GO ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR YOUR SENIORSAuthor: Adelaide Lovelady Editor: Holly Slice Many residential facilities employ Lifestyle or Activity Directors to create a recreation calendar and support comprehensive care. For those who jobs require consistently designing new activities, creativity can be stunted. We hope that these four activities will get your wheels turning! Of course, as advocates of live music we have also included ways to enhance the activity with professional performances ♫
For ideas for types of teas to include, check out this article: 26 Types of Teas and Their Health Benefits. Additionally, Amazon offers affordable tea assortments -- you can purchase 48 different teas for only $12.99. Music: No formal tea party is complete without classical music from a pianist or string trio! Consider this beautiful tea party at the stunning Savoy in London -- the elegance of the piano greatly enhances the event! ♫ Fun Additions: Hats: Give your residents the option to wear their favorite hat! Provide decorations (e.g., flowers, ribbons) that they can add to their hat. Dressing up is always a hit! Tea Etiquette: Use the Tea Tasting Party to teach British tea etiquette. This article from Huff Post is a great resource: How to Drink Tea Downton-Abbey Style Cards: Bring decks of cards and print instructions for British card games. Learn more from BBC: 5 British Card Games You Should Learn
(National Bingo Day – June 27) It’s Bingo night! National Bingo Day is a fun traditional game that everyone can participate in. Only, this version has a musical twist… ♫ The Game: Each player is given a bingo card where traditional bingo numbers have been replaced with familiar oldies song names. The musician plays 30-45 seconds of the song and the players must place the coin on the song title. Décor: Decorate with different decades represented at each table. For instance, tables with 40s/ 50s/ 60s/ styled décor, so every resident has a decade to enjoy! You can achieve this fun look by exploring consignments shops or even your local party store! I recommend correlating your décor with the music you choose to play the game with, that way there is a continuous theme! Dining: What more do you need on bingo night other than lemonade and peanuts? Music: The music is the key ingredient to game, the theme, and the atmosphere for the night! We recommend a live musician, like Claire, who can interact with the residents, either a pianist / vocalist or guitarist / vocalist. Lyrics are important to help residents quickly identify the title of the song! ♫ Fun Additions: If music bingo is a hit with your residents, also brainstorm other live music games including "Name that Tune" and "Music Trivia"!
(National Day of Relaxation – August 15) Close your eyes and enjoy National Day of Relaxation. This day is for the ones who want to relax and enjoy the simple pleasure of life! Décor: This day is all about the residents’ comfort. Smooth stones, plants, candles, essential oils, and linen fabrics can create the calm atmosphere on a budget. You can find many of these items at your local Walmart or Target! If you don’t want to use essential oils on the skin you can buy a diffuser on Amazon: Essential Oil Diffuser. Atria Senior Living shared a great article on The Benefits of Aromatherapy for Older Adults.
If you want to provide a massage service for your residents, hand massages are very beneficial, and everyone can have an opportunity to experience rejuvenated fingers and palms. Finally, the ladies always enjoy receiving a manicure! Music: We highly recommend live harp music to provide the ideal ambience for your spa day! ♫ Listen to a short music sample from Emilee below:
(National Taco Day - October 4) Pull out your sombreros, folks! This day is about eating tacos to your heart’s content, and making this day a fiesta for your community. Décor: Enjoy bold colored streamers, sarapes, bright floral center pieces, and candles! You can find a lot of the expendable décor at your nearest dollar tree! But don’t worry about it being “a bit much”. The bolder the colors, the more festive it will be! Dining: Of course, tacos are the key ingredient to this festive day. There are multiple recipes online and to get you started, check out All Recipe's website for Simple Taco Recipes. If you want to take it to the next step: guacamole, chips & salsa, rice, beans, and finishing with churros will ensure that your residents will have a memorable Taco Day! Music: Enjoy your day with Latin piano or guitar music. You can also enhance the day by purchasing small maracas to allow the residents to join in on the fun by improvising and dancing to the music! ♫ Thank you for all you do to care for our older adult communities! We hope these four special events will be helpful to you and your facility. If you live in the Charleston, SC area and would like to implement one of these events and enhance it with live music, reach out to our retirement coordinator. We would love the opportunity to assist you! ♫
Additionally, did these 4 events bring any other creative ideas to mind? Please comment below to share them as a resource for others!
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