November 24, 2025
Give the Gift of Support: Helping Family Caregivers This Holiday Season
For most families, the holiday season is shown as a time of joy, celebration, and togetherness. However, for Canada’s 8 million family caregivers, the holidays can be tough. They’re often stressed and exhausted, with the holidays adding to this, along with financial issues. While others are planning festive gatherings, many caregivers are still juggling medical appointments, complex care routines, and finding it hard to find time for themselves, let alone holiday festivities.
While this is the reality for many Canadian family caregivers, there are meaningful ways you can make a difference. Supporting caregivers who dedicate themselves to caring for loved ones can be challenging, especially since many have difficulty identifying as caregivers in the first place. This blog will look at ways you can help lighten the load for Canadian family caregivers as they navigate the holiday season, through a unique gift giving opportunity.
Caregivers Need Support During the Holiday Season
Family caregivers are critical to Canada’s healthcare system, providing billions of dollars in unpaid care. Many people provide this care while also working, raising kids, and living their lives, making the 19 average hours a week of care they provide a stressful and physically demanding commitment. During the holidays, these challenges can get even worse.
Caregivers often have to make tough choices: Should they attend family gatherings or stay home with their care recipient? How can they afford both gifts and mounting caregiving expenses? Will they have the energy to make holiday memories when they’re already exhausted? Many deal with these issues on their own without support during a time that’s all about being together.
A Gift That Gives Back
The CareMakers gift guide offers tangible support and resources for family caregivers in need. Not only will you support family caregivers, but it’s a unique and empowering in honour gift you can give to your family, friends and colleagues.
Give a symbolic gift today. Your donation will go towards the CareMakers Foundation, and the person you made the in honour gift to will get an e-card that highlights your thoughtful gift.
Symbolic gifts you can give this season (and for any occasion) include:
Healthy Meals: Help caregivers and their loved ones get the nutritious food they need when they don’t have the time to cook. When handling meds, coordinating care, and dealing with so many other responsibilities on top of your own, just getting a nutritious meal on the table can feel overwhelming.
Transportation: This covers the cost of rides to medical appointments. It’s a simple need, but many caregivers can have a hard time coordinating this. Between work schedules, care responsibilities, and the logistics of transporting someone with mobility challenges, getting to and from appointments can become a significant barrier to care.
Home Support: Gives caregivers the help they need to safely care for their loved ones at home. This could include equipment, supplies, or services that make daily caregiving tasks easier and less physically demanding.
A well-deserved break: Given their enormous time commitments to caregiving, a break can give them time to rest and recharge themselves. With respite care, caregivers can take a break and know their loved one is in good hands. For a lot of caregivers, this kind of relief is rare and often too expensive to do often, but it is extremely valuable.
Caregiving Training: This gives caregivers the skills and knowledge they need. Many people end up in caregiving roles suddenly and without any formal training. They become responsible for complex medical procedures and routines, navigating the system, and making difficult decisions. Education can really boost a caregiver’s confidence and skills, alleviating some stress.
Set up a support group: Caregivers often feel isolated in their experiences. A local support group can help them feel less alone and give them the chance to share their experiences and knowledge with others who understand their issues.
The person you’re gifting to gets a personalized e-card thanking them for their generous donation, and caregivers all over Canada get the support they really need.
Beyond the Gift Guide
If you’re feeling inspired this holiday season, there are more ways you can support Canadian family caregivers:
One-time or monthly donations: Donations give you the ability to directly support organizations that help lighten the load for Canadian family caregivers. To date, you have helped us raise and distribute grants worth over 11 million dollars for these organizations across the country that help caregivers in all aspects of their lives.
Memorial donations: These are a meaningful way to honour a loved one’s memory while supporting a cause that may have touched their life or the lives of those who cared for them.
Host your own fundraiser: Whether it’s a holiday bake sale, a community car wash, or a workplace giving campaign, fundraisers are a creative way to raise awareness and funds for caregiver support.
This Season, Care for Those Who Care
A gift that changes lives. What a meaningful, unique and powerful way to give gifts this holiday season! The CareMakers Gift Guide is full of gift ideas that not only show family caregivers across the country how much their work is appreciated but also give them the resources they need to thrive.
Family caregivers rarely ask for help, often putting everyone else’s needs before their own. This holiday season, you can help change that. When you support the Petro-Canada CareMakers Foundation, you’re not just giving a gift, but providing hope to nearly 8 million people across the country who make caregiving a labour of love.
