[For Seniors] Practical Crafts to Make in Day-Service Recreation: Idea Roundup
At day service craft activities, there are times when participants make items to take home.
I imagine many people display them at home, too.
This time, we’re sharing craft ideas for older adults that you can make and actually use!
We’ve gathered practical crafts you can keep using after you make them, as well as stylish pieces that look great on display.
Simply changing the origami patterns or the types of beads and ribbons can create a completely different feel, so have fun using these ideas as inspiration.
- For Seniors: Simple and Lovely Crafts – A Collection of Take-Home Project Ideas for Day Service
- [For Seniors] Small craft ideas: for yourself and as gifts!
- [For Seniors] Recommended for day services! Simple and cute small craft ideas
- [For Seniors] A Collection of Craft Ideas Using Paper Cups
- Take-Home Craft Ideas for Winter: Perfect for Day Services for Seniors
- For Seniors: Come, Spring! Recommended March Craft Ideas for Daycare Services
- [For Seniors] Simple Handicrafts Recommended for Finger Exercise
- [For Seniors] Recycle Everyday Materials: A Collection of Flyer Craft Ideas
- [For Seniors] Have Fun Making Things Based on Today’s Mood! Today’s Recommended Craft
- [Day Service] Craft Ideas for Seniors to Make in October
- [For Seniors] Easy Construction Paper Crafts Activity
- [For Seniors] Easy and Fun! Tsumami Zaiku Craft Ideas
- [For Seniors] Color Your Care Facility’s Spring: Wall Decoration Ideas
[For Seniors] Practical crafts to make in day-service activities: Ideas roundup (91–100)
Goldfish fan, pastel art
Pastel art lets you create pieces with soft colors and gentle touches.
Shave stick pastels into powder and use your fingers to draw.
This time, let’s draw on a summer item: a hand fan (uchiwa).
You can also find uchiwa suitable for pastel art at 100-yen shops, so give them a try.
How about coloring the entire fan a light blue or blue and drawing goldfish? The combination of an uchiwa and goldfish gives a cool, refreshing feel to the piece.
Older adults may also find finger-drawing art novel and enjoyable to create.
Paper tag for carnations
Recommended for Mother’s Day gifts! Here’s how to make a carnation paper tag.
Cut red construction paper into a flower shape.
A craft punch is handy for this.
Cut the flower in half and refine the shape.
Use a toothpick to add curvature.
Make four of the same piece.
Apply glue to the center of the flower and layer the pieces, offset so the petals are visible.
To give the flower a rounded look, as you build upward, glue while gently bending the pieces.
Attach the flower to a paper tag along with leaves and a calyx made from green construction paper and a wire stem.
Thread a string through the tag, and it’s done.
Try making it with heartfelt gratitude.
Flower art made with felt and pine cones
How about combining pine cones and wool felt to create colorful floral art? First, insert a wire into the base of the pine cone and secure it firmly.
The opposite tip can be dangerous if it’s sharp, so use pliers to bend it into a loop.
From the top of the pine cone downward, pack in wool felt in your favorite colors, pressing it firmly with a toothpick; this will keep the felt from falling out without needing glue.
You can also make leaves out of wire and add them as decorations.
Once you get the hang of using pliers, your hands won’t get sore.
Totoro tear-off calendar
Totoro comes in various sizes and is fluffy.
The work featuring Totoro, My Neighbor Totoro, has been broadcast on TV many times, so even among older adults, there are likely people who know it.
With that in mind, we’d like to introduce a tear-off daily calendar themed around Totoro.
Make Totoro out of construction paper and attach it to the calendar.
For the date portion of the daily calendar, items associated with Totoro—like acorns—would be nice.
If there are older adults who aren’t familiar with Totoro, why not chat about Totoro with them while you make it together?
A countdown tear-off calendar to your goals and fun events
Many senior care facilities hold seasonal events and activities, don’t they? There are likely older adults who look forward to these events, thinking, “Is it time yet?” That’s why I recommend a countdown tear-off calendar.
You can count down the days to an event or activity by turning a page each day.
If you write the final day’s goal on the calendar, it may make people look forward to flipping each page.
Using washi (masking) tape to flip the date cards is also convenient.
A daily tear-off calendar made with everyday materials
Here’s an introduction to a daily tear-off calendar you can make with everyday materials.
You can put leftover construction paper from craft activities or odd fabric scraps to good use.
Create month and date cards out of construction paper or cardstock.
As for the leftover fabric, why not use it to cover the calendar’s base? A daily calendar you make yourself can inspire affection, especially among older adults, and they may enjoy turning the pages.
Plus, flipping the calendar uses the fingertips, making it a helpful exercise for seniors’ fine motor skills.
A page-a-day calendar you can make with materials from the 100-yen shop
When you go to a 100-yen shop, don’t you ever think, “They even have this?” You can find all sorts of things at 100-yen stores.
So let’s use some 100-yen items to make a daily tear-off calendar.
Start by adding the dates to sheets of paper.
For the date cards, you can turn the numbers into coloring pages, or print them out using a different font for each day.
Use cardstock to make a decorative backing for the cards.
If the calendar can stand on its own, you can place it in small spaces around the room.
Older adults can also take the finished piece home and display it in their own rooms.