[For Seniors] Recommended in December! Safe and Fun Indoor Recreation
December is a busy month at the end of the year.
It’s also a season when the cold is more noticeable and people tend to have fewer opportunities to go outside.
With that in mind, here are some physical activities and crafts for older adults that can be enjoyed indoors where it’s warm.
These are December-themed recreations, so they allow participants to see, feel, and enjoy the season while experiencing a sense of seasonal atmosphere.
They also provide various mental and physical stimulation—moving the body, using the fingers, thinking, and creating opportunities to interact with friends.
Please make good use of these recreations.
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For Seniors: Recommended in December! Safe and Fun Indoor Recreational Activities (1–10)
Christmas Tree Game
It’s a recreation game where you make a Christmas tree shape using tape, write point values inside it, and roll a ball into it to compete for the highest total score.
The edges of the tree are lined with duct tape placed sticky-side up, so the ball sticks and stops.
Making a large tree with finely divided point zones seems like it would get seniors excited and lively.
Word Search Game
In many senior care facilities and day service centers, they often hold word-based games and recreational activities, don’t they? Word-based play can be enjoyable while also helping to maintain and improve cognitive function.
This time, we’ll introduce a game that uses cards evoking Christmas in December.
Prepare pictures related to Christmas—such as Santa Claus and Christmas trees—and slips of paper with the names of the pictures written on them.
Scatter the cards with the Christmas picture names.
From among them, find the letters that match the picture’s name and place them on the corresponding picture.
Using a timer can make it even more exciting.
You can also enjoy playing in pairs to compete on who can find the matching letters faster.
It’s a game whose ways to play can be expanded with a little creativity.
Seated Sing-and-Exercise
As December arrives and the cold sets in, many older adults may find fewer opportunities to stay active.
Let’s get moving with seated sing-along exercises.
To the lyrics and rhythm of the songs, we’ll raise our arms and lift our legs.
Listening to songs can prompt reminiscence and recall of past lifestyles, and singing together can also help improve oral function.
It’s said that exercising while singing and learning song lyrics you didn’t know before can stimulate the brain.
In the cold season, try enjoying these exercises indoors where it’s warm.
[For Seniors] December Recommendations! Safe and Fun Indoor Recreational Activities (11–20)
Snow globe making
Winter is the season for snow globes.
Many older adults and others may find them appealing.
Let’s try making a handmade snow globe! You can easily create one using an empty jar, glue, adhesive, and glitter.
Use a pine cone as a Christmas tree, add your favorite glitter, and make a snow globe that’s uniquely yours.
Christmas wreath making
By making use of scrap materials, you can transform them into wonderful creations.
Here’s an idea for a Christmas wreath made from toilet paper rolls.
Gently flatten the rolls by hand, cut them, and arrange them into a wreath shape.
The key is to color the rolls using Christmas colors—red, green, and white.
Using these festive colors helps create a December atmosphere.
Attach origami paper or translucent paper to the bottoms of the colored roll pieces.
This enhances the wreath’s three-dimensionality and gives the piece depth.
Since toilet paper rolls are made of a soft material, they’re easy for older adults to handle.
Not only can you make seasonally themed pieces for December, but you can also create works that showcase the individuality of older adults.
Making snowflakes
By December, some regions may start to see snowfall.
Let’s make paper snowflakes that evoke the feeling of winter’s arrival.
Snowflakes have intricate patterns, so they may seem difficult to create.
However, you can make them simply by cutting paper into strips without cutting all the way through the edges, then gluing the cut sections together.
Since this involves gluing and using scissors, there are many steps that use the fingertips—which is a nice bonus.
Moving the fingertips can help stimulate the brains of older adults, too.
Making several and turning them into a garland is also lovely.
Give it a try!
Curling game
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on ice to compete for points.
Because it requires foresight and strategy, it’s also called “chess on ice.” It exercises the mind, so it’s recommended as brain training for older adults.
While real curling is played on ice, there’s also a tabletop version you can enjoy.
Use plastic bottle caps instead of stones and paper instead of ice.
If you draw a Christmas tree on the paper, it will add a December atmosphere.
Write point values on the Christmas tree illustration and flick the bottle caps one by one with your finger.
Compete based on the points where each cap comes to rest.
You can make it even more exciting by adding twists, like caps that fall off the table scoring zero, or creating high-score zones.
It’s a perfect game for Christmas parties.