Performances to Liven Up New Year Parties for Elderly Care Facility Staff
A New Year’s party is an event to celebrate the start of a new year and refresh our spirits.
Of course we exchange New Year’s greetings, but we also want to make it a joyful gathering where we can share the excitement of the year’s beginning.
With that in mind, we’ve put together ideas for performances and activities suitable for a New Year’s party for staff.
Many of these are primarily carried out by staff members, but it’s even more enjoyable if you find ways for older adults to join in—like clapping along or singing together.
Preparing props for a lion dance or making omikuji (fortune slips) can be a lot of work, but it could be nice to have the older adults help during a pre–New Year’s party recreation session.
[For Staff at Elderly Care Facilities] Performances to Liven Up New Year’s Parties (1–10)
Daruma Dance
We’d like to introduce a Daruma dance themed around the Daruma, a traditional good-luck charm.
The Daruma is considered auspicious because it always rights itself after being knocked over.
For that reason, it has come to embody wishes for a good harvest, prosperous business, and family safety.
At New Year’s, people often make a wish with a Daruma doll by drawing in one eye; when the wish comes true, they draw in the other eye.
Many older adults may also remember playing Daruma-otoshi as a New Year’s game.
A lucky Daruma dance would likely be something seniors would enjoy as well.
Good Luck Fortune-Telling Exercise
With the New Year upon us, some older adults may be visiting shrines and temples.
It’s also common to see people drawing omikuji (fortune slips) after offering their prayers.
However, there are seniors who find it difficult to go out even if they want to make a first shrine visit of the year (hatsumode).
So here’s an omikuji activity you can include at a New Year’s party to recreate the hatsumode atmosphere.
Have each senior draw one omikuji.
In addition to fortunes like “Great Blessing” or “Good Luck,” include messages that prompt light exercises.
Write simple actions such as “lift your knees” or “open-and-close hand exercises,” and try doing them together.
Seniors can enjoy themselves while getting some gentle movement.
Shanshan Umbrella Dance
Let’s perform the Shanshan Umbrella Dance to the song “Kiyoshi no Sōran-bushi”! Speaking of the Shanshan Umbrella Dance, the “Tottori Shanshan Festival” is famous, isn’t it? Some older adults may already be familiar with it.
If you put effort into the costumes as well, it will feel just like being at a festival.
I think it’s a festive act perfectly suited for the New Year, so please give it a try.
It will probably require quite a bit of practice, but it will surely become an unforgettable time for the seniors.
Little Dance
The year-end and New Year holidays are hectic and busy.
For staff who have some extra time, we recommend the Little Dance.
Two people dance in a way that makes them look like a single person.
One person sticks their face and arms out from behind a wall, while the other uses their arms to imitate legs and move them.
From the audience, it looks like a tiny person is dancing.
Watching the two move in perfect sync will surely resonate with older adults as well.
It does require practice time, but that effort will make it a polished performance for the New Year’s party.
lion dance
Around the New Year, we have more chances to see various lucky charms—not only decorative ones, but sometimes those that involve movement as well.
Among these animated New Year charms, the lion dance (shishimai) is perhaps the most iconic.
With a lion’s head whose mouth opens and a cloth of classic karakusa patterns, its movements alone evoke the festive New Year atmosphere.
It’s said to bring good luck if the lion bites you, so rather than just having people watch, inviting them to participate by being “bitten” is also recommended.
two-person robe (Nininbaori): a comedic act where two people share one kimono-like garment, with the rear person acting as the arms for the front person
Ninin-baori is a performance where two people wear a large haori coat and act as if they were a single person.
One person plays the role of the arms, and the other plays the role of the face.
While doing ninin-baori, they eat, drink, or put on makeup, but the person playing the arms can’t see what they’re doing, so it doesn’t go well.
For eating and drinking, some older adults may dislike wasting food, so makeup is recommended.
The humor of ninin-baori comes from the mishaps and things not going right.
If you have enough staff, running it as a competition between two pairs will make it even more exciting.
Having a commentator to do live play-by-play would likely get even more laughs.
tambourine performance
Instead of simply shaking a tambourine to the music, tambourine performance art uses the whole body and a variety of techniques to play it.
You can make sounds with your arms, legs—really any part of your body—thread your arm through the middle of the tambourine, and incorporate different choreographed moves.
Doing so creates a cool tambourine act.
Up-tempo songs look more impressive, so they’re recommended.
Also, Gonzo, who has appeared on the world-famous audition show ‘Got Talent,’ showcases many tambourine acts, so be sure to check him out for inspiration.
The lively sounds and fun movements are sure to get older adults excited too!
