[For Seniors] Guaranteed to Be a Hit! Popular Day Service Recreational Activities
One of the joys of attending day service is the recreational activities, isn’t it?
With that in mind, we’ve carefully selected recreation and games that can help seniors feel energized.
Activities that stimulate both mind and body are popular because they help people spend their time enjoyably and comfortably.
The key is to plan engaging activities that won’t become repetitive, so participants look forward to coming every day.
There are many options, from classic favorites to cleverly designed activities, and all are easy to join and fun—please use them as a reference!
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- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
[For Seniors] Guaranteed to Get Everyone Excited! Popular Day-Service Recreational Activities (181–190)
wet mop
It’s a collection of soft, thin strands, and it’s wet.
If you were to touch it without seeing it, some of you might imagine it’s something alive.
If it’s a well-used mop, when you touch it and smell it, you might wonder, “What’s that smell?” and feel even more unsure about what it is.
If you happen to move the mop while gingerly touching it, you might let out a scream and run away.
Since it’s a cleaning tool that’s widely used, it’s also recommended because it’s easy to prepare.
[For Seniors] Guaranteed Fun! Popular Day Service Recreational Activities (191–200)
Bomb GO
This is a game where players kick crumpled newspaper balls in two colors, aiming to get their team’s balls into the opponent’s side.
Sit in two facing rows, and mark a white line in the middle with tape to divide the territory.
Through the game, encourage plenty of leg movement, such as moving the feet back and forth to kick and stretching the legs to reach distant balls.
If you draw the white line at a distance that the feet can’t reach and place some balls there as well, players will also focus on finely controlling their foot movements by bumping nearby balls to move others—this setup is highly recommended too.
Bomb Game
It’s a game where players take turns answering with words that fit the given theme, while passing a ball that contains a timer to the next person.
It tests both your creativity to quickly come up with words from the theme and your reflexes to swiftly pass the ball.
Although the time limit is announced, the timer is inside the ball and can’t be seen, so you don’t know exactly when it will go off, which adds a sense of tension to the game.
The act of retrieving words from memory while moving your body also helps stimulate the brain.
Milk Carton Craft: Rock-Paper-Scissors Bingo
In this game, whoever wins rock-paper-scissors places their own marker—made from a milk carton—on a grid, and the first to complete three lines wins.
Because placement depends on the outcome of rock-paper-scissors, you get a different kind of mind game than the usual take-turns format.
Not only is placement strategy important, but figuring out how to win at rock-paper-scissors also becomes a key factor.
If there’s a big skill gap in rock-paper-scissors, it’s a good idea to add handicaps, such as changing the number of lines needed to win.
Milk Carton Stacking Game
Introducing a milk carton stacking game you can enjoy with just a little preparation.
All you need are milk cartons.
Cut the cartons into many ring-shaped slices a few centimeters wide.
Stack the square-ring pieces as high as you can without letting them fall.
You can start with a “Ready, go!” or simply stack at your own pace—both are fun.
Deciding where to hold each piece, how to place it, and adjusting while watching the balance engages upper-limb movement as well as thinking and judgment, making it great brain training.
It’s easy to prepare and enjoyable with any number of players, from a small group to a larger one, which is part of its appeal.
Target shooting game
Some seniors may have played shooting gallery or target games at festivals, don’t you think? This time, we’ll introduce a simple “target game” you can make with paper cups.
Cut out the bottom of a paper cup, tie off a balloon, cut off its tip, and stretch it over the cup.
With that, you’ve created an easy tool to launch small balls at targets.
Line up paper cups to create the targets.
Drawing illustrations on the target cups or decorating them with stickers will enhance the atmosphere.
It’s also great to have seniors participate from the crafting stage.
You can expect benefits for finger dexterity and brain training.
It’s a game that may help them recall fond memories of playing target games.
Darts with magnets
Have you ever played darts? Basically, you just throw darts at a target, but it’s said there are more than 100 different game types.
Alongside karting and e-sports, it’s even being talked about as a potential new Olympic event.
Why not enjoy a casual version of darts using a whiteboard and magnets? All you need is a magnet-friendly whiteboard, a target that will serve for scoring, and darts with magnets attached to their tips.
Adjust the difficulty by changing the size of the target and the distance to it.
This might even inspire you to try real darts in earnest!