From Thanksgiving through New Year's, Colorado Springs fills with parades, church concerts, and grocery store displays of pie, and the messages often assume a full table. Many older adults feel the season differently. Maybe a spouse is gone, or the kids live in other states, or the snow on Pikes Peak has made the roads feel risky, and some people don't celebrate these holidays at all. Holiday loneliness in older adults can have many causes, and Senior Helpers encourages families to notice those quieter stretches and make room for connection before the season takes over.

Where Holiday Loneliness Comes From

Grief sharpens in December. Traditions that once belonged to two people, like decorating the tree or making tamales, now fall to one, and the empty chair is hard to ignore.

Distance matters, too. Families scatter across the country, and travel costs or health limits keep people apart. Icy sidewalks can make even the walk to the mailbox risky, and several days can pass without a real conversation.

What a National Poll Found

A 2024 research letter in JAMA from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging found that 33.4% of adults ages 50 to 80 reported lacking companionship some of the time or often during the previous year. The survey also found higher levels of loneliness among some groups, including people living alone and those with lower household incomes.

Isolation and loneliness can put physical and mental health at risk, according to the National Institute on Aging. They have been associated with higher risks for depression, heart disease, cognitive decline, and other health concerns.

If sadness lingers for weeks, or sleep and appetite change, bring it up with your doctor. If you're in crisis, call or text 988.

Small Ways Back Into the Season

Pick whichever ideas fit your life, since the holidays don't have to look the way they did in 1985.

1. Keep one tradition and let the others go. Bake a single batch of your mother's cookies and deliver half to a neighbor.
2. Make a standing phone or video date with a grandchild, on the same evening each week through January.
3. Go where people already gather, such as a library program, a senior center lunch or a weekday service at your place of worship.
4. Volunteer a morning a week; food banks and churches around the city often need extra hands from November through the new year, and a regular shift means seeing the same faces each time.
5. If you don't celebrate, plan your own winter ritual, like a movie afternoon with a friend or a drive to see the mountains in fresh snow.

When the Season Isn't Yours

Not everyone marks Christmas or Hanukkah. Some people simply prefer quiet days, a stack of library books and a pot of soup, and they'd happily skip the parties and the crowded stores while the rest of the city rushes from one event to the next. That choice deserves respect from friends and family. 

Addressing holiday loneliness in older adults does not mean pushing everyone toward parties or busy schedules. Connection can come from an ordinary Tuesday coffee, a phone call, or time with one familiar person just as easily as from a holiday gathering.

Company and Conversation in Colorado Springs

That single batch of cookies is easier to deliver with someone to drive. Holiday loneliness in older adults may feel less heavy when the week includes something dependable to look forward to, even if it's just a card game, a short outing, or an afternoon conversation.

Senior Helpers Colorado Springs sends caregivers to older adults all over Colorado Springs for conversation, errands, and rides to gatherings, and they're happy to sit down for a hand of cards or help you bake. So is a visit to a friend across town on a snowy afternoon. Contact us to plan some visits for the season.