Mouth or Foot Painted Art - Courtesy of AMFPA
Being stuck inside can get boring for active seniors and the elderly. Here are amusement ideas for bored senior citizens, caregivers, and adult home activity directors.
When the weather is grey and the days are cold, it is nice to find indoor activities.
Cold Weather Craft Activities for Senior Citizens
- Learning a new art technique is a good boredom buster. Other seniors, family or friends may teach painting, drawing, needlework, scrapbooking, whittling, or many other handicrafts.
- There are ways to adapt many activities for those with physical limitations. A good example of this are foot or mouth painters, who paint beautiful pictures by holding a paint brush in their mouths or with their feet (photo below).
- Make Valentine Cards: Gather craft supplies or paper and glue and make Valentine’s cards for family members and friends. Corny and funny Valentines can be made with old jokes like:
- “My heart pants for you” (with a drawing of lacy bloomers or a magazine picture of pants in place of the word.)
- With a light bulb picture: “I love you a whole Watt!”
- With a sheep drawing with cotton balls glued on top “I only have eyes for Ewe, dear.”
- if Valentine’s Day is past, make Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, or birthday cards.
- Look at other fun craft ideas on family.go
Other Indoor Activity Ideas for Active Seniors
- Invest in some of the many handheld games available, such as video poker, Yahtzee, Jumble, or solitaire. Make a score board and have a friendly competition to see who can get the most points. Those with limited abilities can work with a partner.
- Get into a "new" television series on DVD. There are many shows on DVD that many people never saw when they on the air. This might be the time to get interested in a new show.
- Educational DVDs are also available, teaching such things as yoga, fly fishing, gardening, woodworking, how to play guitar, decorating, and more.
- Set up an old-fashioned jigsaw puzzle. Get one with larger pieces if appropriate.
- Ask friends to recycle magazines and books to seniors who enjoy reading.
- Winter is a great time to learn to use a computer with confidence. There are online tutorials for various computer programs and information about virtually anything online. One can “travel” to museums and cities around the world, learn a new language, take an online class via a college or other venue, or just goof off and play games.
Other articles of interest may be Gift Tips for Less Active Seniors, Fun Activities for Active Seniors, English Afternoon Tea for Seniors, and Fun Activities for Senior Citizens.
For more information about senior living, see this Squidoo Seniors page.
Resources:
AMFPA - Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World
Special thanks to the Buck family for the silly Valentine ideas, which is one of their many fun family traditions.
Copyright Janienne Jennrich. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Janienne Jennrich - Janienne Jennrich, Topic Editor for Kids & Teen Parties and for Hair, is an award-winning freelance writer & webmaster.
