Thanksgiving fosters social connections, strengthens skills, and promotes emotional well-being for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Before residents left for the long holiday to see friends and family, Gabriel Homes brought everyone together for a Thanksgiving dinner for adults with IDD.
Many residents were looking forward to the night all week.
Some even changed their schedules so they could help with setup. One resident, Dave, took the day off work to help decorate the house for Thanksgiving. He put scarecrows in the front yard to welcome guests and made a pumpkin arrangement to put outside for the door.
Staff and residents showed up throughout the evening after finishing work. Groups of residents who don’t live together caught up with each other in different rooms. Conversations centered around how work was going and what they and their families were doing during the holidays.
Many residents had their eyes wide open for everything in front of them.
Angie, John G., Gabe, January, Lucy, and John H. said they liked everything they ate. Shelby and Joe said turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce were their favorites. Residents like Caryn, Kari, Sam, Stephen, Sean, and Rich R., on the other hand, loaded their plates with turkey since it was their favorite part of the holiday meal.
“I love having everything during Thanksgiving,” one resident, Sara, said smiling. “If I list everything, I get hungry all over again.”
Everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving’s famous dessert, pumpkin pie, after filling up on turkey and sides. Darcy, another resident at Gabriel Homes, said her favorite part of the night was the pie.
“I want everyone to try having pecan pie for dessert when they celebrate Thanksgiving. If you’re allergic to nuts, you can use oatmeal instead. The pie tastes amazing either way!”
Thankfully, no one’s eyes were too large for their stomachs. Everyone went home full of food and joy after our festivities.