This painting technique has you create a design or image by printing dots. You can use q-tips, the ends of paintbrushes, or other similar items dipped in acrylic paint to print the dots. Your design can be as simple or as intricate as you’d like. If you need inspiration, search online for templates. This technique leaves a lot of room for creativity so your residents can express themselves!
Tossing a bean bag is a great way for older adults to get some light exercise. Bean bag baseball turns a simple activity into a purposeful sport using a board like the one below. Check your local sports stores or see if someone in your community can build one for you!
To play the game, form teams with your residents. The “batter” has three chances to throw their bean bag into one of the holes on the board. The hole the bean bag lands in will tell them whether they’ve hit a foul or made it to a base. You can set up chairs to represent the bases or keep track of everyone’s positions on a whiteboard. Teams score points when they make it back to home base. Get the full list of rules here.
Show your resident how much you value their lived experiences by starting their autobiography with them. You can record a conversation, video-tape them, or just take notes. Ask them questions about their life and then share their answers with friends and family. Here are some questions to get you started. You could even turn the interview into a resident spotlight series and publish it in your community newsletters or on social media. This is a wonderful way to highlight the amazing people who call your community home!
Putting up a birdhouse is a great way to leverage the view from a window in a resident’s room or common area. You can even make a birdhouse yourself with very basic materials. Here’s a video with instructions for creating a DIY birdhouse using popsicle sticks!
Flamingo ring toss would be the perfect game to play at a luau or tropical-themed social! You can purchase a set on Amazon, but you can also simply use flamingo stakes from a dollar store like the Dollar Tree. If the flamingo stakes aren't stable enough or you don't want to stake them in the grass, you can instead put them in planters filled with sand.
Do you have piles of old magazines lying around? If you do, you've got the perfect opportunity to get creative and cognitive skills working. A magazine scavenger hunt is a great activity for one-on-ones and all you need is a list of items to find, glue, and some paper. You can even turn this into a game of bingo or race to finish the list in teams. Cutting out the images will make the game more challenging when you're playing with others, since each image can only be used once. You'd be surprised how competitive this game can be! Here's a list of images to find and some other fun scavenger hunt ideas.
Your residents are sure to think your space-themed social is out of this world! You can get as creative as the team from Somerford House & Place: build a rocket, fly to safety, and have some space-themed snacks like Moon Pies. Or, you can do some other, easier activities. Play some footage from the moon landing and have residents share memories.
Take karaoke to the next level by writing your own song lyrics! You can rewrite the lyrics to a popular song to make a funny parody or an inspiring anthem for your community. See what you can do with your residents. You could hold a parody writing competition and pick the best ones to perform. You may even have some musicians in your community who could create something really special!
It’s a staple for any party entertainer: the ability to turn balloons into all sorts of shapes and animals. And it’s pretty easy to get the hang of after a bit of practice, especially for simple shapes. There are hundreds of video tutorials on YouTube with instructions on how to make all kinds of shapes and sizes. Here is one we really like, which is a beginner’s guide on how to make a dog. You can make a balloon animal for your resident during your next one-on-one, learn how to make them together, or use them as fun decorations at your next party!
If you have a resident who's feeling down, making a personalized gift for them that reminds them of a loved one could successfully lift their spirits. A senior community in the United Kingdom thought it would be a nice gesture to make a pillow for one resident that incorporated a photo of his late wife. The resident was touched by their meaningful gift and slept with his wife’s photo each night. You can watch the video here. You know your residents best, so whatever you come up with is sure to touch their hearts!
