For Seniors: Delicious and Fun! Christmas Snack Activity Ideas
One of the big events in December is Christmas.
Care facilities and day service centers are likely decorated in lively Christmas colors like red and green, creating a festive atmosphere indoors.
Seeing the Christmas decorations inside might make the elderly residents feel excited as well.
So this time, we’re introducing ideas for Christmas snack activities that will help seniors feel even more joyful.
We’ve gathered many cute, Christmas-themed treats that are easy to make using store-bought items and that look perfect for the season once finished.
We hope these snack activities—fun to make and fun to eat—will help seniors enjoy a wonderful time.
[For Seniors] Delicious and Fun! Christmas Snack Activity Ideas (1–10)
Christmas donuts made with pancake mix
Let me introduce an easy doughnut you bake by pouring the batter into a mold and popping it in the oven.
When you think of doughnuts, you might picture deep-fried ones, right? This time, we’ll make them by baking pancake mix batter in the oven.
Since there’s no open flame, it should be easier for seniors to make as well.
Try coating the surface of the baked doughnuts with chocolate and topping them with chocolate sprinkles.
Chocolate in Christmas colors—green, red, and white—is especially recommended.
Christmas pancakes
Here’s a tree-shaped pancake idea using easy pancake mix.
Make pancakes in different sizes and stack them to look like a Christmas tree.
Try cooking the pancakes on a griddle at the table—perfect for a large group snack activity.
It can be a fun way for seniors to chat and connect with others, too.
Once the pancakes are cooked and slightly cooled, layer them with whipped cream and fruit.
Dusting powdered sugar on top makes it look like snow and adds to the Christmas feel.
Milk Kinton ‘Christmas Tree’
At Christmas, why not enjoy not only Western sweets but also Japanese confections for a different and delightful experience? Let’s try representing a Christmas tree with mellow, delicious milk kinton! Using store-bought sweet bean paste (anko) is easy and recommended.
Both cocoa anko and milk kinton anko can be quickly made in a microwave, so give it a try! For the finishing touch, have fun decorating with dragées and colored sugar.
We hope that making wagashi—something you don’t often experience in everyday life—enriches the hearts of older adults.
Plus, since there are many fine tasks involved, it may help with finger rehabilitation and provide stimulation for the brain.
Marshmallow Reindeer
Reindeer are animals that symbolize Christmas, aren’t they? When you think of reindeer, their impressive antlers come to mind, and today I’ll introduce a snack that cutely recreates those antlers.
We’ll make it by combining store-bought sweets.
Skewer a marshmallow on a toothpick, then insert two pretzel halves on top to form the antlers.
It already looks like a reindeer at this point, but you can coat the marshmallow with chocolate and add small candies for the facial features.
You can also draw the face with a chocolate pen.
Each older adult might create a reindeer with its own unique personality.
Have fun making them!
Snowball Cookies
How about some crunchy, crumbly snowball cookies? They’re super easy—you only need to heat them in the microwave.
First, mix cake flour and sugar, then add vegetable oil and stir until it forms a dough.
Once the dough is ready, pinch off bite-sized pieces, roll them into balls, and microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds.
That’s almost it—just finish by dusting them with powdered sugar.
Using a plastic bag to mix the dough makes it easy, and pinching and rolling the dough is fun, too.
Most of all, they’re incredibly simple to make, so give them a try!
Christmas deco pudding
It would be nice to adapt a gentle, healthy snack that’s easy on seniors’ bodies for Christmas, too! How about a Christmas-decorated pudding made with soy milk? First, put unsweetened soy milk and sugar in a pot and heat; once the sugar dissolves, add powdered gelatin and dissolve over low heat, then let it cool slightly.
Next, mix the soy milk mixture into beaten eggs, strain through a tea strainer into cups, and chill in the refrigerator until set.
For the finishing touch, mix matcha into whipped cream, pipe it to look like a Christmas tree—also great! You can decorate freely with star-shaped toppings or dragées to make the snack activity even more fun.
Santa cupcake
Why not enjoy an easy Christmas snack activity by using store-bought sweets? Seasonal snack activities can also be stimulating for older adults! Here, we’ll introduce Santa cupcakes to boost the Christmas mood, using Caplico for a fun, crispy texture.
First, cut the Caplico in half to separate the cone part from the base.
Next, color some white chocolate melted in a hot-water bath, coat both the cone and base parts, then attach them and chill in the refrigerator.
To finish, draw Santa’s face and belt with a chocolate pen, and use a tamago boro cookie for the nose—that’s it! Since the base is hollow, you could even hide a small gift inside for a delightful surprise.