[For Seniors] Highlights of Fun Events at Day-Service Centers
A day service that holds events tailored to the seasons and other occasions.
Seeing the smiles of the older adults who participate and enjoy themselves really warms your heart, doesn’t it?
Many of you are probably already brainstorming ideas for the next event to make it even more enjoyable.
So this time, we’ll introduce some fun event ideas for day service programs.
We’ve selected many recreational activities that even older adults who have difficulty with physical movement can participate in.
We hope everyone has a wonderful time together.
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Day Service: A Collection of Fun Event Ideas
- Entertainment and Performances That Delight at Day Services for the Elderly
- For seniors: Simple and exciting! Ideas for staff performances
- [For Seniors] Guaranteed to Be a Hit! Popular Day Service Recreational Activities
- Recommended fun performances that will appeal to elderly people
- Seniors will love it! A roundup of popular events
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities in Nursing Homes
- Recreation Activities to Liven Up January Events for Seniors
- Entertainment ideas for year-end parties that seniors will enjoy
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- For Seniors: Fun and Engaging December Event and Recreation Ideas
- [For Seniors] Lively! Entertainment Ideas for New Year’s Parties
- [For Seniors] Today’s Recommended Activity: Fun and Engaging
[For Seniors] Fun Day-Service Event Highlights (11–20)
Grand Escape Magic
When it comes to magic, the main event has to be an escape act.
Let’s entertain everyone with a grand escape using cardboard.
Prepare a cardboard box large enough for a person to fit inside and about ten sticks to serve as swords that pierce the box.
Make holes in the box for the swords, and as the trick’s secret, add a small door that allows a person to enter and exit without being seen from the front.
It’s also important for the magician to humorously announce each move before doing it; this helps them sync perfectly with the escape performer.
For the classic background music, Paul Mauriat’s ‘El Bimbo’ will make it perfect.
Halloween party
Halloween has become firmly established in Japan, much like Valentine’s Day and Christmas.
Perhaps the big annual events at places like Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan have something to do with it.
Of course, there are plenty of ways for seniors to enjoy it as well.
Even without a full costume, just wearing a ghost-themed headband can put you in the Halloween spirit.
Hosting a pumpkin-cooking event or a candy exchange where everyone swaps treats while saying “trick or treat” could be fun, too.
Storytelling sessions with kamishibai or read-alouds of picture books about Halloween would also be wonderful.
Rock-Paper-Scissors Relay
It’s a relay-like game that uses rock-paper-scissors rules, where not only speed of movement but also quick situational judgment is tested.
While holding a ring made of newspaper, you play rock-paper-scissors with the next person; if the next person wins, the ring passes to them—this is the flow.
Under the pressure of trying to pass the ring to the next person quickly, you’re tested on repeatedly judging the outcome of rock-paper-scissors while performing the actions over and over.
The fact that situations where rock-paper-scissors doesn’t progress smoothly can potentially be overcome by the speed of repetition also enhances the game’s playability.
Cherry blossom viewing
Speaking of hanami, it’s the cherry blossom season—an essential event of spring.
Through the beautifully blooming sakura, let people feel the arrival of warmer days and the start of a new year.
It’s also worth noting that each season has its own emblematic flowers, not just spring.
How about inviting people to sense the changing seasons through flowers? There are many ways to enjoy this—using it as a reason to go out, or encouraging people to imagine the flowers blooming outdoors, among other approaches.
mochi pounding
Seeing the mallet and mortar for mochi pounding gets seniors excited, too.
As the saying goes, “Old skills die hard,” the body remembers what it learned long ago no matter how old we get.
Try linking it with fun New Year’s memories and enjoy it together.
Raise your voices with calls like “Sore!” and “Yoisho!” to liven up the recreation.
Even those who usually find it a hassle to move because of back pain might suddenly forget all about it!
Tossing balls into a small hole
Let’s try a ball-toss game using a cardboard box and colored balls! Here’s an idea where you aim and throw into small holes.
Normally, in a ball-toss game, you throw small balls into a tall basket and compete on how many you can get in.
This time, we’ll use a flat cardboard box and challenge ourselves to throw balls into small holes instead.
It’s a great way to build concentration and control.
If you don’t have colored balls, you can substitute with beanbags or balls made by crumpling up newspaper.
[For Seniors] Fun Day-Service Event Highlights (21–30)
Strawberry Picking Game
The bright red fruit, strawberries, are one of the foods that evoke the feeling of spring, and strawberry picking is also an event that brings a sense of the season.
This game is inspired by the scene of strawberry picking, where players compete to collect as many strawberry mascots as possible within a time limit.
A string is stretched out in front of you, and clothespins attached to it hold strawberry motifs.
You remove them and place them into a basket.
It’s a game that values the pinching motion used to remove the strawberries from the clothespins, as well as the speed and concentration needed to aim for a higher count within the time limit.