[For Seniors] Fun Winter Activities: Recreation and Games
We’d like to introduce recreational activities and games that older adults can enjoy during the still-chilly winter season.
Winter is full of occasions like New Year’s and Valentine’s Day.
Many senior and care facilities may be planning events that match these occasions.
With our “Recreation and Games for Older Adults to Enjoy in Winter,” your events might become even more enjoyable.
We also have ideas for activities that are usually played outdoors but can be done in a warm indoor setting.
From activities you can focus on and enjoy alone to ones that a small group can tackle together and get excited about, we’ve prepared a wide variety.
We hope everyone can fully enjoy winter indoors while still feeling the season.
- [For Seniors] Recommended in December! Safe and Fun Indoor Recreation
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- [For Seniors] January Activities and Recreation Games
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- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Day Service: A Collection of Fun Event Ideas
- [For Seniors] Enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic: Seated activities
- [For Seniors] Winter Haiku: Introducing Beautiful Masterpieces by Famous Haiku Poets
- For Seniors: Fun Activities in February — Celebrate Setsubun, Valentine’s Day, and Snow
[For Seniors] Fun Winter Activities: Recreation and Games (61–70)
Christmas game
Let’s make sure they thoroughly enjoy the process from the creation stage by incorporating motifs like Santa Claus and Christmas trees into the games.
Making each item used in the games one by one helps not only with fine motor skills and concentration, but also with understanding the rules.
Encourage them to stay aware of body movement through the game content as well, such as a game where you throw cookies at Santa or reindeer targets, or a game where you attach ornaments to a tree while keeping balance in mind.
It’s also recommended to pay attention to the small decorations to give everything a festive, glamorous look so they can really soak in the Christmas atmosphere.
Strikeout
Strikeout is a game where you throw a ball at targets labeled with numbers.
In addition to being expected to help with arm exercise, strikeout is also said to strengthen the core.
By training your core, your body’s balance becomes more stable, which can help prevent falls.
It’s a game where you knock down numbered targets, so you can have fun while getting a workout.
Since it’s a lively game that many people can enjoy together, it would be great to include it in an April cherry-blossom viewing recreation.
How about making the targets not with numbers, but with illustrations or photos related to cherry-blossom viewing?
Deliver the Heart Game
It’s a game with a comedic vibe where targets are set up using illustrations of people everyone admires, and players throw hearts at them.
If you ask in advance about celebrities or public figures they’ve admired on TV or in magazines and prepare targets to match, players will likely tackle the game with more passion.
The rules are simple—compete on how many hearts you can land in the target—but adding the element of sending them to someone meaningful helps sharpen focus.
It also seems like a great conversation starter afterward, since you can talk about who each person admired.
Popcorn Game
Even if you know that moving your body is good for your health, you might still feel reluctant to get active.
So here’s a fun popcorn game that lets you exercise your feet while enjoying yourself.
Sit in a chair and place paper plates on both knees.
Fill the plates with lots of crumpled-up paper balls.
Think of the paper plates as frying pans and the crumpled paper as popcorn for the game.
When someone says, “Ready, start!”, flutter your legs and march your feet to shake the paper popcorn out of the plates.
Watching the crumpled paper fall from the plates looks just like popcorn popping in a heated frying pan.
Because it’s an exercise you can do like a game, it seems like older adults can enjoy participating too.
Simple and cute! Pinecone tree
This is a cute pinecone tree you can easily make with materials from a 100-yen shop—as long as you have a pinecone.
You can use a store-bought pinecone or one you picked up on a walk.
To make it, simply decorate the pinecone with beads and pipe cleaners however you like, then fix it to a base made from a plastic bottle cap.
Crafts that use the fingertips are very effective for seniors’ hand rehabilitation and dementia prevention.
If you’ve picked up the pinecone outdoors, be sure to sterilize it by boiling it beforehand so seniors can enjoy crafting safely and with peace of mind.
Matching game
Illustrations with winter and Christmas themes are drawn on the grid of drawing paper and on the bottoms of paper cups.
It’s a game where players compete to see how quickly they can arrange the paper cups to match the illustrations on the grid.
Stack the cups so players can’t tell which illustration will come next—that’s the key.
Let’s help them train their reflexes by instantly identifying and placing the illustrations.
By trying repeatedly, they’ll likely become more aware of smooth hand movements along with improving their reflexes.
If you start from the illustration-drawing stage, you can enjoy even more of the Christmas atmosphere, so that’s recommended too.
Of course, you can also just use the prepared materials and jump straight into the game.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Chair Dance
Let’s get everyone moving and feeling the festive spirit with a dance set to the classic Christmas song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Being able to do it while seated with minimal strain is an important point so that everyone present can enjoy it.
Incorporate choreography that follows the lyrics, while also including solid strengthening movements like arm stretches.
Wearing festive items—such as Santa hats—can help participants feel the Christmas atmosphere even more.