There are many challenges that our loved ones face as they continue to age. One major and overarching aspect for aging seniors is their decreased mobility. This can especially be true for the elders in our lives that have been particularly active in their earlier years. The fact that they simply cannot go out into the world as they once could can lead to a lot of different, and often negative, feelings. Knowing that a particular disease or condition is going to make an outing difficult can be discouraging. But, losing mobility doesn’t have to mean that a person loses their spirit. If we can help view it from a different angle, this simply opens up the possibility of taking on new hobbies! Below is a list of some great activities for just that.
Make a New Dish!
While going and eating out might entail lots of extra steps for seniors with mobility issues, that's no reason you can't have great, restaurant quality meals at home.
Find a great local restaurant, like Houston’s Ragin’ Cajun or This is Soul Food and see if you can’t make one of their dishes at home. This is a great activity that might take some time and effort but is a great way to include our elders and make an event out of a meal.
If you have young children, this is also a great opportunity to have them help grandpa or grandma. They can certainly be in the kitchen helping where they can, and if they’re a little too young for kitchen duties, you can have them make cute little menus or restaurant signs to help support their grandparent.
Arts and Crafts
Arts and crafts is such a massive category that practically anything can fall within it. There is a fulfilling and rewarding aspect to planning, and creating something that helps beautify your spaces, or that you can even offer as a gift. For elders, things like sun catchers, making pressed flowers, or making greeting cards are some cheap and easy craft projects that anyone can do with everyday household objects. The best part is these types of projects are great for the little ones too! So the kids can sit right alongside their grandparents and help each other make wonderful art.
For the more wood-inclined seniors, there are always projects just waiting to help beautify a home. A birdhouse, or feeder is a great project that requires some planning, designing, and building that will leave any senior feeling fulfilled and proud of their new functional art piece.
Other great crafts for beautifying our spaces are things like sewing, knitting, and crocheting. These are great for doing anywhere, as they require minimal supplies and you can even bring projects with you.
Whether waiting in line somewhere, or waiting for Metro, you can bring out the scarf project and pick up where you left off.
These activities are great for letting our elders express their creativity and also helps to improve and maintain their dexterity.
Movies and Music
There are so many services that offer great programming in TV, Movies, Music, and podcasts and it’s never been easier to enjoy great content.
But sitting and binging TV and movies isn’t all that enthralling and can quickly grow boring. But, there are ways to liven things up. You might encourage them to find a group of people watching the same show or movie and hold weekly discussions. Sort of like a book club, but for TV and movies. This is a great opportunity to enjoy new shows and art, and also add a social aspect to it. Grandparents will certainly pay more attention and enjoy their shows more when they know they get to discuss all the best parts with their friends at their weekly meeting.
And for those that might be more writing inclined, you might introduce them to the idea of fan fiction. Fan fiction is fictional writing about an existing series by amateurs and fans of the series. It allows you to take existing characters and worlds and craft them in your own personalized way. There are several online communities that exist for practically most shows and movies and is another great opportunity to be more social in your own leisure.
Are you looking for someone to help with your elder with their daily routine? Maybe a caregiver to help with meals, transportation, or medication management? Whatever your need may be, we can find the caregiver for you. Reach out to Christian Companions to find the caregiver for your needs in the Houston area.
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