Imagine the joy when a resident opens their door to smiling, singing faces. Get a group of your residents together who have an interest in singing or choir and go door-to-door singing carols to residents and staff.
When the weather outside is frightful, holiday movies are delightful. Create a weekly holiday movie series – it’s one of the easiest holiday activities for seniors. Turn on nostalgic classics like It’s a Wonderful Life as well as new favorites like The Polar Express. Or, let residents vote on the movies they want to see.
Getting cozy by the fire. It’s a simple yet beloved holiday tradition. Plus, holiday activities for seniors feel more festive when held fireside. Don’t have an actual hearth? No worries. You can still create the same effect:
Fireside holiday activities for seniors include:
Holiday Traditions. Hold a weekly fireside seminar so seniors can learn about holidays from different countries and faiths. Senior residents themselves can host the “fireside chat” and even share instructions on making a Kwanzaa display.
To encourage your residents to meet new friends, launch a secret Santa program. Residents are given another randomly selected resident. Then, they anonymously leave one small gift each week. If a gift is too much to ask of residents, you can do a Secret Santa note exchange. In late December, hold a secret Santa “reveal” party where seniors can mingle and meet their new friend.
Elf on the Shelf is a new Holiday tradition for many families. Parents place this small, flexible elf doll in a different spot each day in December. Why should kids get all the fun? Try these Elf on the Shelf holiday activities for seniors:
Looking for an intergenerational program that also helps residents get out of their community and enjoy a night out at an event?
Find out about dress rehearsals of plays at the local high schools so that your residents can go for FREE.
Call up those high schools, build some relationships and help high school students get a great crowd as they practice before the opening night!
When a beloved resident is leaving your community or moving away, coordinate with your Dining Services Team to serve a delicious farewell breakfast that includes breakfast foods that you receive only on special occasions, like sunny-side-up eggs or blueberry pancakes.
It's a great way to give a caring send off that your resident will remember.
Finding easy interventions and activities for residents living with dementia doesn’t always need lots of extra prep work and planning. Ideal for anyone living with dementia, sifting and sorting bins provides cognitive stimulation and improves fine motor skills. Even better, these bins are easy to keep around the nursing station or in an easily accessible closet to grab for an activity.
It encourages reminiscing, it's easy to use and it's failure free.
Head to your local thrift shore, beach or dollar store to fill your beach/seashell bin.
Your bins should offer enough supplies to allow for a good sorting or sifting experience, but not enough to overwhelm the person. For example, a small jar of various buttons is a great idea, but a giant gallon-sized bag may be too much.
You'll want to keep an eye for any residents who put objects into their mouths.
Many residents still like to follow sports and will often watch in their own rooms. Let's encourage them to watch together as a group by hosting a tailgate party!
Weather permitting, you can cordon off a section of the parking lot and recruit staff or volunteers to park their cars together and set up a cooking area to grill sausages, hot dogs, and hamburgers. Coordinate with the kitchen staff to provide some side courses like potato salad, baked beans, and coleslaw. Set up tables where residents can eat, and bring everyone back inside to the day room to watch the game on TV.
You can take it to the next level by hosting some friendly bets on which team will win, dressing in team colours, painting faces in team colours and more!
The men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have demonstrated time and again that they will rise to any challenge. Let your Canadian Armed Forces members know you appreciate their service by sending a message. Get your resident's together and help them to post a message on the message board. You can also do this activity as a one-on-one.
Residents can post on this message board: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/contact-us/write-troops.html
You can also put together a package or letter and mail it overseas to Canadian troops. Here are the instructions: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/contact-us/write-troops/instructions-for-mailing-overseas.html
