[For Seniors] Enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic: Seated activities
In this article, we introduce recreation activities you can enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At day service centers and other senior facilities, a variety of recreational activities are held every day.
However, during periods when COVID-19 and other infectious diseases are spreading, worries are never-ending.
So we’ve gathered activities that can be enjoyed while maintaining distance—such as those for small groups or done in turns.
What’s more, they can all be done while seated, making them enjoyable for wheelchair users and those who are unsteady standing.
You may also find that more people will casually join in, thinking, “If it’s something I can do while sitting, I’ll give it a try.”
Please use these ideas as a reference for your daily recreation programs.
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [For Seniors] Recreational activities and games that let you have fun while strengthening your legs
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- [For Seniors] Refresh Your Mood! Lively, Get-Moving Games
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
- [For Seniors] Fun Small-Group Recreation
- [For Seniors] Exciting Team-Based Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoy the Cold Winter! Seated Activities You Can Do
- [For Seniors] Enjoyment at Day Care: A Roundup of Games and Recreational Activities
[For Seniors] Enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic: Seated activities (21–30)
PET bottle cap puzzle
Let’s have fun with a puzzle game you can make using plastic bottle caps! Prepare a sheet of paper divided into a 3×3 grid and nine plastic bottle caps, then draw the same letters or shapes on both the paper and the caps.
Once you’re done, place each cap according to the numbers or designs in the squares.
Can you place them all without making a mistake? Mixing in similar-looking designs or letters can also help train cognitive skills.
Since it’s a handmade game rather than a store-bought one, feel free to enjoy it with your own tweaks, like increasing the number of pieces.
Relaxed setting!
It’s a simple game where you stand a stick—like the core of a roll of plastic wrap—upright in front of you and stretch rubber bands to loop them onto it.
Within a time limit, you compete to see how many rubber bands you can place without knocking the stick over, so delicate hand movements are key.
By changing the stick’s thickness or lightness, factors like how far you need to stretch the rubber band and how much force you use when placing it will vary, allowing you to adjust the difficulty.
The motion of gently shrinking the rubber band and easing it onto the stick helps players focus on concentration and how they apply force.
Kick Bowling
When we think of bowling, we usually imagine knocking down pins by rolling a ball held in the hand.
However, for older adults who have difficulty using their hands or standing up to throw the ball, kick bowling is highly recommended! Make pins that are significantly larger than usual using cardboard or thick paper, and prepare a large, colorful ball that’s easy to kick.
To make it easy to knock down the pins even without a strong kick, try to keep the kicking spot and the pins fairly close together.
Consider incorporating this into recreational activities at care facilities.
Full-body stretch
Not only do stretches help, but giving yourself a massage can also ease overall tension and promote relaxation.
Even a simple massage where one hand gently strokes the other arm can be expected to improve blood flow.
The post-massage stretches are designed to be done slowly and deliberately, focusing on relaxation with each movement.
The key is to move your body slowly, paying attention not just to the shoulders but also to the lower body, so you can steady your breathing while engaging your whole body effectively.
giant ball rolling
A “Giant Ball Roll” that’s so tantalizingly close to stopping you can’t help but get hooked! Set up a frame—using a hula hoop, for example—in the center of a circle, and roll a large ball toward the frame.
If the ball fits neatly inside, you clear the game! When people think of giant ball rolling, they often imagine a relay at a sports day, but with a target-rolling rule like this, you can enjoy it even while seated.
If you make it a day-by-day competition or a team match, older participants will get even more fired up! It might also spark conversations between neighbors—“So close!”—and help break the ice.
Waitress Game
It’s a game where you balance and place beanbags on a board.
You’ll need a board made from cardboard or thick paper, a toilet paper roll, and some beanbags.
Place the board on top of the upright toilet paper roll.
Once it’s stable, start placing the beanbags on the board one by one.
The player who keeps the board from tipping over until the end without losing balance wins.
It’s also great brain training since you have to think about where to place each beanbag! It could be fun to prepare small prizes and play in a tournament format, too.
Fabric wreath making
Wreath-making that uses fabric as the main material is easy and safe to create, so it’s highly recommended.
All you have to do is insert small pieces of cut fabric into a wreath base made of styrofoam, and you’ll have a visually striking wreath.
It can also be fun to choose fabric patterns and colors to match events like Halloween or Christmas.
It’s an easy craft to get into—great for taking photos with your handmade wreath or decorating the walls of a room together with everyone.
