Senior Friendly Activities to Welcome in the New Year
It’s 2022 and time to celebrate the New Year with our aging loved ones. Here are some senior friendly activities that you can do with the whole family.
Senior Activities
1. Join friends and loved ones for a favorite meal.
Is there a particular cuisine that you enjoy? Make a plan to spend it with your family. Give them minor kitchen duties, such as sorting ingredients, rinsing veggies, or stirring batter, if you’re cooking at home. If you’re eating out, make it a special event by inviting those close to you, then dress up or get your hair done. Here are some helpful hints for cooking with seniors.
2. Consider the years
Consider the years that have passed by. Choose a few significant years in your loved one’s life, such as the year he or she married or the birth of their children. Gather with your friends and family to look at images from those days and discuss what they were like.
3. Participate in a sing-along.
Listening to music and participating in sing-alongs are two excellent activities for seniors with dementia. Begin by compiling a playlist of all of your loved one’s favorite songs with him or her. This can be done via YouTube or a free music provider like Spotify. You can even skip this stage and just listen to your parents’ favorite CDs or see a musical movie instead. The real fun comes from singing along as a group. Learn music therapy recommendations if your elder has Alzheimer’s disease to help them enjoy this pastime even more.
4. Make a hat for the party.
A simple New Year’s craft for seniors of all cognitive and physical abilities is a bespoke party hat. Assist your parent in measuring a piece of construction paper to the size of his or her head, then invite them to embellish it. Markers, stickers, stamps, and glitter pens are all useful tools to have on hand, and there’s no right or wrong way to use them.
5. Make New Year’s Resolutions.
Many people associate New Year’s resolutions with weight reduction or job ambitions, two themes that aren’t particularly relevant to seniors. Instead, set positive goals for the new year, such as spending time with family and friends, pursuing lifetime loves like music and painting, or simply taking time to appreciate the simple things, such as the sound of birds or the changing seasons.
Visit our elder care blog about adjusting family traditions for an older loved one for more ideas on how to adapt holiday festivities to fit seniors’ special requirements. You can also learn more about our elder care and companion care services, in which our caregivers engage in interesting activities with seniors to help them avoid loneliness, enjoy the company of another adult, and receive the attention they require.