course, it’s magical. Aside from that, you can also visit other theme parks while in Orlando.
·    Christmas season can be so nasty to our aching bones and joints. To get away from it all and discover a culture that is a whole lot different from what we practice, why not visit Hawaii? There are Christmas concerts, parades and performances that are done every year. Let’s not forget the sun, sea and sand—lot’s of them!
·    Looking for something fun, daring and plain crazy? Go to Vegas and you can never go wrong! Las Vegas is, hands down, one of the best places during holidays, in fact, it’s a great place to visit the whole year round. For one, seniors will have a great time checking out hotels with festive arrangements. If you think Vegas is a bright place, expect it to be at its brightest during this time of the year.
·    If you just can’t get enough of the snow and you ski like it’s going out of style, then check out ski resorts in England. What really sets the place apart from other ski resorts is that England spends Christmas the traditional way so expect the warmth to creep up on you. Also, there are many interesting places you can visit in England that are sure to enrich the mind and heart.
·    If you plan to fall inlove this Christmas or perhaps rekindle the romance, don’t forget Italy. Catch the midnight mass with the Pope in Vatican, although you must make arrangements ahead of time for this. Feel the love in Venice and watch the nativity scene being played while holding hands with someone you dearly love!