[Elderly Care Facility] Fun-filled recreational activities for a Christmas party: crafts, rhythmic exercises, games, and even a snack-time activity
Are you looking for recreation ideas to make the Christmas party at a senior facility even more fun and lively? In this article, you’ll find loads of ideas you can enjoy together with older adults—from simple ball games to exercises set to Christmas songs, as well as crafts and snack activities.
We’ve gathered ideas that are easy to prepare and safe to try.
Please take a look and use these Christmas recreation ideas to create a heartwarming time filled with smiles across generations!
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[Elderly Care Facility] Lively recreational activities for a Christmas party: crafts, rhythmic exercises, games, and even a snack activity (1–10)
Christmas Billiards
It’s a game where you draw pictures of presents on empty cans and knock them down with a ball.
When rolling the ball, you can use a cue stick like in billiards, but for older adults, rolling it by hand is recommended.
Keep rolling the ball, and whoever collects the most presents wins! You could also assign different point values to each can.
chorus
One Christmas recreation I’d like to recommend is group singing.
Christmas songs include several famous tunes, so with those you might be able to sing along even without practice—just play the music on the day and show the lyrics.
Singing also helps maintain muscle strength and trains the brain.
So it’s perfect for older adults who don’t want to do “just plain exercises.” Let’s lift the mood by singing Christmas songs!
Santa’s Helper
There’s a story at Christmas about Santa Claus going around to children’s homes to deliver presents, right? If you turn that into a game, it can be really fun.
Pair up in twos: one person places a ball—standing in for a present—on a tray set on a chair.
If the chair has wheels, it will move smoothly.
The other person pulls a string attached to the chair to transport the ball and then catch it.
Setting a time limit will make it even more exciting.
Older adults can also enjoy the pleasure of cooperating with those around them while chatting.
[Elderly Care Facility] Lively recreational activities for the Christmas party: crafts, rhythm exercises, games, and even a snack activity (11–20)
Santa Claus made from a toilet paper roll
To liven up a Christmas party, decorating the venue is important, isn’t it? If you make Santa Claus, a classic Christmas motif, and use it as a decoration, it will surely lift everyone’s spirits.
Using a toilet paper roll, we’ll create a three-dimensional Santa Claus.
By layering and attaching felt, you can create a soft look with a sense of depth, as if he’s actually wearing clothes and a hat.
Make the basic Santa shape with that soft felt, then add decorative elements like hair and a beard using cotton, and it’s complete.
Since the whole piece is wrapped in felt and cotton, it becomes such a high-quality decoration that you’d hardly guess it’s made from a toilet paper roll.
Christmas tree ball toss
Here’s a Christmas tree game that’s also great as a brain workout involving some calculation.
Make a Christmas tree out of construction paper or prepare an illustration of a tree.
Cut toilet paper rolls to a height that can hold a ping-pong ball, and attach them to the tree.
Beforehand, write point values like 5 points or 10 points on the tree and attach the toilet paper rolls at those spots.
Aim and toss ping-pong balls into the toilet paper rolls marked with points.
Since ping-pong balls are small and light, they’re easy and safe for older adults to handle.
Compete by totaling the points of the balls that land in the rolls.
If you include score calculation, it can also serve as brain training.
Christmas Tree Making
How about crafting a Christmas tree—the quintessential symbol of Christmas—and using it for decorations? Cut thick paper into a cone shape and cover it with wrapping paper to make the base.
Then attach ribbons to create the tree’s foliage.
The shape of the ribbons you use is important: using cut pieces connected into teardrop shapes conveys both the spread and softness of the leaves.
The more ribbon you use, the more the three-dimensionality and softness are emphasized, so it’s worth taking time to prepare the materials.
It’s also fun to think of different variations, such as which ribbon patterns to use and what other decorations to add.
Gift Stacking Game
Here’s a game that evokes Santa Claus carrying lots of presents.
Make gift boxes out of construction paper.
If you prepare a wide variety of paper colors for the boxes, you’ll end up with creations that perfectly match the Christmas party atmosphere.
For the ribbons on the gift boxes, using washi (masking) tape makes it easy to create lovely ribbons.
Stack the finished boxes so they don’t topple over.
Several people can take turns stacking one box at a time, or you can enjoy focusing and stacking them on your own.
With this gift box game, older adults might even recall Christmases spent with their families.
The boxes can of course be used as a game for a Christmas party, and they’re also fun to make as a craft activity.