For Seniors: Simple and Fun! November Recreation Ideas
Here are some November activities and recreations we recommend for older adults.
As November arrives, the scenery begins to shift from autumn to winter, and the temperatures drop quite a bit.
It’s a season where you can enjoy a different kind of seasonal beauty than in the height of autumn, but many older adults may find it hard to move as they’d like due to the cold and end up staying indoors.
With that in mind, this article gathers seasonal games and recreational activities that can be enjoyed indoors.
These ideas are also great for community gatherings and day service settings.
We hope everyone has fun together!
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For Seniors: Simple and Fun! November Recreation Ideas (61–70)
Sweet Chestnut Mont Blanc
Snacks made with chestnuts are perfect for autumn, but the prep can be a hassle.
However, if you use store-bought sweet chestnuts, it’s easy and turns out delicious.
Even Mont Blanc, the quintessential autumn dessert, becomes super simple with sweet chestnuts.
First, make the chestnut cream: warm the sweet chestnuts in the microwave, then blend them with sugar and milk—that’s it.
Place sweet chestnuts and whipped cream on a cupcake, then pipe the chestnut cream over the top to cover it.
Finish with one more sweet chestnut as a topping, and you’re done! You can use homemade cupcakes or store-bought ones.
Autumn Flavors Kanji Quiz
This is a quiz where you answer how to read kanji limited to flavors associated with autumn.
It tests how well you know the relationship between seasonal changes and food at its peak, and your own experiences tasting autumn flavors can help you get closer to the answer.
Since we live in an era when a wide variety of foods can be eaten year-round, there may be cases where people don’t know the season when something is at its best.
It’s a good idea to make questions about ingredients whose most delicious season is hard to judge, and it’s also recommended to choose ingredients that people don’t have a clear kanji image for.
Autumn Association Game
In an association game, you instantly imagine various things based on a prompt from the quizmaster, which helps train memory and thinking skills.
Themes are endless—like “What comes to mind with autumn?” or “What comes to mind with the color red?”—ranging from seasonal and natural imagery to everyday items.
It’s great because you don’t need any special preparation and you can play anytime, anywhere.
Set rules like “30-second time limit,” turn it into a team buzzer competition, and enjoy different ways to play.
It’s also fun to write down the associated words on a whiteboard for everyone to see.
Potato Digging and Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Let’s have seniors experience two autumn classics: digging sweet potatoes and making roasted sweet potatoes! Seasonal events are highly recommended, as they stimulate the brains of older adults, who may find it harder to feel the changing seasons.
Plus, the motions involved in digging use both arms and make for great full-body exercise.
After trying potato digging, make and enjoy roasted sweet potatoes together.
Wrapping the potatoes in aluminum foil with participants can also give them a sense of accomplishment and enhance the joy of tasting what they’ve made.
Word association game: sweet potato dishes
This is a word-association game where you name, in turn, dishes made with sweet, fluffy sweet potatoes that you crave from autumn through winter! When it comes to sweet potato dishes, the classics include roasted sweet potatoes, sweet potato tarts (sweet potato purée desserts), candied sweet potatoes (daigaku-imo), crispy sweet potato sticks (imo-kenpi), and sweet potato rice.
Some people also add them to miso soup or pork soup, and there may be regional specialties that only locals know.
Still, when you actually have to answer in a game, it can be surprisingly hard to think of them.
Let’s keep it going by offering hints like “There’s this kind of dish too,” and so on.
Ohajiki (traditional Japanese coin-flicking game pieces)
How about a traditional game using shiny glass marbles? Line the marbles up on the table and flick them with your finger to knock them off the edge—that’s the rule.
It’s an easy game anyone can enjoy, regardless of age, and parent–child matches get exciting too.
Making moon-viewing dango
Since autumn is the season for moon viewing, making moon-viewing dumplings (tsukimi dango) is highly recommended.
First, knead the dough, roll it into balls, and shape them into dumplings.
Because you’ll be making them together with seniors, adding some stories about the moon-viewing tradition makes it more enjoyable and is a great idea.
Dumpling-making is not only easy, but it’s also a snack that tends to be popular with older adults.
That’s why it’s an easy challenge even for beginners in baking.
Boil the dumplings, chill them in cold water, drizzle with homemade mitarashi syrup, and they’re ready in no time! Since they’re handmade, it also brings a sense of accomplishment from creating them together.
