For Seniors: Enjoy Every Day! A Collection of Senior Recreation Ideas

Recipe card

Cooking Card Game

This is a card game where you pick two words from the lined-up cards and combine them to complete the name of a dish.

The key is how many dish names you can recall from memory based on the letters in front of you.

It’s also recommended to shuffle in a dummy card that forms a complete dish name on its own—it can mislead players, spark ideas, or serve as a hint for a similar dish.

It should be fun not only to come up with correct dish names, but also to invent plausible-sounding ones that don’t actually exist.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

kappamaki

Report a problem

Goldfish Game

Goldfish game #nursingCare #nursingHome #careFacility #recreation #rec #elderly #game #KitasunaHome #dayService

At festival stalls, there’s usually a goldfish scooping game, right? Besides scooping, here’s a fun game that uses goldfish as the theme.

Two people hold the ends of a face towel, and place a goldfish plushie or a crafted goldfish on the towel.

While shaking the towel, they toss the goldfish into a basket that’s been set up in advance.

Assign points based on the size of the basket and the distance to the basket.

This innovative goldfish game should be enjoyable for older adults as well.

It also seems like it would be exciting to play as teams.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

Nakajima Junko

Report a problem

fruit

What's inside the box?

Because fruit is sometimes sold as cut pieces and people tend to focus on flavor, we may not pay much attention to appearance or how it feels to the touch.

But can we tell what fruit it is just from the sensation of touching it? Since the texture varies greatly by type of fruit, the choice of which ones to use will likely affect both the accuracy rate and the reactions.

Most fruits basically feel smooth, so to introduce contrast, adding something like pineapple is recommended.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

kappamaki

Report a problem

Kendama

The familiar “What’s in the box?”

The kendama’s unique shape, with the ball and handle connected by a string, seems like a promising hint.

Whether someone has handled one before, and how familiar they are with the toy, would likely affect the accuracy rate.

Since it’s hard to identify it from the feel of the wood alone, it might be better to touch and check the shape as you go.

If the shape and feel still don’t give it away, hints like “New Year,” “toy,” or playing with a ball might help some people figure it out.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

kappamaki

Report a problem

Shiritori

Shiritori Anywhere

Shiritori, a word game many of us have played since childhood, is also a recommended recreation for people with dementia.

One of its strengths is how easy it is—no materials or preparation required.

It’s handy for filling small pockets of time, like on the bus when going out to the suburbs.

Another plus is that you can adjust the difficulty to match the person’s cognitive level.

You can customize freely with rules like “three-letter words only” or “food items only.” You could also set a goal, such as “finish after connecting 50 words.”

stuffed animal

What's inside the box? #shorts

Plush toys with all sorts of textures—fluffy, silky, and puffy.

They usually look cute, but when you can’t see them, those textures can be tricky.

Not only are they soft; with pointy parts or thin sections, it’s hard to picture their exact shape.

Since there are plushies of many different characters, you could even turn it into a guessing game to figure out which one it is.

It’s easy to prepare and safe to do, so I recommend it.

Give it a try!

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

kojifumi

Report a problem

Balloon holder bag with a string

Recreation for seniors – Everyone’s cooperation is needed! Fun while sitting! Put the balloon in with a string #SeniorRecreation #Recreation #PreventiveCare

Here’s a string-and-balloon game that’s sure to liven up spring events and gatherings.

Have several older adults sit in chairs facing each other, each holding one end of a string so that paired participants are connected and keep the string taut.

By moving the string up and down or sliding it side to side, they work together to carry a balloon to the goal.

Cooperation is key in this game.

Because participants call out to each other as they play, it naturally encourages communication as well.