10 places to celebrate Christmas with your elderly loved ones (2021)

The holiday season is upon us! While this is a season of joy for many, the holiday season can be a difficult time for some, especially among the elderly.

Spending quality time with our elderly loved ones during the festive season can be a good way to help them feel included and less lonely.

If they have been feeling cooped up at home, why not head out this Christmas? Heading outdoors not only helps with improving their mental health by boosting their feelings of being socially connected, but it can also improve their physical health, making them happier and healthier.

Are you looking for things to do with your older family members this Christmas? Here are our top 10 recommendations for places you can visit with your loved ones this Christmas.

Catch the Orient Express at Gardens By The Bay

The Orient Express exhibit, which your elderly loved ones may be familiar with, is based off the famous 20th-century European liner that used to take travellers to cities like Vienna and Istanbul.

Reminisce with them in the Once Upon A Time On the Orient Express historical exhibition where you can learn about the legacy of this train. You can also step into two of the original train carriages and view a 158-year-old locomotive shipped from France.

If you go with the family, it would be a great opportunity for younger members to learn from older members' memories of the history they lived through.

After walking through the exhibition, you and your loved ones can indulge at a pop-up Orient cafe featuring coffee blends that were popularised through the train route. This exhibit will be available until Jan 5, 2022.

Address: West Lawn, Gardens by the Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive S018953. West Lawn is next to Bayfront Plaza

Cost: Standard tickets are $25. Family bundle tickets for two adults and two children aged 12 and below cost $88. Fast lane tickets, which allow bearers to enter the train carriages without having to wait in line, cost $80 per person.

Enjoy festive celebrations at Rainforest Lumina

You and your elderly loved ones can meet the Creature Crew animated characters at Rainforest Lumina's Festive Celebrations this Christmas.

As you walk around the safari, you can find hidden QR codes which you can scan to get fun facts and free Christmas photo filters.

From Tuesday to Sunday nights, you can also enjoy taking part in craft workshops where you can create a variety of Christmas decorations including pinecone Christmas trees, wood chip ornaments and festive wreaths that you can bring home.

The walking paths in Rainforest Lumina are well-lit and wide enough for wheelchairs and mobility devices so that you can bring older family members who might have difficulty moving around. The event will run until Jan 2, 2022.

Address: 80 Mandai Road, S729826

Cost: General tickets cost $18 for adults and youths aged 13 and above. Seniors and children aged three to 12 have lower-priced tickets at $14 per person.

The lower price is available for seniors aged 60 and above who must produce valid identification to verify their age at the entrance to the park.

Christmas dinner feast at the Night Safari

Besides enjoying crafts and meeting the Creature Crew at Rainforest Lumina, you and your loved ones can also sit down for a special festive meal at the Night Safari.

Under the Xmas Jamboree plan, you can have a private tram tour around the enclosure and dinner for up to five people* in a luxuriously lit Tipi Tent.

As part of the experience, you will be able to enjoy a four-course dinner paired with special wines from Cloudy Bay in New Zealand.

You can book the dinner during the Night Safari's opening hours from 6.30pm to 12am on one of the following dates: Dec 24 and 25 or any day from Dec 27 to 31.

Complimentary parking coupons are available if you buy this plan, which would make it easier for you to bring older family members who use wheelchairs or mobility devices as you don't have to worry about high parking fees.

*The number of people allowed might change subject to prevailing Covid-19 social distancing restrictions.

Address: 80 Mandai Road, S729826

Cost: Tickets to Xmas Jamboree are $280 per person.

Find good deals at the Crane Christmas Joo Chiat Foodie Market

If your older family members enjoy shopping, you can also bring them to the Crane Christmas Joo Chiat Foodie Market. You can find delicious deals on foods from a variety of retailers selling baked goods, wines, and sustainably sourced local greens.

Pick up some healthy vegan Christmas fruit cake from gluten-free bakery The Whole Kitchen , fruity yoghurt popsicles from PowerPops, and locally grown fruits and vegetables from Farms With Love.

Not only can you give your seniors a healthy treat, but you can even buy fresh ingredients to make healthy meals for your family! The market will be open from Dec 18 to 19, 2021.

Address: 281 Joo Chiat Road, S427535

Cost: Entry to the market is free. Check with participating outlets for the prices of items sold.

Have fun at Capitol Singapore's Enchanted Christmas

Capitol's Enchanted Christmas offers lots of festivities that can delight the whole family.

Shop for jewellery, special gift bundles, handcrafted wooden toys and unique Christmas teas at the festive market and enjoy a variety of holiday workshops to make gifts for your seniors, including learning to make bentos and candles.

If you spend at least $50 in Capitol Singapore and/or CHIJMES, you can have a chance to take part in a daily lucky draw at Capitol Singapore's Outdoor Plaza to win a 10-minute sidecar ride.

With all these activities to do in one place, you and your seniors will be spoilt for choice! The Enchanted Christmas event will run from Dec 19 to 26.

Address: 13 Stamford Rd S178905

Cost: Entry to the venues are free.

Listen to music at Dick Lee's ChristmasTime concert

This Christmas, renowned local composer Dick Lee will be offering musical performances to lift your spirits for the festive season. Be serenaded by Dick Lee as well as the five-man local acapella group Vocaluptuous and vocal band Third Degree.

Enjoy their take of classic Christmas hits like It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, All I Want for Christmas and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Your seniors are sure to recognise and enjoy Dick Lee's music as he has been a household name in Singapore for decades. The concert will be held on Dec 22 and 23, 2021.

*To attend the show, you must show proof that you have been fully vaccinated. If you have not received two doses of an approved Covid-19 vaccine, you will have to undergo pre-event testing 24 hours before the expected end of the performance. More details can be found on the event page.

Address: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Ave S018956

Cost: Tickets range from $68 to $712 depending on seating.

Stroll among the exhibits at Poinsettia Wishes

You and your loved ones can be enchanted by the well-loved Poinsettia Wishes Christmas exhibition in Gardens by the Bay's Flower Dome.

True to its name, you will be surrounded by poinsettias, flowers that are commonly associated with Christmas, at the exhibit.

The centrepiece of the exhibition is larger-than-life sculptures of sweet treats, like a candied apple carriage and an eight-foot-tall Ferris wheel in the shape of a cupcake.

There are even recipe books of five popular Nordic recipes around the exhibit featuring treats that you can make with your seniors at home! Wheelchairs are available for rent at the Garden Gift Shop and the exhibit ends on Jan 3, 2022.

Address: 18 Marina Gardens Dr, S018953

Cost: To visit the exhibit you need to buy tickets to the Flower Dome. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 each for children and seniors aged 60 years old and above.

Unwind at Universal Studios Singapore

For a fun experience that the whole family can enjoy, head over to Universal Studios Singapore for exclusive festive events.

Even the oldest members of the family can be entertained by the chance to take selfies with DreamWorks characters like Puss in Boots and the Trolls.

You can also have an exclusive preview of Otto the Minion from the upcoming movie Minions 2: Rise of Gru, and write and send letters with the Sesame Street characters Elmo and Abby, beloved characters that your seniors might recognise, at the North Pole Postal Service.

USS is also organising a Festive Market for the first time where you can get sweet treats and purchase other festive retail items.

Address: 8 Sentosa Gateway 098269

Cost: Tickets for Singapore residents and individuals with official Singapore photo IDs are $69 for adults aged 18 and older. Tickets are $59 each for children and youths aged four to 17.

Walk through a Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay

Besides the Poinsettia Wishes exhibit, Gardens by the Bay also features a massive Christmas Wonderland that you can walk through.

You and your senior can be mesmerised by spectacular light displays, like an illuminated horse carriage and an enchanted bridge.

If your senior is up for it, you can also take part in carnival games like darts and bowling and ride on a beautiful hand-painted Venetian carousel.

Gardens by the Bay's Christmas Market also makes its return this year, featuring items sold by outlets like Goodwood Park Hotel, halal food retailer Sofnade, and health and beauty retailer Fawn Labs.

Address: 18 Marina Gardens Dr, S018953

Cost: Regular entry charges to Gardens by the Bay apply. Tickets for the carousel rides need to be booked online.

Have a Christmas getaway with Royal Albatross

You and your senior can enjoy Christmas comfortably looking over the ocean from the Royal Albatross, a ship with four grand masts and 22 sails.

From Dec 23, enjoy a special Christmas-themed six-course menu or ring in the New Year on the ship with an exclusive dinner cruise to pamper your loved ones.

The promotion runs from Dec 23 to Jan 2, 2022. You can book a 2.5-hour-long cruise on any day from Dec 24 to 26.

Address: Resorts World Sentosa, 8 Sentosa Gateway, 098269

Cost: Tickets for the cruise range from $195 to $295 for adults.

This article was first published in Homage.