[For Seniors] Make Every Day Fun! A Collection of Handmade Tear-off Calendars
Page-a-day calendars are often made as recreational activities in elderly care facilities.
Some facilities create them as a year-end tradition.
A calendar made by everyone brightens up a room just by being displayed.
However, rather than making the same kind every year, you might want to try something with a fresh twist.
So this time, we’re introducing a variety of handmade page-a-day calendar ideas.
We’ve selected designs that are easy for older adults to flip and that can be used at home as well.
For people with dementia, recognizing the date can be challenging.
Making it a daily habit to flip the calendar can help them stay aware of the date.
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[For Seniors] Make Every Day Fun! A Roundup of Handmade Tear-Off Calendars (11–20)
Totoro tear-off calendar
Totoro comes in various sizes and is fluffy.
The work featuring Totoro, My Neighbor Totoro, has been broadcast on TV many times, so even among older adults, there are likely people who know it.
With that in mind, we’d like to introduce a tear-off daily calendar themed around Totoro.
Make Totoro out of construction paper and attach it to the calendar.
For the date portion of the daily calendar, items associated with Totoro—like acorns—would be nice.
If there are older adults who aren’t familiar with Totoro, why not chat about Totoro with them while you make it together?
Cute Animal Daily Tear-off Calendar
A tear-off daily calendar that changes date every day is more fun when the design makes you look forward to flipping it, isn’t it? So, let me introduce a very adorable animal-themed daily calendar.
Make animals out of construction paper and attach them to the calendar.
You could also fold animal shapes with origami for a lovely finish.
If you change the stand or base of the daily calendar, it might be fun to craft it with items related to each month.
For example, New Year’s for January, carp streamers for May, and Christmas for December—come up with your own ideas and give it a try!
Cross-stitch with fabric scraps
Let’s make a daily flip calendar using fabric scraps.
In this crafts activity, leftover fabric will transform into a lovely creation.
Cut the scraps to the size of the date cards and stitch around the edges.
Create the numbers with cross-stitch.
Cross-stitch is characterized by stitches forming an X pattern.
If you can prepare embroidery fabric, feel free to try other stitching methods as well.
Once the fabric date cards are finished, attach them to a calendar stand of your choice and it’s complete.
Seniors who enjoy handicrafts will likely be able to concentrate and engage with this project.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Tear-off Daily Calendar
This is a daily flip calendar featuring the Very Hungry Caterpillar, with its cute red face and round green body.
Some seniors may have read the picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar to their grandchildren.
Let’s use the caterpillar’s round body segments to create a system where you can change the month and date.
For the numbers, either handwrite each one or print numbers you’ve made using free images or Word.
Attach the numbers to circular green construction paper and laminate them.
Make the caterpillar’s face, then attach the month and date sections to the calendar to complete it.
Milk carton perpetual calendar
Would you like to try making a slightly larger perpetual calendar? Its standout feature is easy-to-read text.
First, prepare a milk carton.
Cut off only the bottom part, then fold it to form a square.
Next, cover it with construction paper and write the numbers.
Repeat this process to make blocks that display the date and the day of the week.
For the month blocks, divide each face into two sections and add numbers.
You can also customize it by increasing the types of blocks or making other adjustments to suit your preferences.
Paper Cup Calendar
A slightly unique-looking idea is a paper cup calendar.
Besides paper cups, you can make it with materials you can find at a 100-yen shop, like pens and masking tape.
It’s easy to make: cut a slit in a paper cup.
Then prepare another cup and write numbers around the rim in a circle.
Stack the two cups, and only one number will show through the slit.
Using the same method, make another paper cup to display the date as well.
Since plain paper cups can look a bit plain, try decorating them too.
Add pipe cleaners or beads to give it a festive finish.
[For Seniors] Make Every Day Fun! Handmade Tear-off Calendar Roundup (21–30)
A floral desk calendar
Having flowers literally brightens up a room, doesn’t it? That’s why I’d like to introduce a floral desk calendar.
The idea is to decorate a DIY desk calendar—made from construction paper and binding rings—with flowers.
You can attach paper-crafted flowers or artificial blooms, or try drawing illustrations.
Use seasonal flowers or your favorites as motifs.
This way, every time you flip the calendar, the flowers will catch your eye and lift your spirits.