[For Seniors] Fun Autumn Activities: Recreation Games
We’d like to introduce autumn-themed activities and recreation games for seniors.
Autumn brings pleasant weather that makes you want to go out.
It’s great if you can just decide, “Alright, let’s go!” and head out, but some people find it difficult to go out as they’d like.
So in this article, we’ll introduce enjoyable recreation games you can play indoors.
There are plenty of crafts and team-competition games that are useful in settings like day service centers, so please make good use of them.
Let’s play and feel the autumn season!
- For Seniors: Simple and Fun! November Recreation Ideas
- [November Health Topic] Indoor Recreation Ideas for Older Adults
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoy September’s Autumn Fun! A Collection of Craft, Game, and Exercise Ideas
- [For Seniors] Recreation Games Related to October Events
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
- September Health Topic: Introducing Recreational Activities That Capture the Feeling of Autumn’s Arrival
- [For Seniors] Simple crafts that feel like autumn: a fun creative activity
- [For Seniors] Fun Small-Group Recreation
- [October Health Topic] Introducing Recreational Activities for Seniors!
- [For Seniors] Liven Up Your Day Service! Fun Beanbag Toss Activity
- [For Seniors] Enjoyment at Day Care: A Roundup of Games and Recreational Activities
[For Seniors] Fun Autumn Activities: Recreation Games (91–100)
Gummy Choco Pumpkin
The sight of children going around asking for treats is an essential part of Halloween, isn’t it? This song is packed with the fun and cuteness of Halloween and sweets as its theme.
The title “Gummy Choco Pumpkin” represents the shapes of hands used in rock-paper-scissors, and these hand shapes are incorporated into the choreography.
With simple moves centered on hand shapes and ghost-like motions, it’s a piece that lets you move your body while feeling the fun and cuteness woven into the music.
Rock, paper, scissors with pumpkin
It’s a pumpkin-themed activity—perfect for Halloween—that combines the hand shapes of rock, scissors, and paper.
It’s a dance that was aired on “Shimajiro no Wao,” and the light, rhythmic hand movements get your body moving well.
The lower body focuses on bending and stretching; if that’s difficult, doing it seated in a chair is also recommended.
Keep the rock–scissors–paper hand shapes in mind and move your upper body thoroughly, from fingertips to shoulders.
Since the quick tempo can be tricky to catch, it might be a good idea to practice the movements first and then try them with the music once you’re comfortable.
bat
Let’s try a bat costume, a motif often used for Halloween decorations! Even if you just throw on a black poncho, it will look the part, so there’s no need to overthink it.
That said, simply wearing a poncho can make you look like a witch or Dracula, so cutting the hem into slightly jagged, bat wing–like shapes will make it more convincing.
As Halloween approaches, headbands with bat designs are often sold at 100-yen shops, and wearing one is also recommended.
Korokoro Pon Game
Here’s a tabletop game that uses balls.
Prepare balls of different sizes, such as ping-pong balls or rubber balls about the size of a fist.
An older adult rolls a ball from one end of the table.
On the opposite side of the table from where the older adult is rolling, hang a basket.
The game is to roll the ball and get it into this basket.
It can be played while seated, so it seems suitable for older adults who use wheelchairs as well.
Moments like “It almost went in but didn’t!” are likely to make it exciting for the participants.
Pacific saury exercise
A quick brain-training exercise you can enjoy even in short spare moments.
You can do it standing, but for older adults, exercises done while seated that engage the whole body are ideal.
Another key to making it fun is choosing moves that fit the season or event.
How about trying the “Pacific Saury Exercise,” inspired by sanma, a fish that represents the flavors of autumn? Spread your arms wide and sway them gently as if you were a fish swimming in the sea.
Next, mimic grilling that sanma over a charcoal brazier—fan it briskly with an uchiwa.
You might be surprised how much that fanning motion works your upper body!
Sheet Valley
Let’s play Seat Volleyball using sunshades sold at 100-yen stores.
It’s a game that many older adults can enjoy.
Connect two sunshades to make a volleyball court.
Have seated older adults hold the two connected sunshades.
Roll a beach volleyball on top of the sunshades.
Before starting, use tape or similar to mark territories on the sunshades.
When the time limit is up, the side where the ball is located loses.
With gameplay similar to real volleyball, older adults are likely to enjoy it.
Since it can be played while seated, many older participants should be able to join.
Soot Sprite
Susuwatari refers to the character called “Makkuro Kurosuke” in the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro.
Susuwatari are round with jagged edges and have cute little eyes.
If you want to dress up as one, you’ll need to make it yourself since it isn’t sold ready-made.
It’s quite tricky to capture that round shape, but how about creating something like an oversized wrap towel so that when you spread your arms, people can tell it’s a Susuwatari? That would really lower the bar for the costume, don’t you think?