Puzzels Population Popping

Seems like there is always someone at our puzzle table. Right now in my community there are about half a dozen people who like to work on them on a regular basis. The puzzle table sits in my main lobby, off to the side. I think there are people who enjoy seeing their progress and the final product, so it brings joy to more than those few residents who work on it.

I leave the puzzles in a closet in one of our activity rooms so that they can go in and get what they want. At one point they were organized by size. A while ago, I had a puzzle-maker who was making a note on the box when they were completed, so that they would not bring that box to the lobby to work on. But now, I have no idea how they determine what they've finished already and what they want to work on next.

Our retirement community gets donations of puzzles from our residents, their families and from the outside community. With two "sister-communities" in the area, we swap puzzles too. But still..... I have way to many to house! They are now popping out of the closet and I'm finding them tucked away in cabinets that they really shouldn't be in. (Maybe I need to keep the female puzzles on one shelf and the males on the other....just kidding.)

Does your community work on puzzles in the common areas? Do you have a system that works for you to get puzzles and to find new homes for your puzzles? If so please click the link below that says comment and enter it there. We'd all love to learn from you. Thanks.

Comments

3 Styles of Scavenger Hunts

Boy is it hot outside! If you are like me you may still be looking for indoor activities that are fun for your residents to do. This activity that I will share with you can be done for different levels of care in your retirement community. I encourage you to share it with the other activity professionals that work in those other areas within your own community. The activity is the Scavenge Hunt. This can be done in three different ways and I will describe them below: 1) The Stay Seated Scavenger Hunt v Ask audience to bring in items they think will be asked for. Encourage them to fill their purses, pockets, bags, etc. and bring it to the event v Make a list of items that they could bring with them v Include items that would be funny, that might have a story to go with them, or that people would be surprised someone would actually have. (Green Stamps anyone?) v See the list I used v Cut the list i...

Puzzle Theme for Volunteer Appreciation

Volunteers are an essential piece of retirement communities! They can be found volunteering at the reception desk when you first walk in, running an activity for the entire community to attend, folding napkins for the dining room and even taking potential residents on tours of the community for the sales and marketing department. Resident volunteers may also be board or committee members of your community's resident board. It is hard to imagine a successful community without resident volunteers. As the activities director in my CCRC community, it is my responsibility to make sure there is a wonderful appreciation luncheon every year to thank our residents. This year we used a puzzle theme for the lunch. The idea came to us (me and my co-workers from our neighboring sister community) from the Positive Promotions catalog. Here are the highlights of the event that connected the pieces together for a successful and meaningful afternoon: In Advance 1) Took a photo of the entran...

Super Bowl Party for Seniors

It is almost here! The 46th Super Bowl game will be held on Sunday, February 5 in Indinapolis. Each year, residents in my retirement community want to have a viewing party for the big game. I believe that it is a fun program to make an activity out of, but not something that I must do every year. Mostly, I don't have this each year because there are not to many ways to change it up, so I don't want to have it become boring. (This is where your ideas would be great to hear!!) This year, we are going to have a party and I'd like to share with you the plans for the evening. Residents are now signing up for the program which is set to start at 6:00 p.m. This time is perfect in my community because we still serve dinner at noon on Sundays and the residents usually like to attend for the food, if for no other reason. (I do charge them a fee for the food.) We will have the game showing on our big screen tv in the auditorium and tables and chairs set up for the...

Recharging Retirees in Retirement Communities

Search This Blog