[For Seniors] Enjoyable Day Service: A Collection of Fun Event Ideas
Many seniors who use day services likely look forward to the recreational activities.
Care workers think up fun, exciting activities every day to bring joy to the seniors.
In this article, we’ll introduce plenty of recreation ideas that are sure to energize your day service! From head-to-head games and group exercises to activities that let participants feel like they’re traveling—or even trying their luck at a casino!?—it’s packed with surprising ideas.
Be sure to read to the end.
- Entertainment and Performances That Delight at Day Services for the Elderly
- [For Seniors] Highlights of Fun Events at Day-Service Centers
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [Evolving Daycare Services] A summary of engaging recreational initiatives that excite older adults
- [For Seniors] Today’s Recommended Activity: Fun and Engaging
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- [For Seniors] Guaranteed to Be a Hit! Popular Day Service Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Exciting Team-Based Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [Elderly Day Service] Let’s all have fun! Games and recreational activities
- [For Seniors] What's in the Box? A Collection of Exciting Content Ideas
- [For Seniors] A Fun Sports Day! Recreational Activities You Can Do Safely
[For Seniors] Enjoy at Day Service: A Collection of Fun Event Ideas (51–60)
Ice Cream Game
How about a simple, fun activity you can enjoy with just some beanbags? The rules are easy: using cone-shaped items like the small training cones you can buy at 100-yen shops, compete to see how many beanbags you can stuff in after someone says, “Ready, go!” You can also make the cones by rolling colored construction paper into a cone shape.
It’s fun to see people’s different styles—some pack them in one by one, while others boldly cram in a bunch at once.
You could even sing a short song as a substitute for a stopwatch to make it more exciting!
casino
Casino-themed events might not intuitively seem to go hand in hand with older adults, but did you know there are actually day-service programs that incorporate casinos? A company called Japan Senior Life operates a casino-style day service called “Las Vegas,” which has been drawing attention in the eldercare industry.
As part of their recreational activities, participants can enjoy authentic casino games such as mahjong and blackjack.
Of course, they use a fictional in-house currency, so exchanging it for money or goods is strictly not allowed.
This kind of initiative can be adapted to regular day services as well, and setting up casino-style decor and costumes so users can enjoy the games could be a fun idea!
Towel Drop Showdown
The more fun a recreation activity is, the more heated and exciting it gets.
For facility events or everyday recreation, it’s best to choose games that are easy for older adults to try right away.
The rules for the “Towel Drop Showdown” introduced here are very simple: sit down, place a towel on your thighs, and use only your legs to make the towel fall.
You’ll see when you actually try it—getting the towel to drop is surprisingly difficult.
You can have the residents take on the challenge, and it’s also recommended to showcase a staff-versus-staff match as an event performance.
Ping-Pong Ball Picking Game
Events enjoyed at day service centers can be prepared smoothly and enjoyed safely by users when they’re simple recreational activities that don’t require elaborate setups.
The one introduced here is the “Ping-Pong Ball Pickup Game,” which can be fully prepared with items from a 100-yen shop.
Both the setup and rules are very simple: all you need are ping-pong balls, rings to hold the balls, large spoons, and a timer to keep track of time.
For older adults, the task is simply to use the spoon to move ping-pong balls from the central ring into their own ring within the time limit.
Precisely because it’s a simple game, it can get quite exciting, and using a spoon may also help train balance and similar abilities.
[For Seniors] Enjoy at Day Service: A Collection of Fun Event Ideas (61–70)
The 365-Step March Exercise
The hit song “365-Step March” by singer Kiyoko Suizenji from Kumamoto Prefecture was released in 1968 and became a million-seller.
That melody that makes you want to start walking is familiar across generations, isn’t it? How about doing some energetic exercises together with everyone to “365-Step March”? If you search on video sites, you’ll find a variety of choreographies, so be sure to pick your favorite.
It’s even more fun if you exercise while singing!
Swan Lake
Even if you’re not interested in classical ballet, many people have heard Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet music Swan Lake at least once—the celebrated work by one of Russia’s foremost composers.
How about giving Swan Lake a try as a performance piece for facility events like Christmas parties or year-end gatherings? You don’t have to present a full-fledged ballet, of course, but if you can prepare costumes that clearly evoke Swan Lake and make an impact with the visuals, the audience is sure to enjoy it.
With this kind of performance, clarity and boldness are key—so go in with the enthusiasm to even paint your face white if you have to!
baseball game
If you’re looking for a way to get a bit of exercise indoors, how about this? It’s a jumbo-sized take on the classic baseball board game.
All you do is hit a ball toward a fence made of cardboard—simple as that! If you mark off areas like “Home Run” and “Hit,” it’ll feel just like baseball.
Using a tee to hold the ball means you can even play while seated.
If any participants used to play baseball, it might really get their blood pumping!