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Fun Extras

It is the first day of the year and I am thinking about work on my day off. Shows you how much I love my job as activities director.... or some would say, how I "need to get out more!".... anyway, I am always looking for new inspiration for an activity and I found, again, a few websites that show us unique days  or themes for the month.

I like Holiday Insights.com a lot because when you click on the link, it gives you information about the special day. I think if you have the background information, it helps you promote the idea of the program to your residents. Some of these ideas inspired me as I reviewed them this time, because I've been trying to find a way to get resident's names and quick facts of interest out to the community, either through the monthly newsletter or our in-house TV channel. I believe that when they see their name, or that of their friends, that they will read or watch with greater interest. Another cute site that I like to get ideas for unique days to celebrate is brownielocks.com

And here is one that is food related: http://www.tfdutch.com/foodh.htm

The ideas that I got from the sites include:

  • 2/17 - Random Acts of Kindness Day - Promote the day in advance, as for submissions from residents re: who did what kindness for them/what they did for others. Promote results on TV and/or newsletter.
  • 6/4- Hug a Cat Day (June is Adopt a Cat Month) - Take pictures of residents holding their cats in advance and share them with the community..... Lobby wall display or TV channel (monthly newsletter costs per photo, so that is not a good option for me.)
  • 8/13 - Left Hander's Day...... Ask the month before and list their names in the monthly newsletter as a "space filler" along side the information about the development of Left Hander's Day
  • 9/8 - Grandparents Day - This might be a big list... so be careful what you ask for on this one.
  • 9/21 - World Gratitude Day - Promote the day in advance, as for submissions from residents what they are thankful for, and promote the results on TV and/or newsletter.
  • 10/7 - World Smile Day - Take random pictures of residents with great smiles - but just of their smiles, post them in the Lobby. Assign each photo a number and have a contest to see who can determine the most correct identifications of each smile. A prize can be an item with a yellow smiley face on it.... those are easy gift items to find
  • 11/16 - Button Day - Ask residents to wear items with lots of buttons.....the most buttons is the winner, or maybe they have a large button that they never get to wear, encourage them to add it to their outfit. (ie. "Birthday Boy," or "Kiss Me, I'm Irish.")  It could be very funny. Or, make craft items with buttons and have them for sale by your craft group as a fund raiser for the craft group or your favorite charity. See my Pinterest page for some more pictures of crafts with buttons.

So there you have it, a few bits of inspiration. I hope they make you think of ways that you can add something fresh and simple to your calendar. Set your plan in motion now. These are fun add-ons to a calendar and newsletter that tends to be predictable at times.  If you don't follow through this year, there is always next year, and no one will know if you did them or not since they are fun extras! 

If you have any ideas that are along these lines, "fun, extras," please take a minute to post them in the comment section below so that we can all benefit from one another.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2013 at 9:52 AM

    Hi there!
    I love your ideas. I was just wondering if you have any fun/different ideas for young seniors? We have a number of residents who are in their early 50's and we are always trying to find new ideas to interest this growing age group.
    Any suggestions would be great!!
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Recharging RetireesJanuary 4, 2013 at 6:56 PM

    Hi. All the themes, mixers, and ideas found on the A-Z page are good for younger seniors. I think about my own parents who fall into that younger crowd and believe that educational programs and job related activities would be of interest. My only thought is that you should get to know the people who are in your community and that will give you the information that you need for a successful program. If others reading this blog have thought, please share them below!!

    ReplyDelete

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