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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[For Seniors] Recreational Activities to Liven Up January Events (31–40)
Sugoroku game
Starting in the New Year, we’d like to introduce a “Sugoroku game” that seniors can enjoy! It’s a game where everyone designs the squares together and works on activities like exercises and arithmetic while aiming for the goal.
In winter, we tend to stay indoors as our bodies feel the cold, but because Sugoroku is played with multiple people, it can also foster sociability and cooperation.
Plus, by incorporating physical movements into the squares, you’ll warm up your body and improve muscle strength.
Many participants will surely look forward to prizes at the finish line, too.
Be sure to enjoy it together with seniors!
Bingo game
A bingo game, as always, for the event.
Since it’s for New Year’s, let’s make it a little more lavish than usual—prepare some prizes and have fun! After all, when there are prizes to win, it’s exciting not just for kids but for adults of any age, right? You don’t have to use store-bought bingo cards—handmade ones are just as fun, and you can even make them large and easy to read.
Searching for the numbers is a mental exercise too, making it effective as a bit of brain training.
With all the excitement, you might find yourself calling out louder than usual!
Making seven-herb rice porridge
Would you like to enjoy making Nanakusa-gayu (seven-herb rice porridge)? By identifying the seven herbs and actually cooking it together, older adults can share their knowledge and experiences.
As conversations blossom, it can also become a place for intergenerational exchange.
Sharing the warm porridge everyone made will create a warmth that makes you forget the winter cold.
It’s also a wonderful opportunity to foster a sense of unity among older adults.
Let’s share a joyful time through this traditional New Year’s event that prays for good health.
Winter Delicacies Quiz
It’s a great idea to hold a “Winter Flavors Quiz” at New Year’s, using ingredients that are special to the season! Show illustrations of winter foods like daikon radish, fugu (pufferfish), and kumquats, and have participants guess their names.
It can also be used as brain training by having people identify the ingredients from the pictures.
Some may find items they’ve eaten before without realizing they’re winter foods.
Adding a time limit could make the game even more exciting.
Be sure to try it as a recreational activity.
a big kagami mochi
When it comes to New Year’s kagami mochi, the bigger and more luxurious it is, the luckier it seems, right? Here’s a giant kagami mochi that focuses on size, using bedding.
Use a low table like a chabudai as the base, shape a futon like a rice ball, cover it with a sheet, and tie it to form the kagami mochi shape.
Then place the mandarin part on top, made from items like a bath towel, a plastic bag, and an orange shopping bag, and it’s complete.
Its sheer size makes a strong impact on its own, but if that feels lacking, it could be fun to think about additional decorations around it.
[For Seniors] Recreational Activities to Liven Up January Events (41–50)
Let’s try visiting a New Year’s shrine indoors.
By creating a shrine inside the facility and having residents pay their first visit of the New Year there, older adults can enjoy the experience.
Let facility staff or the seniors themselves play the roles of shrine maiden and priest.
First, purify the hands, then make an offering and prayer, draw an omikuji fortune, and head home.
Making authentic-looking omikuji will enhance the sense of realism.
Having an extraordinary experience in the familiar facility can feel refreshing and be a lot of fun.
It might also be enjoyable to make goshuin stamp books or protective amulets.
Please give it a try.
New Year’s party
Some of you may feel that exchanging New Year’s greetings only through New Year’s cards is a bit lonely.
You’d rather meet people in person and enjoy a lively chat, right? In that case, how about hosting a New Year’s gathering? Invite your close acquaintances—friends you see regularly, people you meet at senior facilities, or members from your circle or hobby club—and enjoy a pleasant time together.
If it’s just for a few hours, you don’t need elaborate dishes.
If you hold the gathering at a care facility, performances by the staff can be part of the fun as well.
It would be wonderful if older adults could start the year in high spirits!