[For Seniors] Activities to Enjoy March: Games, Crafts, Music, and Snack Recreation
March, when it gradually gets warmer, is a season that lifts our spirits as we feel the signs of spring.
Why not incorporate seasonal activities into recreational programs to enjoy with older adults? We’ve gathered ideas full of seasonal flair—from games and crafts themed around spring icons like cherry blossoms, butterflies, and bamboo shoots, to snack-time activities that spark the appetite with sweet aromas, and even music sessions that make you want to move.
Many can be done while seated or prepared with familiar, easy-to-get materials, so be sure to try them in your daily recreation programs.
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For Seniors: Activities to Enjoy March — Games, Crafts, Music, and Snack Recreation (21–30)
tea party
One of the real pleasures of a tea gathering is being able to feel the changing seasons.
It’s lovely to savor spring-themed wagashi sweets together with matcha, isn’t it? In March, why not try whisking tea for Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day) or during the equinoctial week (Ohigan)? Even among older adults, there probably aren’t many who enjoy matcha in their daily lives, so consider including it in your March events! You could invite a tea instructor and host a formal tea ceremony, but it might be just as nice to keep it casual and have staff whisk the matcha.
Don’t worry too much about strict etiquette—let’s simply enjoy the matcha, the wagashi, and some good conversation.
Making chirashi-sushi cake
This is a “Chirashi Sushi Cake,” perfect for Hinamatsuri events.
Some older adults may have made chirashi sushi at home in the past, right? Making it at the facility might bring back memories of sharing it with family.
It’s an activity where people can enjoy the process too—chatting and reminiscing with others as they make it.
For this chirashi sushi, vinegared rice is pressed into a round cake mold.
Some seniors may find the steps a bit confusing at first.
But by arranging the ingredients on top like cake decorations, you’ll create a festive, beautiful chirashi sushi.
It’s a chirashi sushi cake that’s perfect for Hinamatsuri.
Making a calendar using your favorite flowers and plants
When spring arrives, older adults may have more opportunities to go outside for a walk, don’t you think? When you visit a park, try picking some flowers and leaves and turning them into a calendar.
Creating with seasonal plants might help older adults recall memories of spring days from the past.
It could also spark conversation and broaden social connections.
For those who have difficulty going out, using dried spring flowers is also recommended.
Calendars made with dried sweet peas or mimosa would be lovely, too.
Hinamatsuri Bag Toss Game
Attach illustrations of the Ohinasama and Odairisama to plastic bottles, then cover them with bags.
At the start signal, participants use uchiwa fans to send air and blow the bags off the bottles.
Prepare several bottles, and make the rule that the person who removes all their bags first wins.
Bags won’t fly off if you fan them from the front, so the key is how well you strike the fan against the table to send air from below.
Also, be careful: if you don’t send air continuously, the bags will fall back down.
Ohinasama Okoshi
Let me introduce a fun game where you use 10 beanbags and throw them at arranged targets! Set up the targets in rows of four in front, then three, then two, and place Hina dolls at the two spots in the very back.
The front row is worth 10 points, the middle row 30 points, and hitting a Hina doll earns a high score of 50 points! It’s enjoyable even with gentle throws, so everyone can take part according to their own strength.
Compete for points individually, or play in teams and aim for the highest total score—either way, it’s sure to be exciting.
Enjoy a Hinamatsuri filled with everyone’s smiles!
rapeseed blossoms
Bring the cheerful yellow of rapeseed blossoms into your calendar design, and every day will start with a smile! A distinctive feature of rapeseed flowers is that they have many small blossoms.
In this idea, you’ll use 7.5 cm origami paper to make each flower and then use seven of them to create a single rapeseed stem.
First, fold the four corners of the origami toward the center.
Then flip the paper over and fold it the same way.
Flip it over again, make slits along the cross-shaped lines, and fold the four outer corners and the eight corners created by the slits into small triangles.
Finally, fold the corners gathered in the center slightly outward to complete one flower! Make six more just like it, then combine them with a stem and leaves to finish.
Hinamatsuri Target Game
It’s a game where you throw balls at a target inspired by a tiered hina-dan display.
Hula hoops are used for the target’s frames, and they’re covered with tape that makes the balls stick.
On the tape are illustrations of the Ohinasama (Empress), Odairisama (Emperor), the three court ladies, and the five musicians, and it seems the score varies depending on where you hit.
As expected, the tape beneath the Empress and Emperor likely yields higher points…
It’s a game everyone can enjoy, letting you get moving while soaking up the Hinamatsuri spirit!