[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!
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- [For Seniors] Enjoy September’s Autumn Fun! A Collection of Craft, Game, and Exercise Ideas
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- 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
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- [October Health Topic] Introducing Recreational Activities for Seniors!
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[For Seniors] Fun Autumn Activities: Recreation Games (41–50)
Autumn message card
When writing messages to family and friends, why not prepare a seasonal message card? This is an autumn-themed card that combines paper cutouts with paper painted using watercolors.
It’s also great for fine motor skills, so consider creating designs with autumn motifs like maple leaves and acorns, and give it a try.
For Seniors: Fun Autumn Activities. Recreation Games (51–60)
Autumn hand play
When you think of autumn children’s songs, doesn’t “Donguri Korokoro” come to mind? Let’s try a hand play activity to go with this classic autumn tune! Since it only uses upper-body movements, you can do it while seated.
That said, there are plenty of actions that move your arms from the shoulders, so it can also serve as a stretch.
Another plus is that it lends itself to various fun arrangements.
paper cup ghost
Why not make a “paper cup ghost” for an autumn recreation activity using familiar materials like paper cups and plastic bags? It’s a very simple craft that creates a cute little ghost! Drawing directly with oil-based colored pens, or sticking on stickers and paper, also provides fine-motor training, making it a recommended activity for older adults.
Just poke a hole in a paper cup, insert a straw, and tape it to a plastic bag to complete it.
Store the plastic bag folded inside the paper cup, then blow into the straw so the bag inflates and the ghost pops out! Blowing into the straw is said to help activate lung capacity, so why not give it a try?
Gesture Game
In the fall, the peak season for outings, there are more opportunities to gather in large groups.
In such times, it’s handy to have recreation games you can enjoy anywhere without any special preparation.
A gesture game—where you watch someone’s gestures and guess the object or person—works anywhere, requires little explanation, and can be enjoyed by people of all ages, making it a sure hit for any gathering.
Dango making
On the night of the harvest moon, known as Jūgoya, people offer pampas grass and moon-viewing dumplings.
Buying the dumplings is fine, but making your own cute, round, bite-sized ones sounds fun too.
The ingredients are shiratamako (glutinous rice flour), jōshin-ko (non-glutinous rice flour), silken tofu, kinako (roasted soybean flour), sugar, boiled sweet red beans, and walnuts.
Rolling the dough into little balls in your hands looks like a lot of fun! Recommended for girls who are interested in cooking.
Making picture letters
These days we use email and LINE more often, but wouldn’t people be delighted to receive hand-painted postcards for each season? You can easily make autumn-themed postcards using scraps of fabric with Japanese-style patterns.
Here’s how: First, draw an autumn motif on drawing paper to create a template.
Temporarily fix the template onto fabric that has double-sided tape attached, then cut it out with scissors.
Finally, stick the autumn motif onto a postcard and add some text—that’s it!
Autumn leaf viewing on a whiteboard
@seasoncafe.yokohama TranslationRecreationElderly#Autumn leaves
Makkana Aki – Takashi Shimizu / Suginami Children’s Choir
This is a recreational activity where you pre-draw illustrations of mountains and trees on a whiteboard, and participants use pom-poms or finger stamps to add fall colors to create foliage.
By providing decorations in autumn shades like orange, yellow, and red and letting participants freely add color, they can enjoy the feeling of going out to view the autumn leaves.
As they use their hands, natural interaction emerges as they compare and chat about each other’s works.
After completion, older adults can look at and discuss the pieces together, which also livens things up.
It’s a recommended recreation that visually evokes autumn and stimulates creativity and sensitivity.
