[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 (41–50)
Mountain Cup
Some of you may have played golf back when you were working at a company.
Let us introduce the Mountain Cup, an activity that can bring back those memories.
As the name suggests, the course is shaped like a mountain.
Place a basket in the center, and lay plastic or cardboard boards—on which a ball can roll—over the top.
Make a hole in the center of the board, and roll the ball as you would in golf to get it into the central hole.
It’s easier to enjoy indoors than ground golf or gateball.
It’s likely to be fun for many older adults.
[For Seniors] Recommended in December! Safe and Fun Indoor Recreational Activities (51–60)
Christmas Exercise for Preventive Care
Even simple brain-training exercises and calisthenics become fun when set to music, and keeping the beat helps make everyday movements smoother.
This time, we’ll do a routine to E-girls’ Christmas song “Merry × Merry Xmas★.” The movements are simple—like rotating the neck and stretching the arms—but directing attention to left and right sides also trains cognitive abilities.
Pay attention to expressing the rhythm and Christmas motifs, and be sure to highlight the fun aspect.
To boost the brain-training effect, try more complex variations, such as switching the combinations of arms and legs mid-song.
Jingle Bell Exercises You Can Do While Seated
While listening to Christmas songs, let me introduce some exercises you can do while seated! Try swaying your body to the lively rhythm of “Jingle Bells.” It’s also fun to use instruments that make sounds, like bells.
In addition to big arm movements, try leaning your body forward and patting your legs.
Lifting your legs and moving them as if marching will increase the intensity.
It’s also a great idea to make it a “Christmas medley” and exercise to a variety of songs! Including a slower-tempo piece in the middle will help you relax.
My lover is Santa Claus
This is an exercise routine set to Yumi Matsutoya’s classic Christmas song “Koi-bito ga Santa Claus” (My Lover Is Santa Claus).
It focuses mainly on upper-body movements, making it accessible even for those who find it difficult to move their legs.
The routine expresses words from the lyrics through body movements, and paying attention to the size of each movement will further enhance the training effect.
It’s also important to focus on how the song conveys the joy of Christmas.
Lightly marching in place to catch the rhythm will help train your legs while also leading to smoother overall movement.
Paper cup launcher
It’s a game where you swing a stick made of newspaper to launch a paper cup placed on the tip forward, and compete on how far it flies.
Your ability to control force is tested—how you swing determines how well the power transfers to the cup and how far it goes.
Just swinging with brute force won’t work, so pay attention to where you start the swing, when you stop it, and the angle.
Through the game, you’ll also get good movement in your upper body, especially around the shoulders, which is another key benefit.
Don’t Drop the Green Ball Game
This is a game where you skillfully move a piece of cardboard with a hole in the center to drop all the balls on top except the green one.
The key point is not to let the green ball fall, which really tests your delicate control as you maneuver multiple balls.
Once you get used to it, it’s fun to add variations like deciding the order in which you drop the balls, which encourages even finer control.
The ease of control also changes depending on the size of the cardboard, so trying out various setups could be interesting too.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Exercise Dance
This is an exercise routine set to the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” which depicts the relationship between Santa Claus and his reindeer—the symbols of Christmas.
To perform the choreography smoothly, be sure to start only after thoroughly warming up with activities like marching in place and shoulder raises.
Because the movements are gentle and follow the lyrics, it’s important to feel the mood of the music and stay mindful of making large, expressive motions.
Although it’s done while seated, you’ll move your legs as well as your arms at the same time, making it a routine that effectively works the entire body.