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] Fun Activities That Liven Up Cool Evening Festivals and Summer Festivals
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Classic Autumn Songs to Sing in November: From Children’s Songs to Popular Enka and Kayōkyoku
- [Let's Enjoy Japanese Festival Songs!] Songs about festivals. Famous songs related to festivals.
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
- Entertainment and Performances That Delight at Day Services for the Elderly
- [For Seniors] Recommended Dances You Can Move To and Enjoy
- [For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Lively Whiteboard Activities
- [For Seniors] Introducing recommended songs to give on Respect for the Aged Day
- [For Seniors] Crowd-Pleasers! Recommended Songs Everyone Can Enjoy Together in October
- [Today's Recommendation] Gentle Health Exercises for Seniors
- Recommended Songs for Nursing Home Recreation [Fun Exercise, Soothing Songs]
[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.
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.