Recharging Retirees in Retirement Communities

National Ice Cream Day is the 3rd Sunday in July.... so this year it is July 15. In my retirement community I'm being asked to provide more weekend programming, so when I saw this, it was a "no-brainer." I will have an ice cream social after the resident finish with dinner - which on Sunday is served at Noon in our community. But, I thought to my self, this is not good enough. How can I raise the bar on this program and make it better? Having a make your own sundae bar on a Sunday is cool, but what can be the cherry on top of this? What I found was something that my husband and I enjoy - a video presentation of the best places to eat. It is a DVD called An Ice Cream Show and it takes you to many of the finest and most unique ice cream palors around. It is perfect for this event. I will set the room up with tables and chairs so that they can watch the movie while enjoying their sundae.  I also found a great website that tells you more about this fun day called Holiday

" You could always tell what kind of a person a man thinks you are by the earrings he gives you. I must say, the mind reels." said Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's .   If you are an Activities Director, you know that you are only as good as your last event! Let me share with you one of the most memorable events I've done in a long time. . . . . Breakfast at Tiffany's! We had this upscale party as a special event one evening in my retirement community. We suggested that the residents wear their pajamas, or for the ladies, the iconic Audrey Hepburn look - a black dress with pearls, sunglasses and gloves. There were some residents who were very concerned about the idea of wearing their p.j.s out in public, but when we gave them the alternate option, they were more comfortable. Those who wore their pajamas, did so with good taste. Some men wore smoking jackets. There is also a good picture of residents dressed for the party on my blog post,  Theme id

The calendar at my retirement community consists of weekly entertainment, bridge games, bingo, day trips, theater trips, special holiday celebrations, theme parties, dances, educational programs, fitness programs and more. I like to look back to find the programs and shows that were successful and pencil them in for the future and then I get to work towards adding new ideas! As you know from bring an activities director, you must be organized and have a system that works for you in order to bring back community favorites, not have to research it all over again, and to recall what not to do again, ever!  How do you know if a program or entertainer is worth repeating or not? I use my computer to help me with this question. First let's talk about a program.... I call outings, special events, lectures, etc a "program." It is something that I might like to repeat in the future and have all the details of how I did it available to me. I've created a "

Lucky you! Here is a fun party that you can do in your retirement community which can be adapted to any level of care. I called this a Lucky Charm Luncheon . I was interested in knowing if the residents had anything in their possession that they held onto because it brought them good luck. I held this party on Friday the 13th and promoted that it was not an un-lucky day, but that it was going to be a great, fun, lucky day instead . The next Friday the 13th comes in July, so now is a great time to make your plans and get this onto your calendar. I kept the number attending the lunch small and put the program into our private dining room so that it felt more intimate. The goal for the lunch was to have the residents share the story behind the item that they brought to the party. At the lunch, I decorated the table with some items that are associated with bringing luck. These items were a rabbits foot (key chain ), a horseshoe (make sure that is facing the proper direction