Joint-friendly tips for Christmas decorating

Adapted from Arthritis Foundation 

The festive season is here and can be a busy time of the year cooking, shopping, gathering with family and friends, but most of all, decorating for the holidays. If you live with a chronic condition, such as arthritis, it is important to look after your joints and manage your energy levels during the holiday season.

Our friends at Arthritis Foundation have curated a list of helpful tips for your Christmas decorating and crafting pleasures. In this article, we share some of these tips to protect your joints as you deck out your home and the Christmas tree this holiday season.

Tips for Christmas holiday decorating

1. Pace your activities - try and plan your Christmas decorations early so that you can pace your activities and take breaks.
2. When decorating your Christmas tree, let your family or friends do the top of the tree so that you can avoid climbing ladders. You may also like to buy ornaments with hooks already on them.
3. If buying a new Christmas tree, you may like to choose a small, tabletop tree that doesn't require too much decorating. Or, you may also like to use a pre-lit Christmas tree, such as led-light Christmas trees, to reduce twisting and bending while putting up the lights.
4. Store your Christmas decorations in easy-to-reach and accessible containers, ready to be taken out in the next holiday season.

For more information, visit Arthritis Foundation - The Do's and Don't's of Holiday Decorating

Tips for Christmas crafting and gift wrapping

1. When packaging Christmas presents, use scissors that let you skim through the paper instead of cutting it. This can help protect the joints in your hands by reducing strain and avoiding fatigue. You can visit Independent Learning Centres (ILC) Australia to see their wide range of assistive aids that can help you manage your arthritis.
2. Pick the right Christmas paper for gift wrapping - small rolls of paper are easier to handle and unroll than large ones. To make things easier, you can also choose paper in flat sheets instead of rolls.
3. Instead of using long ribbons to tie around your Christmas box, why not decorate it with handy pull-bows or with accessories like silk flowers. This can help to reduce the strain as well as avoid twisting and bending of the joints in your hands.

Find more tips by the Arthritis Foundation here or read their article on Crafting with Arthritis.

Related articles:
Joint Protection: Hands edition
Protecting your joints
Joint Protection: The Back
Hand exercises for healthy joints

How can we help? 

• Register for our online exercise programs, Arthritis Moves, and Dance Moves
• Access more information on arthritis, exercise and overall health. Download free information sheets, or read a range of arthritis articles.
• Speak to an Arthritis Assist Peer-Mentor who knows exactly what you're going through and understands the challenges of living with arthritis.
• Join an Online Support Group to connect with other people facing the challenges of life with arthritis.
• Have questions about living with arthritis? Call our free infoline 1800 011 041 to speak with a member of our health team.

References:
Arthritis Foundation - Do's and Don't's of Holiday Decorating http://blog.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/joint-friendly-holiday-decorating/ 
Arthritis Foundation - Helpful Hints for the Holidays http://blog.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/holidays-arthritis-hints/ 
Arthritis Foundation - Crafting with Arthritis http://blog.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/crafting-with-arthritis/