Home for the Holidays: 10 Tips, Tricks, and Helpful Products to Improve Safety at Home - and When You’re Away from Home
By Dr. Katie Wadland, PT, DPT, Board-Certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist
Owner: Healthy Aging Physical Therapy
The holiday season brings joy, family, and togetherness — but also new challenges for older adults. Between traveling, hosting, and adapting to new environments, it’s easy to underestimate just how much energy it all takes. Whether you’re hopping on a plane or staying home in your coziest slippers, a little planning and the right tools can go a long way toward keeping the season safe and comfortable.
Here are ten of my favorite practical, therapist-approved strategies and helpful products to make your holidays easier — without sacrificing the fun.
1. Manage Energy Like It’s Money
One of the biggest challenges of the holidays is fatigue — not just physical, but mental. The social effort of being “on,” chatting with relatives, and maybe even trying to mask any impairments can be draining.
💡 Tip: Think of each day as a dollar — you have $1 to spend. How much will church cost? Dinner with family? A trip to the store for pie ingredients? Spend wisely.
If dinner with your daughter is the highlight, maybe let go of the baking marathon and supervise while the grandkids take over the kitchen.
🎁 Helpful Product: Super Ear Personal Sound Amplifier. Hearing clearly during conversation saves tremendous mental energy.
2. Prepare for Low Surfaces
That comfy couch at your daughter’s house? Not so comfy when you’re stuck in it. While you may confidently get on and off the chairs in your own home, visiting friends, family and restaurants may leave you feeling like Goldilocks trying out difference surfaces to find the ‘just right’ seat for you. Avoid getting stuck with the tips below:
💡 Tip: Start “training” now. Practice sit-to-stands from different surfaces, even try sitting on a pillow to simulate a lower seat.
🎁 Helpful Product: Carex Up Easy Seat Assist — portable, hydraulic seat lift that helps you rise with less strain.
3. Conquer Community Stairs
Even if your home has no stairs, public places or loved one’s homes might. Don’t let a ‘3 STE’ (three stair entry in PT short hand!) stop you from enjoying the festivities.
💡 Tip: Practice toe taps and step-ups at home to build balance and confidence.
🎁 Helpful Product: Try a Stair Cane, which is a lightweight and portable “travel railing” for those steps without rails anywhere or the Stair Assist which lets you create a '“half step” to bridge the gap between the floor and a high step up anywhere you need one.
4. Sleep Smart in New Spaces
Guest beds are often softer, lower, or lack support for getting up. Further, the trip to the bathroom is unfamiliar, and likely dark and dangerous. Solution? BYO-Nightlight and a couple of helpful hints for chair placement:
💡 Tip: Place a sturdy chair or walker next to the bed, and use portable nightlights to light your path to the bathroom.
🎁 Helpful Product: Battery-Powered Motion Nightlights — compact, battery-powered and great for travel.
5. Fly Easier
Air travel can be exhausting long before you board. Fortunately, TSA has excellent support services available not only to reduce strain, but to speed you through long lines and reduce energy cost of travel.
💡 Tip: Call ahead to schedule TSA Cares Assistance for any air travel you have coming up — they’ll escort you by wheelchair through security and to your gate, often bypassing long lines.
🎁 Helpful Product: Drive Medical Nitro Dual Function Rollator/Transport Chair — walk when you can, ride when you need to, this dual-function walker/transport chair is one of my favorites to recommend to my patients.
6. Drive Safely AND Comfortably
While driving cross country may have been doable in your youth, as we age, even short road trips can become more challenging and may require advanced planning.
💡 Tip: Plan for frequent stops, avoid driving tired or at night, and consider public transit or rideshares for longer trips.
🎁 Helpful Product: A portable Car Cane + Car Handle and a Lumbar Support pillow can make getting in and out a breeze, and long drives more comfortable.
7. Stay Connected from Home
If you’re celebrating quietly at home, you can still fill your space with connection and joy.
Smart speakers like the Echo Dot can:
Play your favorite holiday music (“Alexa, play Christmas music!”)
Set medication reminders
Control lights or thermostats
Call for help in an emergency
Get even fancier with an Alexa Show which has all the fun features of a Dot with the addition of a 15” screen so you can see your reminders, follow along with recipes, watch the local news and even see your calendar for the day.
8. Give the Gift of Comfort
Nothing says “I love you - and want you to be safe” like warm, slip-proof slippers and house shoes. Fan favorites in my house AND with my patients include the classic LL Bean Moccasin and the Hey Dude Shoes — both easy to slip on, stable, and cozy.
9. Give the Gift of Health
Aging well takes time, effort and often, support. The good news is that there are great devices and services available to help your loved one stay healthy and active at home. Consider purchasing a portable elliptical like the Cubii or setting them up with a ten pack of training sessions with us through our Wellness365 program. We can bring personal training right to your home, with specialists who understand the needs of older adults.
10. Give the Gift of Safety
Technology is amazing and wearable devices can bring convince, accessibility and peace of mind. Devices like the Apple Watch can now detect falls and call emergency services — a simple, life-saving feature for any older adult.
Final Thought
The holidays aren’t about doing everything — they’re about doing what matters most. Whether that means a little extra planning for your trip to the kids or asking for help at the airport, small choices can keep you safe, confident, and able to enjoy what really counts: time with the people you love.
From all of us at Healthy Aging Physical Therapy, we wish you a safe, warm, and joyful holiday season.
