![[For Seniors] From Games to Crafts: A Complete Guide to Paper Cup Recreational Activities](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/-gkuPCzosKc/maxresdefault.webp)
[For Seniors] From Games to Crafts: A Complete Guide to Paper Cup Recreational Activities
Preparing recreational activities at senior care facilities can sometimes be a burden for staff.
It’s tough to get everything ready while handling daily duties, isn’t it?
For those in that situation, we’re introducing a recommended recreation activity using paper cups.
Paper-cup activities aren’t just easy to prepare with minimal materials—they also offer various benefits for both physical activity and cognition.
And because paper cups are lightweight and soft, they reduce the risk of injury for older adults, making the activities safe to conduct.
Be sure to incorporate them into your daily recreation programs!
[For Seniors] From Games to Crafts: A Complete Guide to Paper Cup Recreations (1–10)
Milky Way GameNEW!
The “Milky Way Game” is a game inspired by Tanabata, when Orihime and Hikoboshi can meet only once a year.
Stick star shapes on paper to create the Milky Way, and decorate paper cups to make Orihime and Hikoboshi.
Put a ball inside each paper cup, then have players take turns sliding-throwing them toward the Milky Way.
If both cups successfully stop on the Milky Way, you win.
If either one goes off the Milky Way, you lose—in other words, the two couldn’t meet.
It’s also recommended to play in pairs among participants.
Bamboo Shoot Digging Game
It’s a game where you use a stick with a paper cup attached to the end to stack and pick up paper cups with bamboo shoots drawn on them, and compete for speed.
The key to successfully picking up the bamboo shoots is to fit the cup on the stick perfectly over the target cup, so your stick control is put to the test.
If you do it well, you can stack multiple cups, so strategy matters—do you carefully stack and grab a bunch at once, or focus on speed and collect them one by one? The longer the stick, the harder it is to control, so adjusting the stick length is also a recommended way to set the difficulty.
Tower game
Here’s an idea for a tower game that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Stack paper cups to build a tower, and once it’s complete, place a ball on top.
You can challenge yourself to see how fast you can do it, or compete against another person for extra fun.
In this kind of tower game, it’s common for the tower to collapse if you rush.
Try to proceed with a bit of tension, wondering, “Will I knock it down?” That way, when you manage to do it quickly, you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment.
Cup stacking (with paper cups)
This is a “knock down the paper cups” game you can play with one hand.
Use a stick and a ball made from newspaper to knock over paper cups.
Attach a string to the newspaper stick and tie the newspaper ball to the string.
Aim at the paper cups placed on the floor and swing the hanging ball to knock them down.
Recreational games also help relieve stress.
With this game, you can have fun while blowing off steam and refreshing your mind.
Since you use your arm, it’s an easy way to try some light training.
Because it can be enjoyed with one hand, it’s also recommended for people with hemiparesis.
Paper cup drop
Here’s a game using paper cups.
Line up the paper cups in a row.
Use the lined-up cups as targets and have older adults throw a ball at them from a short distance away.
Depending on where you set up the cups, the goal is to throw the ball so that the cups tip over or fall to the floor.
Even if they don’t hit the cups perfectly, it’s likely to spark laughter and provide a nice change of pace.
It can also encourage conversation with others and help expand social interaction among older adults.
Paper cups are sold at 100-yen shops, so preparation is easy.
Climbing koi-nobori
Shall we make a carp streamer you can also enjoy flying? We’ll use a paper cup, a straw, round stickers, and kite string.
First, cut out the bottom of the paper cup.
Then gently flatten the rim and cut a triangle with scissors to make the tail fin.
Inside the cup, stick two short, vertical pieces of straw facing each other.
Use round stickers to add the eyes and scales.
For the scales, cut the stickers in half.
Thread the kite string through the straws and you’re done! Hook the looped part of the string onto a high spot and set the carp streamer lower down.
By moving the string alternately left and right, friction will make the carp streamer rise!
Pull-the-string game
As the name suggests, here’s a fun game where all you do is pull a string.
Preparation is simple.
First, prepare many paper cups with long strings wound around them.
Get one basket and you’re set.
Have the participating seniors sit in a circle and hold the ends of the strings.
Gather the paper cups in the center and cover them with the basket.
Now the game begins.
Lift the basket, and before it can be dropped back down to cover the cups, pull the strings to snatch the paper cups away.
That’s all there is to it, but it gets very exciting.
It also helps build agility, so it’s recommended for recreation at senior facilities.
