Vitalia Active Adult Community – North Royalton Celebrating 45 Days of Holiday Cheer

The Holiday Season is upon us and at Vitalia Active Adult Community – North Royalton, we are celebrating in a big way! Many of the residents who call our community home spent decades of their lives creating memorable holiday traditions with their families, and it is our goal to celebrate all sorts of traditions to make our residents feel at home. Moments like these are what make the holiday season extra special.

We kicked off the 45 Days of Holiday Cheer on Thanksgiving with a Gratitude Book that allowed residents and staff to share thoughts on what they are most grateful for. In the weeks since, we have gathered to light the candles of the Advent Wreath to reflect on its blessings, enjoyed a cozy hot cocoa happy hour, polished our shoes for St. Nicholas, and learned about the Yule Lads, among other things! Our December Story Corner featured the children’s book, “A World of Cookies for Santa” and cookie recipes from around the world.

While many of the days are now behind us, the holiday cheer will continue through the end of December and into the first week of January, allowing our residents to enjoy plenty of classic Holiday traditions as well as new and exciting moments created by Arrow Senior Living and our own community team. To round out the 45-day extravaganza, the culinary team will take us on a special daily dining experience to highlight dishes themed around the 12 Days of Christmas!

It was a tough decision when picking my favorite day of the 45 Days of Holiday Cheer, but I chose “Marshmallow World.” We hosted an amazing Happy Hour to celebrate with our residents. I heard several of them claim this was one of our best parties to date! We built marshmallow towers and picked a winner, and played “Chubby Bunny,” where you shove as many marshmallows in your mouth as you can, with our staff. The residents thought this was hysterical. Our entertainer had a dozen of us stand up in front of the crowd to sing “The 12 Pounds of Christmas.” Our food was great. The culinary team prepared a DIY s’mores bar with marshmallow roasting station, spiked, hot chocolate bar with all the fixin’s, bruschetta platter with pillow, soft, fresh mozzarella, and more! We laughed, we sang, we ate so many sweets we were sure we’d have cavities. Our community bonded in a new way.

This is our community’s first holiday season since opening and the 45 Days of Holiday Cheer was a welcome gift for our residents who weren’t quite sure how they would celebrate. For some, this was their first holiday season away from home. I look forward to future festivities as they continue to connect our community in a way that we had not yet experienced.

My favorite holiday tradition is my mom’s annual Christmas party. She’s been hosting this party for more than 25 years. My parents labor of love for the details of making sure everything is perfect for the party makes our entire family feel welcome, loved, and together. We play games, eat good food, laugh until we cry, and most importantly create amazing memories. My parents’ welcoming spirit not only during the holidays but all year through has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.

We hope you have been following along on Facebook and Instagram as this joyous holiday adventure has unfolded, but even if you haven’t, it’s not too late to start!

https://www.facebook.com/VitaliaNorthRoyalton/

Instagram.com/VitaliaNorthRoyalton