[For Seniors] Hinamatsuri Recreation: Fun Ideas for Games, Crafts, and Snack Making

Makimaki Apple Game

Let's do this for tomorrow's recreation! It gets everyone excited at the day service! The Maki-Maki Rinko Game 🍎 #dayservice #elderly #elderlyrecreation #seniors #recreation #caregiving #preventivecare #braintraining #dementiaprevention #dementia #shorts

Let me introduce a recreation activity that makes great use of the hands and wrists: the Rolling Apple Game.

Attach a stick to a sheet of paper with tape, and place an apple on the paper.

Your goal is to bring the apple to your feet using only the motion of winding the stick—pulling is not allowed, so the winding action is key.

You need to use your fingertips and wrists, and if you wind too fast the apple will fall off, so you must decide whether to prioritize speed or focus on keeping the apple from falling.

Watching the apple make its way toward you is fun in itself, so spectators can’t help but cheer.

It’s enjoyable while also training the fingers and hands, making it a great recommendation for recreational activities in senior facilities.

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kojifumi

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Hinamatsuri Bowling

Day Service Kumagaya — Nozomi no Koubouan — Hinamatsuri Game — The Final Challenger

Here’s a Hinamatsuri bowling game you can even play on a table.

Attach illustrations or photos of the Emperor and Empress, the three court ladies, and the five musicians to paper cups.

Tape the cups to the table so that when a ball is rolled into them, they’ll stand upright.

Of course, when arranging the cups on the table, set them up like a traditional Hina display, such as a seven-tier or five-tier arrangement.

It might be hard for one person to get all the cups to stand.

However, everyone working together might be able to set up all the Hina-themed cups.

Cooperation requires communication, so older adults can enjoy chatting while playing the game.

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Nakajima Junko

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Ball toss and face-in-the-hole panel

Mikyo-kai Social Welfare Corporation, Makino Misato Small-Scale Multifunctional Home: “Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day)”

Here’s a ball-toss game you can enjoy while seated.

Aim and throw or roll balls at boards featuring the Emperor and Empress, each marked with point values, and compete for the highest score.

You can make the balls by crumpling up newspaper, for example.

It’s lively and fun with a group, but can also be played solo.

Because it’s done sitting down, it’s suitable for people who have difficulty standing or who use wheelchairs.

After the game, how about a little photo session with face-in-hole panels of the Hina dolls? It sounds like it will make for a lovely Hina Matsuri.

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Nakajima Junko

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Shell-matching game

[A Must-See for Childcare Workers!] Hinamatsuri Craft/Clam Matching Game #Shorts

Let’s play the “Shell Matching Game” for Hinamatsuri.

It’s similar to the memory game played with playing cards, where you try to find the shell that perfectly matches the one placed in the center from among the shells arranged around it.

Since it may be difficult to prepare real shells, try cutting construction paper into shell shapes and drawing pictures on the inside to play.

Since it’s Hinamatsuri, it would be nice to draw designs related to the festival, such as hina dolls, on the shells.

The person who collects the most matching pairs of shells wins.

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sasashina

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Making hishi-zushi (diamond-shaped sushi)

Hinamatsuri Meal! Easy “Hishi Mochi Chirashi Sushi” Recipe Using a Milk Carton

Let’s try making hishi mochi—those diamond-shaped layered sweets displayed with Hina dolls—out of sushi! First, use sakura denbu, avocado, and tuna mayo to make three colors of rice.

Next, place the rice in order into a milk carton opened and spread slightly at an angle so it forms a diamond shape.

This alone gives it a hishi mochi look, but since it’s sushi, adding some scrambled egg on top will make it even more colorful.

Then carefully pull off the milk carton, and it’s done! Topping it with salmon, cucumber, or kamaboko is also recommended.

It’s an easy recipe—just mix, layer the rice, and add toppings—so even seniors can enjoy making it while seated!

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SAKI

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Let’s make flowers bloom on a withered tree.

Super popular day-service activity♪ It gets everyone pumped! Shall we make flowers bloom on the withered tree!? #dayservice #elderly #elderlyactivities #seniors #spring #caregiving #preventivecare #braintraining #dementiaprevention #dementia #shorts

It’s a game that makes it look as if cherry blossoms are blooming on a withered tree when you play.

Prepare crumpled pink tissue paper, a sheet with a cherry tree motif, and paper plates labeled with point values.

Throw the crumpled tissue paper onto the paper plates with points and compete for scores.

There’s also a folktale where people say, “Let’s make flowers bloom on the withered tree,” as cherry blossoms bloom, right? When you throw the tissue paper, it looks like cherry blossoms have bloomed.

The game itself is fun, and you can also watch the tree gradually fill with blossoms.

If you calculate the total score together with older adults, you can also expect some brain-training benefits.

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Nakajima Junko

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Handmade hina-arare (Hinamatsuri rice crackers)

Hina-arare (colorful rice crackers for Hinamatsuri)

Hina-arare is sold in supermarkets around this season, but why not try making it yourself? The ingredients—mochi, powdered sugar, cinnamon, matcha, and so on—are surprisingly easy to gather, which is part of the appeal.

If you make it yourselves, you can enjoy additive-free, body-friendly arare.

It’ll be a fun group activity: everyone chatting and cooking together, then enjoying the results afterward—twice the delight in one go!