Like everyone else who celebrates Easter, elders in a care home also look forward to having special activities and goodies on Easter Sunday. Some good ideas to make the elders have a happy day are as follows:
No Easter – without Easter eggs
For sure there will be many elders who used their special talents to make Easter eggs and other Easter craft items for their families in days gone by. So get together all such elders and give them the materials required to once again practice their skills. It could be colouring and decorating normal eggs, decorating baskets for the eggs, or making Easter bunnies. For those elders who have more limited talents, you could get them to plant spring flowers or paint flower pots to decorate and make the care home look festive.
An Easter get-together in the local Parish Hall
As a special Easter treat, the local Parish Hall could be hired to host an Easter lunch. Sponsors could be approached to chip in with home-made food. Special food items like scalloped potatoes, baked ham, and Easter-bunny cakes would certainly get the elders beaming. Others who would like to help, could decorate the hall and organize games and music for the elders, maybe even a competition for the best and most well decorated Easter egg.
Other talents to the fore
There will be many elders with musical talents – like playing the piano, singing – maybe even daring a Charleston swing! Give such elders a chance to air these talents. Make a list of old songs and soon the group will be singing their hearts out, with a few brave elders doing their moves on the floor. All it takes is music to open up their hearts and voices. A few hymns could be included keeping in mind the religious aspect of the day.
Party games
Though now in their twilight years, elders would probably still love to compete in suitable games with an opportunity to win prizes. Some games that can be organized are:
· Bingo – instead of the normal numbers involved, pictures depicting Easter themes could be used.
· Matching babies for different animals.
· Unscrambling of Easter words.
· Guessing the flavour of jelly beans.
· A quiz matching up ‘this and that’ of Easter ideas
· Guessing ‘how many’ in a group of Easter items.
Visiting families
Many elders will have their families who either come to visit them in the care home, or take them home for a family celebration. It is because of this that elders look forward to festivals like Christmas and Easter. If there are elders who are ‘alone’ and have no family members coming to visit, it would be nice to get them involved with those elders whose family members are present. Discussing stories of the past, sharing experiences, taking a few photographs – all these activities will help to cheer up the elders and make them feel part of a beautiful Easter experience.
Conclusion
It must be kept in mind that elders do not have time on their side. So it is important to make each occasion special in whatever manner or way that brings smiles to their faces.