Mountain View News Saturday, December 13, 2025 
99 
Mountain View News Saturday, December 13, 2025 
99 
SENIORS EMBRACE THE SPIRIT 
OF THE SEASON AS CHRISTMAS 
APPROACHES 

As Christmas approaches, seniors throughout our 
communities are finding comfort, connection, and 
renewed joy in the traditions that define this special 
time of year. The weeks leading up to the holiday 
season can be especially meaningful for older 
adults, offering an opportunity to reflect, celebrate, 
and engage with loved ones. 

For many seniors, December is filled with familiar 
rituals — decorating the home, baking treasured 
family recipes, attending church services, or 
simply enjoying the glow of holiday lights. These 
traditions often bring back warm memories and 
provide a sense of continuity that becomes more 
treasured with age. 


However, senior advocates emphasize that this season can also highlight challenges for older adults, 
especially those living alone or facing health issues. Shorter days, colder weather, and reduced mobility 
may limit social interaction. As a result, feelings of isolation can increase in the weeks before Christmas. 
Families, friends, and neighbors are encouraged to reach out intentionally during this period. A quick 
visit, a shared meal, or even a holiday card can offer tremendous emotional support. 

Local senior centers and community groups are working hard to keep spirits bright by organizing Christmas 
luncheons, caroling events, craft activities, and gift drives. These programs help ensure seniors stayinvolved and connected, regardless of their circumstances. Many organizations also offer transportation 
options, making it easier for older adults to participate safely in seasonal festivities. 

Healthcare professionals remind families that this is also a good time to check in on seniors’ overall wellbeing 
— from ensuring they have the supplies they need to making sure their homes are safe and warm.
As Christmas nears, the message is clear: seniors bring wisdom, resilience, and heart to our community. 
Including them in seasonal traditions not only enriches their lives but strengthens the bonds that make 
the holidays truly meaningful for everyone. 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! DECEMBER Birthdays* 


Maria Decker, Nancy Dorn, Prudence Levine, Pat Karamitros, Joan 
Hufnagel, Mary Alice Cervera, Carol Horejsi, Helen Reese, Levon 
Yapoujian, Toni Buckner, Lottie Bugl, Sheila Wohler, Nan Murphy,
Eleanor Hensel, Sylvia Curl, Elizabeth Levie, Gayle Licher, CindyBarran, Melissa Stute, Hanna Jungbauer, Sheila Woehler.
To add your name to this distinguished list, please call the paper 
at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required 


TIPS AND TOOLS FOR ADAPTING TO VISION LOSS 

Dear Savvy Senior,

Can you recommend some good resources or 
products that can help seniors with severe vision 
loss? My wife has diabetic retinopathy, and it’s 
gotten worse over the past year.
Need Help 

Dear Need, 


I’m very sorry about your wife’s vision loss, but 
you’ll be pleased to know that there are many resources and a wide variety of low vision products and 
technologies that can help with many different needs. 

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), it’s estimated that 12 million Americans 
ages 40 and older are living with uncorrectable vision loss, which is often caused by age-related macular 
degeneration, glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy. These conditions become more common with age and 
can make daily tasks like cooking, reading or watching television much harder. 

But optometrists who specialize in low vision – reduced vision that can’t be rectified with glasses – have 
many aids and technologies that can help. Here are a few different low vision products as recommended 
by Consumer Reports, along with some suggestions for finding a specialist who can help your wife adapt 
to her vision loss. 

Magnifiers and Adaptions 

Once reading glasses are no longer sufficient, there are other devices that can help. These include handheld 
magnifiers with a light and magnifying domes that can be placed on top of a page. 

Telescopes mounted on glasses can work for people who need help seeing farther away. 

For those who have lost part of their visual field due to a stroke or brain injury, prisms mounted to the 
lenses in glasses can move an image from an area someone can’t see to the area of their vision where they 
can. This can help people get around without bumping into obstructions. 

Driving may no longer be possible, but some people with certain types of low vision can do so safely 
using a bioptic telescope – a telescopic device attached to glasses – that makes distant objects like road 
signs visible. And some changes at home can make your space easier (and safer) to navigate, such as putting 
bright tape on the edges of stairs and getting rid of clutter. 

High-Tech Tool 

Most smartphones and computers today have built-in accessibility settings that can help your wife by 
reading aloud text on the screen, making default text sizes larger, and increasing screen contrast. She can 
also take a photo with her phone of something she wants to see, then boost the brightness, contrast, or 
zoom. Televisions, too, may have accessibility features you can adjust to make watching easier. 

Phone apps for people with low vision can also be a big help. These include magnification apps like SuperVision+ 
Magnifier and apps such as Seeing AI and Envision AI that can look through your phone’s 
camera and turn text into speech, describe a scene in front of you, identify objects, or even recognize 
faces. 

There are also handheld or wearable devices like OrCam that can read documents or describe the scene 
you are looking at. 

Low Vision Specialist 

To get some help, find your wife an optometrist who is a low-vision specialist. They can help her figure 
out how to best use the vision she does have and recommend helpful devices.

 There are also vision rehabilitation services that can make a big difference. These services provide counseling, 
along with training on how to perform daily living tasks with low vision, and how to use visual 
and adaptive devices that can help improve quality of life. They also offer guidance for adapting your 
home that will make it safer and easier for your wife to maneuver. 

Her regular eye doctor may be able to recommend a low-vision specialist, or you can search the AOA.org 
website, which lets you filter for specialists in low vision. To locate rehabilitation services and other low 
vision resources in your area, call the American Printing House (APH) Connect Center at 800-232-5463. 

Send your questions or comments to questions@savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, 
OK 73070. 


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder 

WHEN IT COMES TO GIFTS, 
I'M NOT GIFTED 

Christmas is my favorite holiday. A time of celebration and enjoying 
family time together. 

It wasn’t always my favorite holiday. There was a time when my birthday was myfavorite holiday of the year. I enjoyed celebrating my birthday with presents and that 
amazing birthday cake that The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage always made. 

That is, when I reached 50 years on my birthday, it came to an end. No more celebrating 
getting one year older. Every day on my birthday, The Gracious Mistress of the 
Parsonage would say, “Today you are one year older.” And then she would laugh. 

That was the last birthday I had, and I don’t remember it anymore, or at least that’s 
my story, and I’m sticking to it. 

Now Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I enjoy just about every aspect of it. It’s 
great to have my family together around the Christmas tree and sharing Christmas 
presents. That’s a really fun time of the year. 

I must confess that I do have a problem with the Christmas holiday. 

I don’t have any problem with gathering together and eating a marvelous Christmas 
dinner. The issue I have concerns the gifts. When it comes to something like gifts, I 
am absolutely not gifted. 

Unlike The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, I really don’t know how the shop. I 
don’t know what gifts to buy for anybody in my family. Sometimes I give cash. 

The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage starts her Christmas shopping right after the 
4th of July. All summer long, she will be shopping for and storing those Christmas 
gifts in her craft room. Of course, I never go into her craft room because I would get 
lost and not know my way out. But she can figure out every gift every individual in 
our family deserves. 

I can’t sit down and name all of the family members, let alone know what they would 
like for Christmas. 

When I was a kid, my parents would take me downtown to visit Santa Claus. I would 
sit on Santa Claus’s lap and tell him what I really wanted for Christmas. Little did I 
know that my parents were right next to Santa, listening to all my Christmas wish 
lists? 

It was amazing on Christmas Day to find out that Santa had come through with myChristmas gifts. It took me a long time to realize that Santa had nothing to do with 
my Christmas gifts, but they all came from my parents. My parents knew me better 
than I knew myself. 

That said, looking back on my life of Christmas gifts, I do not believe I could name 
my favorite. I’m not even sure what I got for Christmas last year. 

The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I celebrate our 55th Christmas this year. 
She can sit around the Christmas tree and recall every gift we have ever received or 
given and to whom. 

That makes Christmas a great challenge for me. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage 
has no problem with Christmas gift shopping. I must confess that most of the 
time I let her do the shopping for me, I have to pay for it. 

One of the greatest disappointments in Christmas gifts is that I don’t know who 
wants what. 

Another problem I have with Christmas gifts is that I don’t know what I want. I can’t 
think of anything that I would want anybody in my family to buy me for Christmas. 
They always come around and bring me things that surprise me, and I appreciate it. 
But if I had to make a list of what I wanted for Christmas, that list would be blank 
even today. 

My other big problem with Christmas gifts is for The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. 
I would never know what Christmas gift she would like from me. What does 
she need for Christmas? After all, she has me, so what else does she need? 

If I’m going to do Christmas right, I’ll need to ask The Gracious Mistress of the 
Parsonage what I should get for each of the family members. When I asked her that 
question, she didn’t need to think about it and came up with a long list of what I could 
get for each of my family members. 

Oh boy, if I didn’t have her, I wouldn’t be able to celebrate Christmas as I do today.
In her craft room, she has a special place, I don’t know where it is, where she stores 
all of her Christmas gifts for the coming year. She knows what she has and who it's 
for. I sometimes wonder whether Santa Claus might be part of their family heritage. 

I’m looking forward to a wonderful Christmas. It is amazing to me to see the gifts 
people give each other. I can only assume that they get that trait from The Gracious 
Mistress of the Parsonage. 

Celebrating Christmas around the Christmas tree is a wonderful time to be with 
family.
Thinking along this line, a scripture came to mind. “Whether therefore ye eat, or 
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). 

Christmas is a great time to gather and give God the glory for all He has done for us. 
A time to remember all God has done for us during the year and looking forward to 
the New Year. 

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com