30 Activities to Do with Seniors at Home

Low energy, sitting down

For tired days, poor weather, or after a hospital stay.

1. Look through old photographs and write names on the back of them
2. Listen to music from when they were between fifteen and twenty five, which is the era that stays with people longest
3. Read the local paper aloud and talk about what has changed in the neighbourhood
4. Sort a drawer of odds and ends together
5. Watch an old film they choose, not one you choose for them
6. Fold laundry side by side, which sounds trivial and is often the most settling thing in the list
7. Write a card to somebody in the family
8. Look up their old street or workplace on a map together
9. Share a pot of tea and simply talk, with the television off
10. Have them teach you something, a recipe, a knot, a card game from their childhood

Moderate energy, hands busy

For a normal afternoon.

1. Cook a meal together, with them directing and you doing the lifting
2. Bake something that fills the house with a smell they recognise
3. Play cards, dominoes or a board game
4. Do a jigsaw with large pieces left out on a table between visits
5. Water, prune and repot the houseplants
6. Polish silver, shoes or brass, which is repetitive, satisfying and visibly finished
7. Make a shopping list and plan the week's meals together
8. Sort and file paperwork, which also quietly surfaces bills that have not been opened
9. Do a crossword or word search out loud rather than alone
10. Clean and organise one kitchen cupboard, no more

Higher energy, out of the chair

For good days.

1. Walk to the end of the street and back, then further next time
2. Sit outside for twenty minutes, weather permitting, which does more for sleep than most people expect
3. Go to the grocery store together rather than doing the shop for them
4. Visit a garden centre, which is gentle, flat and interesting in any season
5. Attend the church service, club or group they used to go to
6. Drive somewhere from their past and talk about it
7. Do gentle seated exercises, only ones cleared by their doctor
8. Wash the car or sweep the porch together
9. Visit a neighbour rather than waiting to be visited
10. Go out for a coffee or a meal somewhere they choose

If mobility is limited

Most of the first two lists work sitting down. Bring the activity to the chair rather than moving the person to the activity. Good light and a firm table make a far bigger difference to whether somebody joins in than the activity itself does.

If there is memory loss

Pick things with no wrong answer. Folding, sorting, polishing, music and looking at photographs all work because they cannot be failed. Avoid anything that tests recall, such as quizzes or asking whether they remember a name. Repetition is fine and often welcome: the same activity every Tuesday builds a routine that feels safe.

Our page on companion care for mild memory loss goes into this in more detail.

The thing that matters more than the list

Doing something together beats doing something for them, every time. An afternoon where your father directs the cooking is worth more than one where you cook and he watches, even if the meal is worse. The point is being useful and being company, not being entertained.