[Easy to Start!] Simple Recreational Activities to Enjoy in Nursing Homes
The more difficult a recreation activity is, the more effective it can be for brain training and physical benefits—but for people who aren’t fond of such activities, it can become even more off-putting.
There’s also the issue that activities requiring a lot of preparation or elaborate materials can be hard to set up.
In this article, we’ll introduce easy, enjoyable recreational activities.
How about using simple, convenient activities to spark communication? And if you’re getting tired of the basics, adding just a small twist can make them much more fun!
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities at Special Nursing Homes That Everyone Can Join
- [For Seniors] Today’s Recommended Activity: Fun and Engaging
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- For seniors: Fun shiritori—enjoyable and easy to play
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Brain-Training Recreation
- [For Seniors] Guaranteed to Be a Hit! Popular Day Service Recreational Activities
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- [For Seniors] Recommended Easy Strength Training
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities in Nursing Homes
- Recommended simple exercises for recreational activities for the elderly
[Quick and Easy!] Simple Recreational Activities to Enjoy at Nursing Homes (1–10)
balloon volleyball
Whether standing or sitting, balloon volleyball is a game that just gets everyone excited.
Unlike a regular ball, a balloon floats lightly and stays in the air longer, sometimes moving in unpredictable ways—which makes it even more fun! It’s also great that you can enjoy different variations: split into teams, set up a net, hit it with fans, and so on.
As long as you blow up a balloon, you can start playing right away! You can definitely enjoy it while sitting, but you’ll end up moving your upper body more than you expect.
You might not even realize you’re getting a good workout!
Shiritori
Shiritori is the ultimate classic recreation game that everyone from kids to adults can enjoy.
It works with both small and large groups, is fun even with mixed ages, and requires no equipment—so you can start anytime, anywhere.
Begin with the standard version, and when you start to get bored, try adding rules for a twist.
For example, play with a “three-letter word only” rule, or “food names only,” or tailor the rules to the season or event.
It’s perfect for filling small pockets of time.
oral exercises
If you find regular exercise a bit of a hassle or feel reluctant to move your body, oral exercises might be an easy place to start.
That said, by adding warm-ups, good posture, and deep breathing, you can turn them into a full-body workout, too.
Even if it feels like a bother, you still want to keep enjoying delicious meals for years to come, right? Try encouraging yourself with, “Let’s do this so we can enjoy tasty food,” and give it a go.
There are many kinds of oral exercises, so you can have fun watching different videos, too.
[Do It Right Away!] Simple Recreational Activities to Enjoy at Nursing Homes (11–20)
Juggling
In recreational activities at senior day-care centers and similar facilities, beanbags are often used, aren’t they? Besides the usual beanbag play, they get a lot of use for stacking and tossing as well.
This is a game where you play using beanbags—specifically by throwing them.
Like ring toss or target throwing, you can aim for point zones, toss them to land on a high platform, or throw to knock down a target—there are many ways to play.
It also helps train grip strength!
coloring book
In the past, coloring books were seen as something for children, but recently adult coloring books have become popular, and it’s become completely normal for adults to color as a way to pass the time.
Coloring is deeper than you might think, and it really brings out a person’s individuality.
It can foster creativity and imagination, and it’s great brain training, too.
It might be hard to provide a coloring book for everyone, but there are coloring pages available for free download on various websites.
Some people might even get hooked!
online tourism
There must be some people who used to enjoy traveling as a hobby when they were younger.
However, due to age or physical reasons, it can be hard to go far, and traveling may no longer be feasible.
Have you seen the online tourism trend that has become popular since the COVID-19 pandemic? Local residents and tour guides show not only Japan but destinations all around the world.
There are also plenty of travel videos on YouTube, so why not give them a try? Even if you don’t really like traveling, you can still enjoy seeing sightseeing spots across Japan and around the world from the comfort of your room!
Brain training math problems
Enjoying brain-training puzzles and games is one of the easiest recreational activities.
How about trying problems that really make you think—like calculation challenges? If you search, you’ll find plenty: quizzes where addition and subtraction are presented at random with gradually increasing difficulty, change-making problems, fill-in-the-blank number puzzles, and even addition problems presented in hiragana.
Even without a workbook, you can have lots of fun by making use of video sites!