Caring for Ageing Parents – Tips for Winter Activities

If you are taking care of elderly parents at home, you know that staying active and stimulated is critical to their well-being. Inactivity can cause boredom, discouragement, and even depression.

We know that finding meaningful activities for seniors can be more challenging in the winter months. So, we’ve rounded up some fun and interesting activities for seniors who are still active as well as for those who are less ambulatory. There’s something on this list to appeal to nearly any senior (and to those who care for them).

Outdoor Activities

For seniors who are still active and enjoy being outside, Ontario has a lot to offer in the wintertime. Here are just a few examples.

• Bird Watching

Many of Ontario’s bird species migrate in the winter, but there are plenty of species that stay all year. And the Wye Marsh Wildlife Center offers fun activities for anyone interested in learning more about the birds of our area and how to identify them.

Seniors might enjoy workshops on topics such as identifying winter finches, backyard bird feeding, and raptor watching. The Center also offers a class on how to photograph birds. There are more active activities available as well, such as walks and snowshoe tours. Seniors might also enjoy exploring the Center’s website (above) before a visit.

• A Sleigh Ride

A horse-drawn sleigh ride is a wonderful way to spend a crisp winter afternoon, and there are several options in Ontario, easy to find with an Internet search. Most include warm blankets and a hot drink after the ride. Some require reservations, though, so call ahead if you’d like to plan one.

• Light Festivals

Take advantage of the early onset of darkness this time of year and schedule a late afternoon or evening visit to one of Ontario’s many light festivals. Some are designed to walk through while others offer horse and carriage rides. There’s something to delight nearly everyone.

• Lunch Dates

If your senior has friends or family members they enjoy spending time with, schedule regular lunch dates. These can be weekly visits at your loved one or friend’s home or an outing to a local restaurant. A scheduled activity such as this would give your senior companionship with a peer as well as something to look forward to each week.

Even better, if your senior has a friend in a nursing home who’s able to leave for a daytime activity, consider inviting that friend to lunch. This would be a day brightener for both elders.

Indoor Activities

• Bake

There are few winter activities cozier than baking. If you are a baker, share your interest and skills with your senior and bake something together. Better still, if they bake, ask them to share their expertise and create one of their favourite recipes together. It’s a wonderful way to give them purpose and help them to feel needed.

• Knit or Crochet

Again, if your senior has these skills but you don’t, ask them to teach you. They would probably love to be asked. If you know how but they don’t, offer to teach them.

If you both knit or crochet, choose a pattern you both like and each make one. Find time to work on them together every day or two. There are thousands of patterns available on the Internet.

• Make a Playlist

Does your senior love Frank Sinatra? Or Barbra Streisand? Maybe they’re a fan of big band music or showtunes. Using YouTube or an iTunes or Amazon Music account, you and your loved one can work together to create a playlist of their favourite music. It may even inspire them to get on their feet and dance!

• Watch Their Favourite Movies

Ask your senior about the movies and actors they have always loved and build a DVD collection for afternoons of movies and popcorn. You can also find some older titles on Netflix or Amazon.

• Play Cards and Board Games

Games are an excellent way to keep your senior’s mind stimulated. There are games that can meet your loved one at their level—whether that’s Canasta or Crazy Eights, chess or checkers.

• Colour

Colouring is beneficial to the elderly for many reasons. It increases stress-relieving hormones, provides mental stimulation, encourages creativity, helps with sleep, and more.

With the recent adult colouring trend, sophisticated colouring books and even online printouts are available that are designed specifically for adults. Depending on your loved one’s cognitive abilities and fine motor skills, they can be used with crayons, coloured pencils, or watercolours.

• Use Technology to Entertain

If your senior has access to a personal assistant such as Alexa or Google Home, teach them how to use it. (They only need their voice.) In addition to playing music, there are many skills available for these assistants, including games, some easy and some more challenging.

Once you find and add a skill to your home assistant, all your senior needs to do is ask for it. They can ask Alexa to tell them a joke, for instance. The jokes may be groaners, but they can be funny, nevertheless. There are many humorous skills that Alexa can perform, and laughter is a powerful way to fight off depression.

If you’re not sure how to find these skills, just ask Alexa. She’ll lead the way.

Activities for Seniors with Short-term Memory Loss

When you’re taking care of elderly parents, it can be hard to watch them struggle with cognitive issues and loss of short-term memory. However, you can still light up their eyes with activities that stimulate long-term memory.

Most seniors can access their long-term memory for much longer than short-term memory. Tap into that ability with easy trivia games with questions designed for older adults.

Or challenge them with a topic and ask them to name several things they remember from their younger years. (Name songs you danced to with your spouse, for example, or your favourite meals when you were growing up.)

Try creating quizzes for them based on historic figures or events or pop culture from their younger years. Help them to find answers they don’t know or to explore topics in more depth online.

These games are likely to cause your senior to stray from the topic and lead you straight to Memory Lane. And that’s a good thing! Most elders enjoy the opportunity to talk about their past.

A Final Word

At Home Concierge, we know that caregivers caring for ageing parents at home can find it difficult to spend the time they would like with their loved one. We understand that you have a career, personal activities, and other family members that need your time and attention as well.

Let us help. Our personal concierge service can assist with many day-to-day tasks in your home, freeing you up to devote more time to caring for your loved one.