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

Sakuramochi Making

How to Make Sakura Mochi – A Useful Recipe

There’s a custom of eating sakura mochi on Girls’ Day (Hinamatsuri), isn’t there? Sakura mochi—pretty pink rice cakes tinted with food coloring and wrapped in salted cherry leaves—look charming and feel very springlike.

Did you know sakura mochi differ between the Kansai and Kanto regions? They’re surprisingly easy to make either way, so how about trying them as a Hinamatsuri activity?

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Hane Keisuke

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Making a hanging decoration of plum blossoms with origami

Hanging plum blossom decorations — origami — make any room look luxurious!

When it comes to spring flowers, cherry blossoms come to mind, but in February and March, plum and peach blossoms are at their best.

How about creating a festive display to decorate your walls or doors with plum blossoms, which are cute and feel very traditionally Japanese? You can easily make it with materials like origami paper, colored paper, glue, and mizuhiki cords—things you likely have at home or can get at a 100-yen shop.

Fold a fan with gold origami paper, then hang lots of plum blossoms made from origami.

Origami is also great for practicing dexterity, so I highly recommend it.

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utatane

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Kick Darts

[Sports Recreation] Popular 🐥 Kick Darts #minigame #shorts #dayservice #recreation #sports #seniors #beanbags #darts #rehabilitation #nursingcare #carefacility #Yamanashi #Kofu

This is a game where you sit in a chair and kick a beanbag into the air, aiming to land it on a high-scoring area of the dartboard in front of you.

It helps develop the leg strength needed to send the beanbag to a distant dartboard and the ability to control force to reach the target spot.

The farther the dartboard is, the more power is required, so have participants try at distances suited to their stamina and muscle strength.

If you run it as a face-to-face match, players will likely focus even more as they try to beat their opponent.

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kappamaki

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Sheet Valley

Senior Recreation: [100-Yen Store Goods, Daiso] Lively and fun sheet volleyball for everyone! #RecreationForSeniors #Daiso #Fun

Let’s play Seat Volleyball using sunshades sold at 100-yen stores.

It’s a game that many older adults can enjoy.

Connect two sunshades to make a volleyball court.

Have seated older adults hold the two connected sunshades.

Roll a beach volleyball on top of the sunshades.

Before starting, use tape or similar to mark territories on the sunshades.

When the time limit is up, the side where the ball is located loses.

With gameplay similar to real volleyball, older adults are likely to enjoy it.

Since it can be played while seated, many older participants should be able to join.

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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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