Enjoyable Activities for a Senior Citizen Party
Senior citizens are not too old to enjoy themselves, especially if the right activities are chosen for a party. Great senior party activities keep seniors engaged, ignite their imaginations, and let them rest. Here’s what to consider when planning a party for seniors.
Give it a purpose
Senior citizens are in their golden years, and they’ve earned their rest. They’ve also earned the right to strong opinions, and sometimes have very strong ideas about what they will and will not do. When planning a party for senior citizens, don’t assume you know what is best for your guests. Plan the party with a purpose, give them a reason to be interested, but leave the joining in activities to the participants. Some good activities that bring a sense of purpose to a party involve charity. You can plan a party around knitting, sewing, quilting, or crocheting for charity. Lilybug is a charity that makes blankets and caps for babies in the neonatal intensive care units of hospitals. Operation Caregiver is a knitting charity that creates warm handknits for hardworking men and women in service. Having a clear purpose when at a party allows guests to relax into the experience.
Ignite their imaginations
One of the best things about growing older is being able to lay down the mantel of hard work and eventually return to a sense of childlike play. Believe it or not, seniors often like to engage in art, crafts, and imaginative play. Engage this sense of imagination with activities like calligraphy lessons, watercolor painting, or crochet. Hire a magician, musician, or storyteller, and then let the guests have the floor while they tell their own stories. Decorate the party with lots of color or with sweeping themes to create a wonderland for your guests to lose themselves in.
Let them rest
Great party activities, like dancing, get guests moving. Choose music from every era of their lifetime, and get their memories moving along with their bodies. At a party for senior citizens, it is important to have adequate rest, as well. Plan a high tea with finger sandwiches, ladyfingers, tea, and petit-fours. Arrange furniture in conversation circles near tables laden with refreshments. Host a film noir movie night where guests can attend as their favorite old film stars, but can also feel free to put their feet up or doze when the movie runs too long.
Cater to seniors’ imagination, sense of play, and desire to be a part of the world. Make the party mean something. Give the party a theme and a purpose. Then let your guests be your guides. If they want to spend the entire party standing by the refreshments and reminiscing over the last time they encountered croissants as fluffy as these, but they don’t have any interest in the ceramics lesson you’ve got planned, float with it. Let the party go where it will. Being a good host is about letting the party become a success in spite of you, not because of you.
About the Author
Misha Anatolia is a relationship and bridal shower writer. For more bridal shower planning tips and other bridal shower information, go to bridal-showers.org. If you want more articles, visit our site and click on the Contact Us link.
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