My Favorite Activities

~Aromatherapy~

I like to burn lavendar essentail oils in a burner or light lavendar
candles in the residents room and give them a hand and arm
massage. This works really well for relaxing alzheimers residents.

~Auctions~

I will get a bunch of inexpensive items from the 99 -cent store or
Wal Mart and put them in brown paper bags
(the large grocery store type) and have a weekly Auction.
The residents will recieve "funny money" during the week while
playing Bingo and other games to use during our Auction.
It is so funny when they bet on the items because the bags are so
big and sometimes there will be something so
small like a pack of gum.
I will usually put a dollar in one or two of the bags just to liven it
up(the residents will bid high if they think they are
going to win Real Money.

~Happy Hour~

Every week we like to have a Happy Hour on Friday afternoons.
We enjoy fresh popped popcorn(we have an old fashioned popcorn
maker) and fresh Margaritas(non-alcoholic,of course)and I have an
Entertainer come in for one hour.
This is a great way to end the week.

~Karaoke Nights~

I love this activity because it really shows off the residents
personalities.Even the most reserved resident will come out of their
shell,the most confused resident will come alive with music.....
My favorite Karaoke songs for seniors are anything by Frank
Sinatra,Dean Martin,Kate Smith,Perry Como,Sammy Davis jr.,or any
of the" Rat Pack" of the old days.
Now let me tell you,my voice is no American Idol,but the residents
love when we do Karaoke Nights.

~Wine and Cheese Party~

This is alot of fun(as long as you have the DR.s ok).
The residents love that this reminds them of life
before coming to a Nursing Home.
It is fun to try different types of cheeses each month .
Get beautiful wine glasses to use and fancy tablecloths.
Really make this a special event for your
more active and alert residents.

Whatever you choose, just have fun and try to think outside the box.
Remember that you are in your residents home,they are not at your
place of business.Enjoy your residents and they will enjoy you !!!!