Recreation Activities to Liven Up January Events for Seniors
January is full of traditional, time-honored events.
It’s wonderful that the spirit of treasuring the start of a new year has been passed down for so long.
In this article, we introduce recreational activities to liven up January events for older adults! Many care facilities, such as day service centers, likely have annual events they hold every year.
If you’re thinking, “I’d like to add a new game this year,” you’ll find plenty of recreation ideas here to use as a reference.
Some are easy to try, so you can enjoy them at home as well.
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- Performances to Liven Up New Year Parties for Elderly Care Facility Staff
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- [Elderly Care Facility] Fun-filled recreational activities for a Christmas party: crafts, rhythmic exercises, games, and even a snack-time activity
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
[For Seniors] Recreational Activities to Liven Up January Events (21–30)
Coloring calendar – Daruma Otoshi
@yuka__memo08 I made a January coloring calendar ☺️❣️ You can download it for free from note, so if you’d like, please download it and try coloring it ✨ ↓note URL ↓https://note.com/yuka__memo/n/n6cb4259dba46Coloring bookColoring Book CalendarHandmade CalendarColored pencil illustrationhand-drawn illustration
♬ Have It All – Jason Mraz
The classic New Year’s game, Daruma-otoshi, is a perfect motif for a January calendar! In this idea, you can enjoy coloring using black-and-white illustrations.
You can find free coloring pages if you search, and simple illustrations can probably be hand-drawn as well.
Enjoy coloring in your favorite colors, then paste it onto a backing sheet to finish your calendar.
As you make the calendar, memories of New Year’s games may come flooding back.
If you’re making it with family or friends, be sure to chat and have fun while you work together!
Origami Calendar – January
While enjoying origami, why not try making a January calendar? You’ll create three items: ornamental cabbage, a celebratory crane, and a New Year’s pine decoration (kadomatsu).
You’ll make several ornamental cabbages and cranes in different sizes.
Once everything is finished, arrange them on a backing sheet in any balance you like.
Attach the calendar section in the blank space, and you’re done.
There are many other origami projects you can make, so look for various New Year–themed ideas.
For the calendar portion, using free downloadable materials makes it easy.
[For Seniors] Recreational Activities to Liven Up January Events (31–40)
New Year’s Letter Rearrangement Quiz
We’d like to introduce the “New Year Word Unscramble Quiz,” which features words related to the New Year! Rearrange the given characters to form the specified word or sentence.
Because it requires memorizing the characters and putting them in the correct order, it’s used as a brain-training activity in day service centers and senior care facilities.
Simply incorporating New Year elements into the word scramble adds a seasonal touch.
You can adjust the difficulty by changing the number of characters.
Start with 3- or 4-character words and gradually increase the difficulty!
Origami Japanese style
We’ll show you how to make a very festive, New Year-style Japanese origami decoration.
Take three sheets of origami paper, accordion-fold each one, then fold them in half to form fan shapes.
Connect the three fans together to create a round ornament.
Using three different colors or mixing in patterned paper will make it even more eye-catching.
On top of that, make decorative pieces resembling a crane, plum blossoms, and pine needles, and add them as embellishments.
Incorporating mizuhiki cords lavishly will make the decoration stand out even more.
It also looks wonderful when made larger with construction paper.
New Year’s gift envelope game
When you think of New Year’s, many people think of otoshidama (New Year’s money), right? The Otoshidama Toss Game is a recreation you can enjoy during the New Year.
The rules are simple: toss beanbags into paper cups labeled with different amounts of otoshidama.
You can enjoy it even while seated.
Because the game also involves doing calculations, it makes for good brain training for older adults! Offering a prize to the person who collects the most otoshidama could make it even more exciting.
Rhythmic exercise with a New Year’s song
We’d like to introduce a fun way to enjoy the season: “New Year’s Song Rhythm Exercise”! You’ll fold your fingers to the music of the children’s song “Oshogatsu.” Because this finger-folding rhythm exercise can be done seated in time with the music, anyone can do it easily.
Start by folding the same fingers on both hands, and once you get used to it, try folding different fingers with each hand—it also works as brain training.
In the cold season, fingertips tend to get chilly.
Many older adults report difficulty moving their fingers in winter, so this exercise is perfect for chilly January!
Spot the differences in New Year’s illustrations
A spot-the-difference game that helps develop memory, concentration, and attention.
In nursing care facilities and day service centers, it’s often used as brain training for older adults.
In January, using New Year-themed illustrations for the spot-the-difference game is a great idea.
There are plenty of New Year motifs to choose from, such as kagami mochi, the zodiac animal, and kadomatsu decorations! Setting a time limit and tackling the game as a team can also lead to lively interaction with others.
Give it a try!