August 30, 2023

11+ Creative Activity Ideas for Activity Directors in 2023

Care
Games
Wellness

creative ideas for activity directors, senior community activity ideas

Many senior living and long-term care communities saw their activities come to a complete halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak. But activity directors still needed some great activity ideas to keep their seniors excited! 

Though you're most likely "back to normal" now, any of these ideas will be great to add to your senior center activity calendar.

Ready for some activities support? Reach out for a free demo at Televeda today! 

Creative Activity Ideas for Activity Directors

Here are some great activity ideas to implement at your senior center at any time! 

1. Social Distancing Hallway-Block Parties

activity idea for senior community center
Fun activity idea: dance party!

Once a week (or more), turn on some Chubby Checker using a portable speaker in the hallways and you have yourself a Hallway-Block Dance Party! Music and dance provide numerous health benefits. Residents can dance as much or as little as they want, and you can get every floor grooving! 

2. Beer-Cart Fridays

senior community center activity ideas

With one or more drink carts, visit your residents door-to-door, offering them beer or wine on Friday...or any of these delicious mocktails made from the same 5 ingredients.. This activity is a fun way to offer your residents social interaction while enjoying a beer or wine with their neighbors.

A few ways to spruce up a beer cart include: create themed beer cart with specific drinks being offered, consider including snacks, or liven it up by serving a knock-knock joke with every delivery!

3. Travel the World with Live Streaming

live streaming activity programming ideas
Live streaming technology is a great option for all types of activity programming.

Live streaming is an awesome form of technology to take advantage of right now. From Europe to the national parks, to aquariums and art museums, there are various free virtual tours to try, and all you need is an iPad or smartphone.

At Televeda, we help senior centers and other community organizations digitize their offerings without the headache. And we offer a full calendar of weekly classes from some of the best content providers around! 

Learn more about how we can help you out here!

4. Hallway Bingo

bingo activity idea for senior community centers and activity directors
Matthew McConaughey loves Bingo, and so do your residents!

We know your residents LOVE Bingo! Print free Bingo cards from myfreebingocards.com and distribute two to five of these to your residents at the beginning of each week. Then, pick a day and time you want to play the game and call out the numbers in the hallway. Residents can play right from their doorways.

Easy-peasy! You can make the games even bigger by using Skype or Zoom as well. Get Bingo going, Mathew McConaughey style.

Want some help hosting activities? Reach out for a free demo at Televeda today! 

5. Courtyard Fitness & Meditation

senior exercise activity ideas for senior centers

Have a large courtyard in the center of your community? Awesome! Every morning, have your residents come out to their balcony and see exercises and mindfulness practices in the courtyard they can follow along with.

Keeping seniors active is important for their longevity and life satisfaction. Working on balance, flexibility, and simple aerobic exercises can be done “Courtyard Style” or one-on-one.

Here are some resources to get started with exercise offerings

  1. Online Yoga for Seniors
  2. Exercise Routines
  3. Exercise Activities

6. Games, Puzzles, and All-Day Hunts

activity ideas for senior community activity directors
Word search, crosswords, brain games, you name it!

Try some socially distant games! In addition to getting the body moving, get your residents working their brains. Pass out individual word search sheets or crossword puzzles to the residents. You can then ask them to spend the day solving the puzzle and announce the winner at the end of the day.

Or, pass along the games and announce the word the residents need to find within a set time. Whoever answers the quickest get a prize, whether that’s a treat or a socially distant high five. You decide! 

7. Charades

senior community activity idea during lockdown, charades
Charades is an interactive, no-touch activity that is perfect for senior centers during lockdown.

Charades is always a crowd pleaser, no matter the crowd! It’s super interactive and no-touch, which is a perfect option during this time. You can get ideas from each resident on movies or books to act out, and put your “actor” on. Make sure you’re the only one handling the cards or written charade ideas.

8. Laughing Baskets

laughing basket activity idea for senior centers

Make a laughing basket! Sounds funny already, right? This simple, quick activity has a ton of health benefits, and is possible for everyone to participate in. Laughing causes mental and physical changes to your body, including reducing tension, increasing motivation, improving memory, and enhancing one’s immune system. Who isn’t going to want to laugh?

And, it’s easy to do. Look up jokes online, and ask your residents to contribute their favorite jokes, or even funny stories they want to share. Then, every week you can share a new joke with everyone!

This laughing basket can also morph into lots of things, depending on your residents interests. Ask them for some of their wisdom, lessons they’ve learned, or even interesting facts.

9. Drive-by Family Time

senior center activity director activity ideas

This may be the most touching gesture. Pick a day and let families know that they can drive by the community to say hello to their loved ones. Residents can wait by the driveway, families can follow them, and say hello. Perhaps display some handmade signs of love! It might be hard to find a dry eye in the crowd. 

10. Meal Delivery Sing-along

activity ideas for senior centers

Most likely you are delivering meals to your residents in their rooms. Caroling through the halls with residents' favorite songs will add some fun to meal delivery, and really lift their spirits.

11. Book Clubs!

fun activities for senior community center activity directors

Book clubs are an incredible way to stay mentally and socially active. By starting a weekly book club, you can get residents reading, thinking, and interacting consistently, and give them a schedule to look forward to. Choose a book for each hallway and alternate them each week.

Not a lot of book lovers? Try a TV club and have residents start a series together!

Conclusion: Get Creative with Senior Living Activities!

And there you have it! Some fun, creative activity ideas for all of you activity directors and senior center staff that are doing such an incredible job.

It's time to supercharge your activities calendar. Reach out for a free demo at Televeda today! 

Some other articles you might like: 

  1. Where to Get Funding for Technology at Your Senior Center
  2. A Guide to Senior Center Marketing
  3. How to Improve Virtual Classes at My Senior Center

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