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!
- [For Seniors] Fun Autumn Activities: Recreation Games
- [For Seniors] Recommended Trivia Quizzes & Fun Facts for November
- [For Seniors] Let’s Make It Together! Wonderful November Wall Decoration Ideas
- [November Health Topic] Indoor Recreation Ideas for Older Adults
- [For Seniors] Day-service activities also recommended! Craft ideas for November
- [For Seniors] Guaranteed to Be a Hit! Popular Day Service Recreational Activities
- For Seniors: Easy and Delicious! November Snack Activity
- [For Seniors] Liven Up November Day Services! Fun Autumn Event Ideas
- [For Seniors] Simple crafts that feel like autumn: a fun creative activity
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Have Fun! A Collection of Group Game Recreation Ideas
- [For Seniors] Fun and Lively! Recommended Quiz Questions
For Seniors: Simple and Fun! Recreation Ideas for November (11–20)
Fingerplay: Busy Work
In honor of Labor Thanksgiving Day on November 23, here’s a fingerplay song about busy jobs.
It lets everyone pretend to be different professionals and have fun together.
In addition to a mail carrier and a sushi chef, I think it will be even more enjoyable if you adapt it to include other occupations.
Brain training with finger circling and foot-stomping exercises
November 21 is World Hello Day.
The idea behind it is that by greeting one another, we can create a peaceful world without conflict.
On this day, there is a message of choosing dialogue over war, promoted through an activity where you greet ten people.
While moving your fingers as if they are saying hello, let’s also add some foot exercises.
Bend the fingers of both hands and bring them closer together as if they are greeting each other.
Once your fingertips touch, rotate from the thumbs, and then add marching in place.
Adding the marching helps prevent falls.
Doing these two movements together also enhances brain activation.
Persimmon Ball Toss Game
While enjoying the autumn atmosphere and stimulating the brain, how about trying a recreational activity called the “Persimmon Toss Game”? Making the persimmons is simple: crumple up some newspaper into a ball, wrap it all around with orange vinyl tape, and draw a leaf with a permanent marker—that’s it.
The persimmons are light and soft, so even if they hit someone, it won’t hurt, and you can throw them while seated—so enjoy the “persimmon toss” to your heart’s content.
Prepare a net like the ones used for fishing, and compete to see how many persimmons you can get into it, just like a ball-toss game at a sports day—it’s sure to be a hit!
How to make an art box
Why not try making a slightly unusual art box using origami, which is often used in recreational activities? In addition to origami, prepare cross-sectional rings cut from a milk carton and tissue paper flowers.
You can find tissue paper flowers at 100-yen shops.
First, cut the origami into thin strips and shape them however you like.
Hearts or teardrops look cute, too.
Next, pack the shapes you made into the milk carton rings.
It will look neat if you fill it so there are no gaps.
Once finished, place your art box by a sunny window or in front of a lamp and enjoy the way it looks in the light.
Ping-Pong Ball Passing Game
Let’s play a fun game using ping-pong balls.
First, prepare a paper plate and a pair of disposable chopsticks.
We’re going to make something like the scoop used in goldfish scooping, with washi paper attached.
The key is to make a hole in the paper plate that’s slightly larger than a ping-pong ball.
Prepare a basket or container that can hold several ping-pong balls, and try scooping them up with the paper plate you made.
Since the paper plate has a hole, carefully transfer the balls into another basket so they don’t fall through.
You can focus and play alone, or make it a team competition with a large group for extra fun.
It’s also a great game for older adults to encourage interaction with others.
Wall decoration – autumn leaves
November is when the trees turn vivid colors.
How about making a wall decoration together with older adults? When you think of maple leaves in autumn, you think of red and yellow, right? Let’s try making autumn maples using various colors of origami, such as pink and blue.
The brightly colored maples will beautifully express the transition from autumn to winter.
Origami maples are simple to make—just accordion-fold and cut—so they should be easy for seniors as well.
Moving the fingers also stimulates the brain, so you can expect a brain-training effect.
For Seniors: Simple and Fun! November Recreation Ideas (21–30)
Autumn Foliage Mobile
When it comes to autumn, it’s all about the colorful leaves.
Let’s make a mobile perfect for fall using colored paper and string.
It’s very simple: cut the colored paper into circles, draw leaf patterns on them, and glue four pieces together to create a three-dimensional leaf.
Make several leaves, then use straws and string to assemble them into a mobile.
If you use a variety of colors—orange, red, green, and brown—it will turn out beautifully.
It could also be fun to make it into a garland or a wall decoration.