For Seniors: Festive Attractions to Liven Up Festivals—Games and Recreational Activities
We’re introducing games and recreational activities recommended for festivals at senior care facilities.
There are plenty of attractions that can be enjoyed while seated so that older adults can participate comfortably.
Activities like “goldfish scooping,” “target shooting,” and “lucky string pull” may bring back memories of festivals enjoyed in childhood.
Festivals are exciting events for both adults and children.
They can also spark communication with people you don’t usually interact with.
Use this article as a guide to plan a festival that allows seniors to have fun safely.
[For Seniors] Activities to Liven Up a Festival: Games and Recreational Activities (1–10)
Yo-yo fishing
Yo-yo fishing is a common sight at stalls during summer festivals.
Water balloons are fitted with rubber loops and floated in water, and you hook the rubber with a tool that has a paper twist (koyori) and a needle to lift them out.
Because the koyori is paper, it tears easily when it gets wet.
A recommended alternative is to use a string with a needle attached to the end.
Set a time limit and see how many you can catch within that time.
Handmade watermelon-splitting
When you think of watermelon splitting, you imagine a fun activity where you blindfold yourself, rely on the voices around you to approach the watermelon, and swing a stick down at the spot you think is right.
However, having older adults do the same can pose a risk of falling, so this time we’re introducing a seated version of watermelon splitting.
Place a watermelon made of two hemispheres fastened together with hook-and-loop tape in the center of a circle of participants.
At the start signal, have them throw beanbags to split it open.
The watermelon is made by halving a papier-mâché ball formed from newspaper, attaching circular-cut cardboard pieces, and then layering copy paper over the top and coloring it.
Goldfish scooping
Many of you have probably enjoyed goldfish scooping at summer festival stalls.
To make it easy to enjoy at home, try crafting your own goldfish and poi scoops instead of using real fish! You can make the goldfish easily by using colored cellophane and pipe cleaners, just like making a teru-teru bozu.
The poi scoop can be made from a food tray.
Next, let’s make a bucket from a plastic bottle.
If you change the colors of the cellophane, you’ll end up with a set of colorful goldfish.
Fireworks game
This is a target-throwing game themed around fireworks, an essential summer event, where you colorfully decorate the target.
The target is a hula hoop covered with tape, and you throw colored balls at it to decorate the adhesive side of the tape.
Since you need to throw with enough force for the balls to stick to the tape, the game tests not only your focus on aiming but also your ability to control strength.
You can freely choose the colors of the balls, so think about how you want to create your firework as you throw.
ball throwing
“Ball Toss” is a game where you throw balls at a stand lined with many tubes.
The stand’s tubes are arranged in three colors at random.
The player must throw each ball into a tube of the same color as the ball they’re holding.
For example, if you have a red ball, you must throw it into a red tube; if it goes into a blue one, you score zero points.
Decide beforehand how many balls each player gets, such as three balls per person.
For extra excitement, prepare one very tall, hard-to-hit tube in the center—if a ball goes in, the score is multiplied by 10! Adding a higher level of difficulty makes the game even more fun.
lottery game with many strings (Senbonbiki)
Do you know senbon-biki (the thousand-string lottery)? Lots of strings hang down, and prizes are attached to the ends.
However, there are so many strings that you can’t tell which prize is on which one.
It’s exciting to see what you’ll win.
Even without something elaborate, you can easily make one with just cardboard, string, and S-hooks.
It’s fun to find out whether you’ll get the prize you’re aiming for.
ring toss
Let’s try ring toss, a classic game you often see at festival stalls.
With ring toss, you can play either standing or sitting, which makes it easy to adjust the distance and other settings.
It’s also a good idea to make a movable ring-toss stand.
Decide on a set number of rings per person and play team matches to make it even more exciting.
Capsule Korokoro
You’ve probably seen capsule toy machines filled with toys and merchandise at arcades or supermarkets.
Let’s use those round capsules to play a lively game.
Attach a stick to an empty tissue box and use it to roll a capsule across a table.
The goal is to land the capsule in a target without letting it fall off the table.
To make the game even more fun, create gaps between the targets.
Placing the capsule without dropping it into the gaps is a great way for older adults to show their skill.
Cheering on the players and calling out to them can spark interaction with the people around them, too.
target practice
How about everyone enjoying a target game together? Stretch a string tight and hang folded pieces of paper on it.
Write illustrations and point values on the papers.
Then throw your beanbags at the papers to knock them down.
The number of throws is fixed, so compete by totaling the points of the papers you knock down with all your throws.
Make the illustrations large and easy to recognize.
A game where you use a fan to get a balloon out of a basket
Here’s a balloon game that’s perfect for a lively festival atmosphere.
Place several inflated balloons in a basket, and have older adults sit around it holding paper fans.
At the call of “Start,” they fan the air to blow the balloons out of the basket within a set time.
It’s a simple game, but it really gets everyone excited.
Participants can enjoy cooperating with one another and calling out encouragement.
Whether the balloons make it out of the basket or not within the time limit, it’s a game that’s likely to bring smiles to the faces of the older adults.