Editorial: This holiday season, let's put seniors at the center

The holidays tend to make us focus on one area of family more than any other.

Kids.

It makes sense. So much of the period between Thanksgiving and the New Year is child-centric, or at the very least, family friendly. School pageants. Pictures in those adorable outfits that moms love and children can’t wait to escape. Candy, stockings, dreidels, presents, TV shows with animated reindeer.

Let’s face it. November and December can be a good time to be a kid.

This year may be harder. The coronavirus pandemic will make parties and the festive activities that usually pack weekends more challenging, if not canceled altogether. Economic concerns could mean Santa has fewer gifts in his sleigh. And parents are going to want to make things better.

But maybe this is the year to emphasize the giving instead of the receiving. Maybe this year we try to make things better for our older family members, rather than the youngest ones.

Those older than 60 are the most at risk for covid-19. Many have been isolated from their loved ones during lockdowns. The activities they participate in have been changed or canceled. This may be the most stressful holiday season many have experienced in decades.

This year could be about putting focus on bringing a little warmth to Grandma’s Thanksgiving or a little brightness to Grandpa’s Hanukkah. What if, instead of worrying about what goes under the tree for the kids, families find a way to light up the tree for the Nonnas and Pop-Pops in their lives?

And if you don’t have one, know there are still hearts out there to touch.

Programs such as Home Instead Senior Care’s “Be a Santa to a Senior” try to do that every Christmas. This year, it is still happening. But conducted via Amazon Business, it is a contactless way to connect gift-givers and recipients.

The program will help 111 seniors connect with five organizations throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley and Indiana County: Allegheny Valley Association of Churches in Harrison, Platinum Ridge Center for Rehabilitation & Healing in Brackenridge, Pleasant Ridge Mature Living personal care home in Allegheny Township, Amber Woods at Harmar Village in Harmar and Quality Life Services in Washington Township. They could use every bit of help that could be offered.

But let us hope there is more help than just what we can do by clicking a few buttons online. Let’s remember what we are all missing — especially our seniors — is contact that can still be socially distant.

Carols sung from the sidewalk are a Christmas tradition. Cards in the mail are a tangible way of sending one’s well-wishes. A present doesn’t have to be expensive to make a difference — it might just be a plate of cookies that kids have fun making.