Christmas: Navigating the Challenges and Finding Joy (Some Helpful Articles)

The holiday season is a time of joy, celebration, and togetherness for many people. However, Christmas can also bring challenges for us all, such as stress, overload, disrupted routines, social pressures, financial strain, crowded environments, and managing others’ expectations. 

For someone with an acquired brain injury (ABI) or other complex condition, Christmas can of course present a host of particular challenges that can sometimes make it especially difficult to fully enjoy the festivities. Understanding these challenges and finding ways to manage them, along with creating opportunities to enjoy meaningful experiences, can help make the Christmas period less stressful and more enjoyable for everyone involved. With this in mind, we are highlighting some articles exploring these issues, which you may find helpful.

Seasonal Considerations In Cognitive Rehabilitation – NR Times

This article by Natalie Mackenzie, director of BIS Services, was published in the NR Times last Christmas and discusses the challenges faced by brain injury survivors during the season, offering tips and strategies for cognitive rehabilitation. It highlights the importance of planning, organisation, and task prioritisation, as well as the need for personalised approaches. 

Natalie suggests breaking tasks into smaller steps, using visual aids, involving family members, and creating quiet spaces to manage sensory overload. It emphasises the support that can be provided by rehabilitation therapists and loved ones to help navigate the festive season successfully.

Christmas After Brain Injury – Headway

This helpful guide from Headway describes the numerous ways in which Christmas can be a difficult time for people with a brain injury, exploring challenges such as sensory overload, disrupted routines, social pressures, memory issues, and financial stress. The page provides some strategies to manage these challenges such as forward planning, maintaining routines, simplifying celebrations, setting a budget, and creating quiet spaces. Communication with family and friends about needs and limits is advised to ensure a more enjoyable and less stressful holiday season. 

Christmas Planning Post Brain Injury- Krysalis Consultancy

In this article from Krysalis Consultancy, the author, Anne Ricketts, shares her personal experience and emphasises the importance of planning and organisation for a less stressful Christmas after a brain injury. Anne suggests making lists, setting a budget, and keeping track of tasks to avoid last-minute stress. She also highlights the importance of having a sense of humour and not taking things too seriously, as laughter can be a great coping mechanism. The article also encourages planning ahead to ensure a joyful and manageable holiday season.

Sense Christmas Family Days mean Everyone gets to feel the Christmas Spirit - Sense

​In this article, Caroline Twohig discusses inclusive Christmas Family Days for families with children who have complex disabilities, provided by the charity Sense. These events create a festive, sensory-rich environment where children can engage in activities like baking, messy play, and music therapy. The article emphasises the joy of shared festive moments, to ensure that all children, regardless of their abilities, can experience the magic of Christmas. 

Christmas Gift Guide For Children and Teens with a Disability – The Children’s Trust

This short article shares Julie Jones‘ story of creating a Christmas gift guide for her son who has fine motor skill challenges. Each year, she highlights beneficial gifts like personalised items, toys, and puzzle games. Julie's efforts help make Christmas enjoyable for her son, despite his developmental delays. Her dedication and creativity in finding suitable gifts show the impact of thoughtful, personalised gift-giving for children with disabilities. You can view the guide here for more inspiration!

Christmas With a Brain Injury – Paul Talks

This short blog on the "Paul Talks" site discusses the challenges of celebrating Christmas after a brain injury. Paul Spence shares his personal experience, highlighting difficulties such as sensory overload, disrupted routines, and financial constraints. He emphasises the importance of planning, asking for support, and not being too hard on oneself. 

Paul's advice includes taking breaks, delegating tasks, and communicating needs to loved ones. His story aims to offer insight and support to others facing similar challenges during the holiday season. 
​
You can learn more about Paul, his story and his efforts to raise awareness about ’One Punch’ violence here and on his website. As supporters of ‘One Punch UK’ we also recognise that this message is of particular relevance at a time of year when many people are out celebrating and there can be more potential for violent incidents. Details of their Punched Out Cold Campaign 2024’ can be found here.

---

People with an ABI or other complex conditions, their families and carers, and those of us working directly with injured clients will likely be very aware of the challenges Christmas can bring. However, we can also see that the season also brings with it unique opportunities for connection with others, joy, and inclusivity. 

Along with the more structured approaches to dealing with these challenges, we can see from the articles above that there are also many small ways in which we can make the festive season more enjoyable. These might be as simple as creating quiet spaces at busy events, simplifying celebrations and planning activities on the basis of providing meaningful experiences, rather than meeting the perceived expectations of others; focusing on what we feel really matters.

We hope you find the articles above as helpful as we did and please do stay tuned to our LinkedIn page for some practical Christmas resources over the next few days!