Holiday Appreciation for Caregivers: How to Recognize the People Who Never Stop Caring

If you run a home care agency, manage a long-term care community, or love someone who cares for an aging parent or spouse, you already know: the holidays don't pause caregiving. Christmas morning doesn't stop medication schedules. Thanksgiving dinner doesn't eliminate the need for help with bathing, toileting, dressing, or transfers. Older adults in assisted living, memory care, and nursing homes still need care, and home care clients still need caregivers to arrive at the door.

Most people aren’t thinking about the workers who keep daily life running, like the police and fire crews on call, the hospital staff working through the night. But there’s another group we depend on just as deeply: the caregivers who show up every day for the older adults we love.

While much of the country slows down during the holidays, long-term care needs do not, and if you're in a position to say thank you, timing and thoughtfulness matter more than you might expect.

Why Holiday Recognition Matters More Than Ever

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey found that 30 percent of employed Americans worked on an average weekend day in 2025. For home health and personal care aides, evening and weekend work is routinely part of the job because care schedules follow the needs of the people being served.

That makes holiday appreciation particularly meaningful for care teams. Done thoughtfully, a gift can be part of a broader approach to employee recognition and rewards, reinforcing that difficult and often unseen work is noticed. Done late, inconsistently, or without much thought, holiday recognition can have the opposite effect.

Appreciation is especially important amid a continuing direct-care workforce challenge. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of home health and personal care aides will grow 18 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 760,500 openings projected each year over the decade.

PHI, a national organization that tracks the direct-care workforce, reports that median annual earnings for direct-care workers remain just under $26,000 and projects about 9.7 million direct-care job openings from 2024 through 2034 when growth and replacement needs are included.

A holiday gift will not solve low wages, difficult schedules, inadequate staffing, or burnout, and employers should not treat it as a substitute for addressing those concerns. But thoughtful recognition can reinforce something important: the work matters, and so does the person doing it.

Start Planning Before the Holiday Rush

If your organization handles holiday appreciation well, you're not treating it as a last-minute December project. Larger home care agencies and long-term care organizations may want to begin planning in late summer or early fall by establishing a budget, determining eligibility, and estimating how many employees will participate. Smaller organizations may not require as much lead time, but waiting until the final days before a holiday can create unnecessary problems.

Physical gifts require time for ordering, personalization, and shipping. Digital rewards can move faster, but they still depend on accurate employee records and management or payroll approval. Before distributing anything, verify contact information. Home care workers may rarely visit an office, and some direct-care employees don't regularly use a company email account.

Whatever eligibility rules you establish, make them clear, consistent, and communicated in advance. Part-time, per-diem, evening, overnight, and weekend caregivers shouldn't become an afterthought simply because they are less visible to administrators.

People who contact LTC News for help finding caregivers often ask what happens on holidays, whether someone will still be there for Mom or Dad on Christmas, Thanksgiving or another special day. The reality is that many professional caregivers are incredibly caring people who routinely go above and beyond for those they serve. When they work a holiday, they’re giving up time with their own families to help care for someone in yours. Recognizing that sacrifice with a sincere thank-you and a little extra appreciation during the holidays can mean a great deal.” — Nick DeFrank, Vice President, LTC News.

HINT: If you are looking for a caregiver or long-term care facility, you can use the LTC News Caregiver Directory. If you manage a home health agency or long-term care facility, you can claim your free listing on the LTC News Caregiver Directory and/or upgrade the listing to enhance visibility and highlight your staff and services through the LTC News Directory Business Portal.  

Deliver recognition before the holiday rush whenever possible, and pair the gift with a personal thank-you. A supervisor stopping by a unit, calling a home care worker, or saying a few meaningful words at shift change can sometimes be remembered longer than the gift itself.

Keep the Budget Simple and Recognition Fair

No universal dollar amount makes a holiday gift meaningful. Employees often notice something else first: whether the gesture appears sincere and whether people doing similar work are being treated consistently.

A modest, consistent gift for caregivers can create more goodwill than a larger reward that unintentionally overlooks the part-time, per-diem, weekend, or overnight workers who help keep holiday schedules covered.

If your budget is limited, consider a smaller gesture across an eligible group rather than creating distinctions that are difficult to explain.

There can be legitimate reasons for different awards. A service anniversary, exceptional achievement, or other established recognition program may warrant a larger reward. Holiday gifts, however, shouldn't leave frontline caregivers wondering why employees working in an office received substantially more.

Don't Forget the Night Shift

Holiday appreciation often happens during administrative hours. The day shift gets breakfast. Office employees attend lunch. An administrator stops by with a thank-you message. Then the overnight team arrives and finds whatever was left behind.

If you operate around the clock, make a deliberate effort to ensure recognition reaches every shift. If day employees receive a catered meal, provide something comparable for evening and overnight employees rather than simply leaving leftovers.

The same principle applies to home care. A caregiver working alone in a client's home on Christmas Eve may never see the agency's holiday decorations or attend an office party. Recognition can backfire when the employees covering difficult-to-fill shifts feel like an afterthought.

Know the Tax Rules Before Choosing a Gift

Understand the tax treatment before deciding what to give. Under IRS de minimis fringe-benefit rules, certain small and infrequent noncash items that would be administratively impractical to account for may be excluded from an employee's taxable income. Examples can include occasional holiday gifts of property with a low fair-market value.

Cash is different. Cash, gift cards, and other cash-equivalent gifts are taxable regardless of how small the amount is. Employers generally must include their value in wages and handle the appropriate withholding.

That doesn't make gift cards a poor choice. Many caregivers may prefer the flexibility of choosing what they actually need instead of receiving a predetermined item. It simply means payroll needs the information early enough to handle the gift correctly. Some employers may also choose to gross up the award so the employee receives the intended value after taxes.

IRS Publication 15-B provides federal guidance on fringe benefits, but consult your accountant, payroll professional, or tax adviser about your organization's specific circumstances.

This section is for general informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional before making payroll or benefits decisions.

Deliver Appreciation Where Your Team Actually Works

Logistics can undermine even a generous recognition program. Home care employees may go weeks without visiting an agency office. Assisted living, memory care, and nursing facilities operate across multiple shifts. Employees may also work weekends, holidays, or at several locations.

Choose a distribution method based on how your workforce actually operates. For organizations using digital rewards, useful features can include bulk distribution, delivery by text or personal email, recipient choice, and centralized reporting. Platforms such as Giftogram let organizations send gift cards to large groups electronically while allowing recipients to choose from available brands.

Whatever method you use, the goal should be the same: the overnight CNA (certified nursing assistant), weekend nurse, home care aide, and office employee shouldn't have dramatically different experiences simply because of where or when they work.

The Gift Is the Vehicle; the Thanks Is the Point

A gift card by itself can feel transactional. Pair the same gift with a personal message, however, and it becomes recognition. Make the message more meaningful by mentioning a specific contribution instead of relying solely on a generic "thank you for everything you do." Perhaps an aide consistently reassures a resident living with dementia. A home care worker rarely misses a shift. A CNA volunteered to cover Christmas morning. A nurse helped a worried family through a difficult transition.

Those details tell employees that someone actually noticed. Caregiving is essential work that much of the world never sees. The holidays offer you an opportunity to acknowledge that commitment deliberately. People may not remember exactly what the gift was. They are more likely to remember whether someone noticed they were there.

Remember America's Unpaid Family Caregivers

Professional caregivers aren't the only people providing care during the holidays. AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving estimate that 63 million Americans, nearly one in four adults, provide unpaid care for a family member or friend, with about 59 million caring for another adult.

For many of these families, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's Day, and other celebrations don't provide a break from caregiving. Someone still helps Mom get dressed. A husband still assists his wife to the bathroom. An adult daughter still manages medications. A son may leave dinner early because Dad shouldn't be left alone.

Home care agencies and long-term care facilities can recognize these family caregivers, too. A handwritten note from a facility administrator or care team acknowledging an involved spouse or adult child can mean a great deal. Home care agencies can recognize the family member who coordinates schedules, appointments, and communication among providers.

Families should also remember the person doing most of the caregiving. Appreciation doesn't have to come in a box. Offering several hours of respite may be more meaningful than a conventional present. An adult child could tell a caregiving parent or sibling, "I'll stay with Mom Saturday afternoon. Go do something for yourself."

Professional caregivers deserve recognition for the work they are paid to perform. Family caregivers also deserve recognition for the enormous amount of work they often provide without pay, formal training, predictable hours, or scheduled time off.

When Families Want to Give a Professional Caregiver a Gift

If you or your family has developed a close relationship with the person providing day-to-day care for a loved one, you may naturally want to give a favorite aide, CNA, nurse, or other caregiver a personal gift during the holidays.

Check the organization's policy first. Many home care agencies, assisted living communities and nursing facilities have rules governing what employees can accept from clients, residents and families. Cash, gift cards, and higher-value personal gifts may be restricted or prohibited.

There are other ways to recognize exceptional care. A thoughtful letter to the caregiver, with a copy sent to the administrator or supervisor, can become meaningful professional recognition. Families might also provide food for an entire shift, submit a positive review mentioning an employee by name when appropriate, or participate in an employer-approved recognition program.

The goal is to express gratitude without placing the caregiver in the uncomfortable position of violating an employer's policy. When in doubt, ask the agency administrator, executive director, or human resources department before giving the caregiver anything of significant value.

Holiday Appreciation Should Reflect the Value of Care

The long-term care workforce faces challenges that no holiday gift can solve. Better wages, adequate staffing, predictable schedules, supportive supervisors and opportunities for advancement matter throughout the year. A December gift shouldn't be presented as a substitute for those fundamentals.

But recognition still has value — the same is true at home, where millions of spouses, adult children, siblings and friends provide unpaid care that allows older adults and people with chronic health conditions to remain safe.

Long-term care doesn't take the holidays off. Neither do the people providing it. A thoughtful gift, a personal note, a meal delivered to the overnight shift, or a few hours of respite for an exhausted family caregiver can send a simple message that is sometimes overlooked: We see what you do, and it matters.

Planning for Long-Term Care: Vital

Professional caregivers and long-term care facilities understand the impact long-term care has on the families of the care recipients they care for every day. Some of those families have Long-Term Care Insurance to help pay the rising cost of extended care. Those who are not lucky enough to have an LTC policy in place face a tremendous physical, emotional, and financial burden.

Making long-term care part of your retirement plan now, before you get older and retire, will not only safeguard income and assets, but ease the burden on those you love. The burden is every day, not just on holidays; planning makes it easier.

Start with education. Browse the LTC News Long-Term Care Insurance Learning Center.