Hannah Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) Dh had major surgery at the end of November, with a long stint in high care, and we are facing the fact that he will most likely still be in hospital on Christmas day. At the moment he is still getting intravenous feeding and is restricted to sipping a special protein drink. We hope that he will be on clear fluids on the day. He has said that he won't mind seeing us eat, so we could do a bit of a picnic. Besides taking in a small Christmas tree and opening gifts together, what else can we do to make it a special day? Edited December 20, 2023 by Hannah 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 Board games? A performance for dh? For example, a friend’s family always acts out the story of Jesus’ birth using whatever costumes they can throw together that day. Or if you want the tone to be sillier, consider an improv of a different story or scene. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 Watch a Christmas movie, sing Christmas carols, play Christmas games? 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 10 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said: Board games? Dh enjoys board games, so this is a great idea. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) 14 minutes ago, barnwife said: Watch a Christmas movie, sing Christmas carols, play Christmas games? We always watch a Chistmas movie on Christmas eve and could try and crowd around a laptop. It would be wonderful if he manages that in a chair! Edited December 20, 2023 by Hannah 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) Last year we hung all the Christmas cards mil received in her room, hung bright tacky tinsel and dollar store decorations. Nephew brought in a cd player so she could listen to carols and Christmas music. Everyone would wear Christmas themed colors and clothes whenever they visited. One of my kids plays guitar so played a little concert. Could you have dh give you a few things for you to pick up so he can wrap and hand out gifts of his own? Edited December 20, 2023 by saraha 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 (When we did this several years ago, with a child, it helped all of us to re-frame our thinking from "wish we were home" to "so glad we DO get to celebrate Christmas at all" . . . helping each other re-frame was the magic sauce that made the "ordinary" suggestions actually turn out pretty special. ❤️ Wishing the same to you and yours!) and my practical suggestion: make a list in order of dh's priority so if he gets tired / wants to sleep, he still got to do the items at top of list. A list can also help build anticipation. battery lights for wheelchair wheels / IV poles and . . . there are tiny laptop-style projectors that can put a movie onto the wall . . . I don't know the right terms, etc, but maybe the hospital even has one (our Child Life had one), or a friend could source / loan one, even maybe from a church? 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinball Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 5 hours ago, Hannah said: Dh had major surgery at the end of November, with a long stint in high care, and we are facing the fact that he will most likely still be in hospital on Christmas day. At the moment he is still getting intravenous feeding and is restricted to sipping a special protein drink. We hope that he will be on clear fluids on the day. He has said that he won't mind seeing us eat, so we could do a bit of a picnic. Besides taking in a small Christmas tree and opening gifts together, what else can we do to make it a special day? I’m sorry your husband and all of you are going thru this. It’s tough any time but particularly hard at holidays. how about some acoustic carols and quieter games like scrabble or bananagrams? if you’re religious, maybe a reading of one of the nativity Gospels. I hope he’s better soon. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 All great suggestions. I hope the day feels special to all of you and that he's home soon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 if you have an HDMI cord for your laptop, you may be able to connect it to the television there in the hospital. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) We did Christmas in the hospital a few years ago. My kids were blocked from the cancer unit because it was flu season and they were under 12, so we arranged with the nurses to meet DH in an empty lobby area. It sounds like you will be in a hospital room, so that’s great. We’ve found that most hospital tvs hook up just fine with a Roku or Firestick, so you can play Christmas movies or music in the background (if you have streaming services already). We did games, presents, snacks. Everyone show up in Christmas jammies or other holiday wear? Edited December 21, 2023 by alisoncooks 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 Came back to say praying for your family and hope the day is special and fun 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 (edited) Christmas music - bring a Bluetooth speaker decorate the room this week - paper chains, cards, garland, etc. Watch Christmas movies play charades serenade the nurses, unit secretaries, other staff with Christmas carols. If he can’t get out of the room, plan a different Carol for every time someone cOmes Into the room bring something to share with the staff if you can - beverages would be great. Here there tends to be a lot of food around in the break room, but usually just coffee & water to drink. Flavored sparking water, diet & regular soda, sparkling grape juice, sparkling cider Edited December 21, 2023 by TechWife 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeLovePassion Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 (edited) Make paper snowflakes and buy a gingerbread house kit or two to decorate, I don't consider these tempting as the contents, while technically probably edible, are usually gross. Or if he can stand to be around food he can't eat, a sugar cookie decorating kit...several of our local grocery stores and bakeries offer premade cookies and then piping bags of frosting and sprinkles sold as a kit this time of year. Edited December 21, 2023 by LifeLovePassion 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 12 hours ago, saraha said: Last year we hung all the Christmas cards mil received in her room, hung bright tacky tinsel and dollar store decorations. Could you have dh give you a few things for you to pick up so he can wrap and hand out gifts of his own? We have a little wire tree with tinsel that will go along. I'll go and find some silly Christmas hats to wear. We could definitely do this. Luckily we bought gifts in November already, so I could wrap them on his behalf. I don't know if he'll be strong enough, but asked him to write us each a short letter. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 11 hours ago, Lucy the Valiant said: it helped all of us to re-frame our thinking from "wish we were home" to "so glad we DO get to celebrate Christmas at all" . . . and my practical suggestion: make a list in order of dh's priority so if he gets tired / wants to sleep, he still got to do the items at top of list. A list can also help build anticipation. battery lights for wheelchair wheels / IV poles We are indeed very very thankful that he has pulled through. Prioritizing is a great idea, and I love the idea of battery lights on the IV stand! There's a plug point right behind it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 10 hours ago, alisoncooks said: We’ve found that most hospital tvs hook up just fine with a Roku or Firestick, so you can play Christmas movies or music in the background (if you have streaming services already). We did games, presents, snacks. Everyone show up in Christmas jammies or other holiday wear? The TV is one of those mounted in the roof, but we are seeing how we can take in a big screen to attach to the laptop. We are going to take a ticket to ride game - fun, but not too hard, wear green or red, and I'm going to find silly hats today. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 3 hours ago, TechWife said: Christmas music - bring a Bluetooth speaker decorate the room this week - paper chains, cards, garland, etc. serenade the nurses, unit secretaries, other staff with Christmas carols. bring something to share with the staff if you can - beverages would be great. Here there tends to be a lot of food around in the break room, but usually just coffee & water to drink. Flavored sparking water, diet & regular soda, sparkling grape juice, sparkling cider He is the only bed occupied now in a room of four, so we can definitely bring in the Bluetooth speaker. The staff might run if our family starts singing LOL!, but we will definitely bring them chocolates and beverages on the day. Also for the high care staff on Christmas day - I got to know all of the shifts better than I would have wished. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 11 hours ago, pinball said: I’m sorry your husband and all of you are going thru this. It’s tough any time but particularly hard at holidays. I hope he’s better soon. Thank you for the good wishes @Pinball 11 hours ago, Kassia said: All great suggestions. I hope the day feels special to all of you and that he's home soon. I agree that the suggestions are all great Kassia. My brain had gone completely blank on this. Thank you @Kassia for the good wishes 5 hours ago, saraha said: Came back to say praying for your family and hope the day is special and fun I appreciate that @Sahara. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 3 hours ago, LifeLovePassion said: several of our local grocery stores and bakeries offer premade cookies and then piping bags of frosting and sprinkles sold as a kit this time of year. That sounds like fun as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Praying for your familhyy, HANNAH 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Praying for your family to have a joy-filled Christmas! All the ideas here are great. We love board games, too. I picked up glyphics on clearance and it is such an easy and clever game: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Creative-Everybody-Experience-Different/dp/B0BHJBY298/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1OSIWJP27LRR3&keywords=glyphics+board+game&qid=1703170939&sprefix=glyphic%2Caps%2C272&sr=8-3 I am going to try to make some holiday themed cards for our family. I would decorate the room with homemade snowflakes and lot of lights. Do you have any battery operated candles? They make a lovely glow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 7 hours ago, TravelingChris said: Praying for your familhyy, HANNAH Thank you Chris 4 hours ago, lmrich said: Praying for your family to have a joy-filled Christmas! All the ideas here are great. We love board games, too. I picked up glyphics on clearance and it is such an easy and clever game: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Creative-Everybody-Experience-Different/dp/B0BHJBY298/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1OSIWJP27LRR3&keywords=glyphics+board+game&qid=1703170939&sprefix=glyphic%2Caps%2C272&sr=8-3 I am going to try to make some holiday themed cards for our family. I would decorate the room with homemade snowflakes and lot of lights. Do you have any battery operated candles? They make a lovely glow. Thank you Imrich. It may be too late for us to get the game, but I love the idea of homemade snowflakes. That's also something we could do there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 I'm sorry, Hannah. We had family member start a long term hospital stay on Christmas week and it was tough on everyone. You've had some great ideas here, but I'll toss out playing it up and making it ridiculously Christmasy. One of my kids graduated from college during lockdown, so that meant nograduation ceremony. We decorated, ordered out food, watched the prerecorded speeches, then played it up big, dressed a sibling in a graduation gown to hand out the diploma, blasted Pomp & Circumstance from a cell phone, followed by prerecorded crowd noises. Somehow just going all in--mixed with a little silliness--went a long way to help taking the sting off a totally abnormal celebratory event. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 23, 2023 Author Share Posted December 23, 2023 While sitting at Dh's bedside, I have just completed 150 small tokens of appreciation to hand out to the staff in the ward he is now and in high care where he was for 2.5 weeks. 12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 @Hannah thinking of you and hoping your holidays have gone well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 31, 2023 Author Share Posted December 31, 2023 2 hours ago, saraha said: @Hannah thinking of you and hoping your holidays have gone well! Thank you Saraha. I appreciate you thinking of us. The holidays were unusual, but we were together and made the best of it. Dh was moved back to high care today, so unfortunately he is starting the New Year with a bit of a setback. We are, however, thankful for good medical insurance through work and that he has access to the care he needs. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Hugs to you and your family. I’m sorry to hear that high care was needed again. I wish you all best wishes for healing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Ah, I’m sorry to hear that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Hoping this setback is just a small bump in the road and that your DH recovers well going forward so he can get home soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted January 1 Author Share Posted January 1 47 minutes ago, Acorn said: Hugs to you and your family. I’m sorry to hear that high care was needed again. I wish you all best wishes for healing. 11 minutes ago, saraha said: Ah, I’m sorry to hear that 8 minutes ago, fraidycat said: Hoping this setback is just a small bump in the road and that your DH recovers well going forward so he can get home soon. Thank you for your thoughts and good wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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