10 Senior Community Activity Ideas: Valentine's Day Edition
This month, we’re looking ahead to the romantic month of Valentine’s Day! Cards, celebrations, candy hearts, and all the red and pink you can imagine! Celebrate all kinds of love with your residents this holiday season.
- Chain of Love
The traditional Christmas chain now gets a Valentine’s Day upgrade. Residents can write the name of a loved one on each link in the chain, then work as a group to tape each piece together to hang around your community. As you create the chain, you can encourage your residents to share stories about the person.
- Haiku Poetry Workshop
February is the shortest month. No wonder it’s also National Haiku Month, celebrating the shortest form of poetry. One of the best Valentine’s Day activities for seniors is a haiku writing workshop. While haiku doesn’t rhyme, poems follow this format:
- Line 1 – 5 syllables
- Line 2 – 7 syllables
- Line 3 – 5 syllables
Take haiku Valentine’s Day activities for seniors one step further with these ideas:
- Create a competition: residents read their haikus out loud, then vote for their favorites.
- Post the resident-written haikus around your community.
- Add art! Residents can decorate and frame their best haiku.
- Name that Love Song
Relive happy memories for your residents by hosting a Name That Love Song game as one of your Valentine’s Day activities. Find a list of tunes by decade, play a few bars, then see who can name the song or artist first. Bonus points if residents sing along!
- Rom Com Movie Marathon
When love is in the air, romantic comedies are nourishing and fun for the soul. Create a rom com movie marathon – it’s one of the easiest Valentine’s Day activities for your residents. Turn on nostalgic classics like An Affair to Remember as well as new favourites like It’s Complicated. Or, let residents vote on the movies they want to see.
- Secret Admirer Tree
Don’t put that Christmas tree away! Set out a basket of paper hearts. Seniors can write anonymous compliments for other residents and hang them on the tree. It’s a great way for your residents to be reminded that they are loved, cared for, and seen.
- Valentine Mailbox
Remember when you were a kid and you used to deliver handwritten valentine’s day cards to your classmates? Why not replicate this in your community. Using simple items like shoeboxes, residents can make a valentine mailbox to hang outside their door. Help them create valentine cards to deliver to other residents on February 14th.
- Smitten Knittin’ Party
Create a Valentine’s Day activity for those residents who have a knack for knitting. Team up with a local homeless shelter and invite your residents to knit a hat or pair of mittens. Not only will seniors feel good about helping those in need, but studies also show that knitting makes people feel happier.
- Match that Famous Couple
Quizzes like this are great to keep minds active and involved in verbal communication with the rest of the community. The simple way to play this quiz is to ask your seniors group to name the partner of the person I am about to call out. Begin by saying "Abbott and....." You can ask individuals in the group for the answer, to keep everyone involved.
- Speed “Friending”
It’s speed dating with a twist! Residents get 5 minutes to meet a new friend before time is up…and they meet another resident. You can use a large space like your dining room or lobby. This is a great opportunity for your residents to connect and get to know one another.
- Meet your Match
Residents fill out questionnaires about their favourite hobbies, interests, and music. Then, they can meet their “friend matches” at an event. To help new friends break the ice, plan Valentine’s Day activities for seniors to run at the event. This is a great way for your residents to connect with others who share similar hobbies and interests.
Did these activity ideas spark your creativity? Get more inspiration with these February Activity Ideas for Senior Living Communities or plan ahead for the next holiday with 10 Senior Community Activity Ideas: St. Patrick's Day Edition!