For Seniors: Enjoy Every Day! A Collection of Senior Recreation Ideas
Wishing that older adults can spend each day in good health!
In this article, we’ll introduce senior activities that we truly hope you’ll try—ones that can energize you from the bottom of your heart.
We’ve gathered a wide range of options, from brain-training types to activities that get you moving.
There are ideas you can quietly work on alone, as well as recreational activities everyone can do together.
Read through to the end, think it over carefully, and choose the ones that are perfect for the seniors who will be participating!
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
- [For Seniors] Today’s Recommended Activity: Fun and Engaging
- [For Seniors] Have Fun! A Collection of Group Game Recreation Ideas
- [For Seniors] Have Fun with Recreation! Origami Ideas
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- Liven up the Respect-for-the-Aged gathering: A roundup of recreational activities everyone can enjoy.
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Brain-Training Recreation
- [November Health Topic] Indoor Recreation Ideas for Older Adults
- [For Seniors] Recommended Handmade Activities! Simple Ideas
- [For Seniors] What's in the Box? A Collection of Exciting Content Ideas
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [For Seniors] Brain-training puzzle game you can enjoy solo! Perfect pastime for killing time
[For Seniors] Enjoy Every Day! A Collection of Senior Recreation Ideas (11–20)
riddle
Let’s try thinking of classic riddles—often seen as segments on TV shows or as staples in vaudeville programs—as quizzes.
You line up people or things and figure out what they have in common.
Rewording terms or imagining situations is important to reach the answer, making this a quiz that trains flexible thinking.
Even if you don’t get the answer, the sense of understanding and realization when the correct answer is revealed contributes to brain training.
For those who are good at riddles, it might also be fun to present only the opening words and have them think up what follows.
Simple Balloon Volley
This is balloon volleyball, where you rally a balloon that floats gently through the air.
Ask older adults to sit on chairs in a circle and try to keep the balloon from touching the floor.
It helps to have someone in the center who can provide support so the rally continues more easily.
Balloons feel soft and are light, making them safer and less likely to cause injury for older participants.
Trying not to drop the balloon also encourages interaction among everyone.
With lively chatter and a fun atmosphere, older adults can enjoy balloon volleyball too.
Goldfish scooping
Let’s enjoy the classic summer-festival game of goldfish scooping indoors.
Crumple paper or tissue into a ball, cover it with colored tissue paper, secure it with a rubber band, and add eyes to complete your goldfish.
Make each goldfish larger than the ring of the poi (scoop).
Put the goldfish in a large box and try scooping them using a poi that has only a frame and handle.
Since the goldfish are on the larger side, you can scoop several at once and transfer them to a container without them slipping through.
Be careful: if the soft tail fin slips through the frame, the weight can make the goldfish fall.
music therapy
Listening to music can be relaxing.
The enjoyment of singing or performing is also one of music’s charms.
It’s said that for older adults, listening to music can provide a change of pace and help reduce anxiety.
So why not incorporate music therapy into recreational activities? Since it can be done seated and in time with the music, people with hemiplegia or those who have difficulty standing can also participate.
Singing together and playing instruments as a group can encourage cooperation and promote communication.
It’s also recommended to move your body gently to the music, within a comfortable range.
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.
Shiritori using 2 letters
Speaking of shiritori, it’s the classic word game where you take the last character of a word and connect it to a new word.
Let’s make it a bit trickier by using the last two characters to link to the next word.
Even though you’re using more letters, that part isn’t too hard—the real challenge is making sure the second-to-last character isn’t “n,” which would end the chain.
Once you get used to the rules, you can spice it up further—like limiting it to four-letter words—to make it even more exciting.
[For Seniors] Enjoy Every Day! A Collection of Senior Recreation Ideas (21–30)
3-letter food shiritori
Even a simple shiritori game where you just connect words can feel challenging with a small rule tweak.
How about adding a rule where players can only use three-letter food names? While it’s limited to foods, there’s still a wide range of words you can use, so keep a steady tempo as you link them.
If you play in time with a rhythm, it adds a bit of pressure and makes the game even more exciting—highly recommended!