Elderly Entertainment
From LoveToKnow Seniors
If you're looking for elderly entertainment ideas that don't include watching television and 500-piece puzzles, you've come to the right place! This article includes a few suggestions.
Active Elderly Entertainment Ideas
Ballroom Dancing
Gliding across a ballroom can be fun and a great way to meet new people. If you’ve never tried ballroom dancing, check out your local dance studios or community center for open dance classes. Many people get hooked on this type of activity because of the socialization and easy exercise. Some enthusiasts even enter ballroom dance competitions! In many larger cities, you'll find ballrooms that sponsor these events on a weekly basis.
Community Theatre
While watching productions at the theatre is entertaining, have you ever thought of being on the stage yourself? Character acting isn’t just for the young; there are plenty of roles that directors have a hard time filling because they don’t have anyone to play the older roles. Look in your local newspaper for audition times or call your local community theatre to find out more about their upcoming productions. Get involved in the arts and have fun!
Red Hat Society
Ever been to a restaurant when a group of ladies in red and purple glide in? The popular club The Red Hat Society has spread across the globe to the delight of women everywhere. This group believes that you are never too old to have fun and have tea parties! While any female is welcome, only those aged 50 and older can wear the red hat and purple outfit. Join this group and find out what you have been missing.
Nordic Ski Walking
An activity that combines sight-seeing, birdwatching and photography is Nordic ski walking. All you need to join in the fun is to get a pair of Nordic ski walking poles, which can be purchased online or in any sporting goods store. The price for these poles generally ranges between $50-$200, depending on the model you choose. By using these poles to walk, you will find that you can walk longer and farther in just about any setting. They can also help people keep their balance better on terrain that isn’t perfectly flat.
Outdoor Treasure Hunting
A new way to spend time with friends, grandkids and other family members is GPS treasure hunting or geocaching. This neat new trend requires you to use a handheld GPS unit to find certain coordinates where treasure or other geocache boxes are hidden. If you like the outdoors and want to add a little fun to your walking or hiking adventures, this is a great idea for elderly entertainment. If you think you can only do this by hiking on mountains, think again. Many geocache areas are located in towns and other accessible areas. Check out the Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site to become a member of this hot new sport!
Sedentary Entertainment Ideas
Don’t worry if you have mobility issues, there are plenty of other activities for you to enjoy. Consider the following options:
- Attend literary events such as book signings at your library or coffee shop
- See new exhibits at the museum or science center
- Visit an art museum and enjoy a leisurely lunch
- Check out the weekly arts and entertainment section of the newspaper for upcoming events of interest
- Join a book club or start one of your own to discuss interesting literary finds with friends
- See a new movie or attend a play at a local theatre
- Go to a high school musical or play for an inexpensive cultural event
- If you enjoy a particular board or card game, set up a regular play time with friends at the library or senior center
- Arrange for special travel or educational lectures at your senior center
Enlist the help of a friend or family member so that you can enjoy things outside of your home. You could also hire a companion who could help you go on weekly outings.
Conclusion
LoveToKnow Seniors would love to hear the types of elderly entertainment activities you enjoy! Please post a comment in the section below to share your ideas.
Learn More
Comments
Our Ladies Auxiliary is hosting our annual free senior luncheon in December. We are looking for an individual or a group to volunteer to come to our luncheon to entertain our seniors. We need to find someone very quickly. Anyone out there know of someone like this?
-- Contributed by: Barbara BattaiaHi Ky - congratulations on your new job. Are you working with residents with dementia, perhaps? Studies show that individual activities that cater to the former interests of these patients work best. For example, a former pharmacist might find comfort sorting different sizes of candies into bottles - a task that resembles filling perscriptions.
However, if you have residents that are simply in need of stimulating entertainment, there are a number of things to try. Ask a local musician or children's choir to perform at the center. Have them do songs the residents will be familiar with, usually music from the 1930s-1960s. Then, to encourage engagement, ask residents to request songs after the performance for the next performance, and also to talk about some of their favorite songs they enjoyed dancing to, or remember fondly.
If you look in the upper left corner under the "Activities for Seniors" category, each article has a wide variety of other ideas, such as container gardening or recording stories, that may be helpful. Be sure to review the "Comments" section of each article to see what your peers have done also. Good luck - let us know what you come up with!
-- Contributed by: TK2I have just taken a job as an Activities Coordinator in an elderly care home. The residents on the whole have difficulties engaging and communicating. I would be very grateful of some advice on what activities may be suitable for them, but productive at the same time.
-- Contributed by: Ky
This page has been accessed 7,920 times. This page was last modified 06:59, 7 June 2008.
© 2006-2009 LoveToKnow Corp.
Print this page
Follow ltk on twitter
Visit us on facebook