My husband's mother has Vascular Dementia. Her attention span is very short and she often has trouble knowing who all her Grandchildren are, so at times like Christmas when extended family arrive she is normally quite withdrawn in large gatherings. We've observed this on a number of occasions and try to make sure we go in smaller groups and try to keep her involved in the conversation. However, her daughter is one for grand family occasions and has organised a large 'do' on Dec 23rd, with many extended relatives. Seeing how out of depth my Mother-in-law is in these situations, especially around that side of the family who she really only sees once a year (and who barely interact with her) does anyone here have any advice how to handle the situation? We feel the overcrowding makes her anxious, she seems worried and can't follow conversations so we have decided to stay out of the way, but cannot make her daughter try to understand how unsettling it is for her. We live just a few miles from the care home and are there every week, sometimes more often. We see the aftermath of large 'visitations' - my M-i-L has no recall of what happened or who spoke to her, afterwards,. She's exhausted the day after - maybe from trying to process odd snatches of events, who knows! Husband, myself and two kids have already planned to visit her in her care home on Christmas Day and have a quiet meal with her and her sister a couple of days afterwards. Are we just being over-sensitive?