December, 2024
Welcome to the festive edition of The Debrief! Get the lowdown on November and dive into some Christmas activities for the senses to get you in the holiday spirit. For those curious about last month’s OTeaser - it was Motivational Interviewing!
CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES FOR THE SENSES
At Be Well, we love treating all the senses. Christmas can be a triggering and/or stressful time for many. So whilst it's hard to avoid the Christmas festivities, you can lean into them for some grounding sensory input. When the mind is overwhelmed, connect with the body. Use your hands, enjoy different aromas, have helpful sounds in your environment. Here are some festive ideas to spark joy:
Baking Treats
Imagine the smell of gingerbread baking or the sight of red and green icing on choc cupcakes. Baking is a mindful activity that engages all eight senses, leaving you with a tasty reward. Win win!
Some Christmas recipes you might try:
Gingerbread Biscuits
Christmas Tree Cupcakes
Fruit Mince Pies
Chocolate Peppermint Fudge
White Christmas Rocky Road
Wrapping Presents
Make present-wrapping a sensory experience! Play some music, get cozy, and enjoy the textures and colours of the wrapping paper. It’s a perfect way to engage touch, sound, and sight while ticking off your to-do list.
Items Required:
Wrapping paper of choice
Ribbon, string, decorative bows
Name tags
Sellotape and Scissor
ANOTHER TALENTED CLIENT FEATURE
May we present to you, Peter! A talented artist who discovered his passion two years ago when his son asked him to draw a bear. Since then, he’s taken art classes, enrolled in university, and is preparing for his first art show at the end of this year. Peter dreams of setting up an art studio to hone his craft and eventually sell his work. Incredible, right?
BEHIND THE SCENES OF BE WELL OT
On November 15, we proudly sponsored UQ’s Ever-Growing CuriousOT student conference for the 2024 graduating class. We got to share a bit about Be Well OT and our New Grad Support Program that we’re launching early next year. We were also lucky enough to celebrate this cohort’s final day of uni. It was inspiring to learn about their projects, and we can’t wait to do it again next year!
That’s all for this month’s issue of The Debrief! From the team at Be Well OT, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
To tide you over to next year, here’s this month’s ‘OTeaser’:
Throughout this month’s newsletter you’ll see bolded letters (titles excluded). Put the words together to figure out which OT resources it is. (Hint it’s two words)