[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
- [For Seniors] Enjoy the Cold Winter! Seated Activities You Can Do
- [For Seniors] January Activities and Recreation Games
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [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: Recreations and Games (21–30)
singing contest
There are probably many people who don’t feel like the year is over unless they watch the Red and White Song Battle (Kōhaku Uta Gassen).
Here’s a recreation activity inspired by that year-end staple.
It’s a program with song-themed ideas that aims for everyone to have fun rather than to compete.
Try incorporating various segments, such as elements of a karaoke contest or a corner where everyone does simple choreography together.
While leaning into the Kōhaku vibe might make it more exciting if there’s a declared winner, it could be better to come up with an ending that lets the “losing” side enjoy it too.
20 Winter Multiple-Choice Quiz Questions
Let’s take on a quiz all about winter! It’s packed with questions that let you enjoy the season from many angles—snow, constellations, winter sports, seasonal foods, New Year’s traditions, and more.
As you have fun with the quiz, you’ll deepen your knowledge of all kinds of winter-related facts.
There are also plenty of fun tidbits that can spark lively conversation, so you can enjoy chatting while tackling the quiz with family and friends.
All questions are presented in a three-choice multiple-choice format.
[For Seniors] Fun Winter Activities: Recreation and Games (31–40)
New Year’s gift game
A great option even for people who aren’t good at fine-motor tasks is the Otoshidama Game! Cut a round hole in the center of a cardboard sheet and drop balls through the hole.
Set a time limit and compete to see who can drop the most balls—it gets super lively! It’s easy to make, too; as long as you have cardboard and some balls, anyone can whip it up in no time.
Since you can play while seated, everyone can enjoy it together.
Beanbag relay
The beanbag relay is a game everyone can join, no matter how many people there are.
It’s a cooperative hand game with no winners or losers.
Each person holds one beanbag.
When the music starts, pass your beanbag to the person on your right in time with the rhythm, and receive a beanbag from the person on your left.
Keep relaying the beanbags like this, and if, when the music stops, everyone is holding exactly one beanbag, it’s a big success! It’s a fun activity everyone can enjoy to the music.
Christmas Tree Game
The Christmas Tree Game is a ball game played on the floor! Place strips of duct tape on the floor with the sticky side up in the shape of a Christmas tree.
Reinforce the edges with green vinyl tape.
Inside the tree outline, mark point zones of 10, 50, and 100, and have players roll a ball aiming for those areas.
The score is the value where the ball sticks and stops on the duct tape.
If you use red or gold balls, by the time the game ends, your tree will be fully decorated!
Daruma making
There’s something called a “picture daruma kit”! In Japan, there has long been a custom of displaying daruma dolls at New Year’s.
Please watch the video—it’s easy to make, and it also serves as good hand dexterity training, so I recommend it for older adults.
I’d love to see the scene of grandparents in a nursing or care home making them together with visiting grandchildren.
I bet the grandpas and grandmas would end up making them more beautifully than the kids!
Snowball fight
Snowball Fight is a tabletop game you can play indoors.
Roll up sheets of newspaper into balls to use as snowballs and keep plenty within reach.
Place targets on the table to represent ogres, then throw the snowballs from a distance to knock them down.
A single target gets toppled too quickly, so it’s better to set up several.
Playing in teams makes it even more exciting.
You can play while seated, so it’s a game that’s easy for everyone to join.