With limited resources, how can therapists implement programs for persons with dementia that incorporate person-directed care? How can they meet the needs of meaningful/purposeful engagement in all encounters and interactions? How can their interventions promote function and their interactions have consistent positive impact on quality of life? This session answers these questions by exploring meaningful and purposeful engagement through the lens of dementia programming. In this session, participants will learn the fundamental principles of soliciting preferences, how to conduct tailored activity sessions, how to foster meaningful/purposeful engagement, steps to reduce unwanted behaviors, issues that may arise, and how to initiate activities and tasks using novel approaches. In many ways, activity for a person with dementia is structured differently from that of a person with strictly a biomedical condition and, without a clear understanding of the needs of the resident, unwanted behaviors can be common. Using the practices and approaches discussed in this session, therapists can create programs for any stage of dementia that promote best ability to function, reduce unwanted behaviors, create rewarding experiences for residents, and promote engagement, particularly at the difficult time of the holidays.