There’s a common misconception that aging means slowing down. While you might need to adjust a certain activity for safety, there’s no reason you can’t find plenty of fun and exciting things to do with seniors.
The best part is that many engaging activities can improve a senior’s overall well-being without feeling like a chore. With a beloved person joining them, seniors can maintain a healthy lifestyle, all while having a grand time every day.
Check out our favorite recreational ideas for seniors below!
Gentle Stretches
Staying physically active helps seniors in a lot of different ways, including:
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Lower risk of debilitating diseases
- Improve strength and balance
- Stabilize mood
- Keep joints mobile
- Increase lung function
Even a few simple exercises are enough to begin receiving these benefits. A great way to get exercise in without pushing past physical limits is to introduce stretching into a senior’s routine.
This is why we have morning stretches as a daily part of our community’s senior wellness programs at Sabine Place Assisted Living. Doing stretches together helps residents feel limber and ready to tackle the day with an energetic smile.
Crafting
Are you looking for an activity that increases elderly engagement while also providing a physical memento of a day’s hard work?
Crafting can be a never-ending source of inspiration and fun for people of all ages. There’s never any real limit to what you can create with your hands. With even a small list of supplies, you can create cool things with the senior in your life, including:
- Greeting cards
- Ornaments
- Colorful artworks
- Jewelry
- Painted rocks
- Customized magnets
- Window decorations
As you begin your project, you’ll get the chance to socialize while also working on hand dexterity and imagination. After the session is over, seniors have a unique craft they can use to decorate their apartment or give to a loved one.
Dining
Although often not seen as an activity in the traditional sense, sharing mealtimes is the perfect addition to healthy social activities for seniors.
It allows you to be a part of their life in a way that feels more natural than a regular visit. You’ll get to catch up with one another, share memories, and talk about upcoming events, all while enjoying a delicious meal.
Plus, it’s a good way to check that the senior in your life is eating the right kinds of food without putting them in an uncomfortable position.
Bingo
Bingo is a unique game since it can be both a calming pastime and an exciting competition, depending on the group.
With simple instructions, it’s a fun recreational choice for people of all ages. There aren’t many rules to keep in mind, and everyone has likely played it at least once before.
Remembering the last called number also assists in memory retention and strengthens attention span. You can customize your bingo boards to be any kind of category, too, so you can expand your bingo games to animals, colors, or even people’s names.
Changing the board will enhance the benefits of playing bingo even more!
Board Games
If you’re looking for a game with a little more intrigue, board games are the way to go. They typically introduce more rules so it can take extra effort to get started, but often worth the time.
With thousands of board games on the market, it can be intimidating trying to find the right one. Our favorites include:
- Ticket to Ride
- Monopoly
- Azul
- Dominos
- Dixit
- Blokus
Games like these can help with cognitive function, memory, recall, math and language skills, and hand dexterity.
Don’t be afraid to try new genres. There are many competitive board games out there, but also cooperative ones that can bring a senior community closer together.
Card Games
Although they often offer many of the same benefits as board games, card games can be less intimidating. Even more so for seniors who might not have a lot of gaming experience.
What makes card games so accessible is that they usually don’t require much space to play, and they have fewer pieces to manage. Much like board games these days, there are a great many types of card games beyond traditional poker or rummy.
The Crew, for example, is a trick-taking game where players work together to take certain tricks in different patterns and circumstances. You’ll get to create new memories with a classic card game mechanic that you and the senior in your life already know and love.
Dancing
The sheer amount of freedom in dancing can help seniors add more physical activity to their lifestyle without feeling forced to do typical exercises. It’s a fun recreational pastime that has no real rules.
As long as a person moves their body, it can be a part of dancing.
Even bopping your head to the beat of a fast-paced song can get the heart racing and burn calories. Make sure to include a lot of different songs so that seniors can feel encouraged to do all sorts of different movements.
Karaoke
There’s little to dislike about a fun round of karaoke. It’s a lively activity that keeps people engaged and interested, even when they’re not the ones with the microphone.
It encourages seniors to try something new and make connections with other residents. It also helps with memory recall since they’ll recite the lyrics with every new song they choose.
Add this to the potential for dancing and strengthening community bonds; it’s easy to see why karaoke events are one of the top favorites on Sabine Place’s activity calendar!
Enjoy a Variety of Things to Do With Seniors at Sabine Place Assisted Living
When looking for things to do with seniors, you need to consider ways to keep things feeling fresh. Variety and engagement are things we take seriously, which is why you can enjoy all of the above activities – and more – when you join our senior community.
At Sabine Place Assisted Living, we collaborate with every resident to come up with a care routine that works best for them. This includes a strong foundation of senior activities that keep each day exciting and fulfilling.
We’d love to show you our bustling community, so contact Sabine Place today to schedule a tour!
