Activities for people with dementia
You can do these meaningful activities with a person living with dementia.
Review the different types of activities you can take part in with your loved one.
- Start a collection or hobby that you both enjoy.
- Make a "joy" box filled with fun and favourite items.
- Watch the seasons change together. Bring in coloured leaves, snow, and spring flowers to touch and talk about.
- Post photos and pictures of the different seasons and talk about them.
- Make scarves, mittens, toys or the like to donate together.
- Create a photo album, framed photographed collection or poster to hang up.
- Make a special scrapbook acknowledging your older adult's life.
- Write or record your older adult's biography and share copies with family and caregivers.
- Design and make your own Christmas and holiday cards.
- Bring in pinecones, grass, twigs and soil to touch and talk about.
- Wind yarn, twine, or rope.
- Work on a craft project together.
- Try a new artistic pastime together such as drawing, colouring, painting or sculpturing; create each other's portraits.
- Make gifts for your older adult to share with loved ones.
- Bring along a sewing basket, button box, or tool kit to organize together.
- Build a bird feeder or house to hang outside your older adult's window.
- Bring things related to the season or upcoming holiday to do and talk about.
- Look at paint swatches together to help decide the colour of your next painting project.
- Create a poster from pictures cut from magazines or of favourite things.
- Read a chapter in a novel or a poem from a book of poetry.
- Write poems or short stories together.
- Look at tabletop books together.
- Look at magazines that have a lot of large colourful pictures.
- Subscribe to your older adult hometown newspaper and bring it along.
- Read religious or inspirational articles, magazines or books.
- Help your older adult write or record letters or send cards to people.
- Find a pen pal and help your older adult correspond with this new friend.
- Read newspapers and magazines aloud to keep your older adult in touch with current events. Let them read to you.
- Use some small rhythm instruments or kazoo to make your own music.
- Dance, or tap your shoes, to your older person's favourite music.
- Play an instrument together or learn together.
- Sing, hum, or whistle together.
- Play "Name That Tune" with records or music on your phone using Spotify or iTunes.
- Listen to music or an old radio program.
- Recite rhymes and songs from both your generations' childhoods.
- Have grandchildren bring or send along artwork or school papers.
- Bring along an old friend of your older adult for a special reunion.
- Take photos of your older adult to send to family or friends - ask for family and friends’ photos too! Start a digital photo book.
- Bring along your children or grandchildren and enjoy watching them play.
- Celebrate the holidays together with special parties for two.
- Share recent pictures or your community and ask your older adult to share memories of how it has changed.
- Sit and hold your older adult’s hand and lend a good listening ear.
- Bring photos of family and friends from many years ago or more recent snapshots.
- Share your own favourite stories and memories.
- Bring vacation photos, souvenirs, postcards, maps and tales of your travel.
- Read letters from family and friends.
- Listen to messages from family or friends.
- Bring a videotaped greeting from family and friends.
- Use your phone or tablet for a travelogue to countries around the world.
- Watch home movies together.
- Bring a pet to visit or photos of pets to chat about.
- Tell jokes to one another or bring along a joke book.
- Keep track of favourite sports teams.
- Play Tic-Tac-Toe or Hangman.
- Toss cards into a hat, pitch pennies, shoot marbles, play jacks.
- Make a list of all your older adult’s favourite foods, movie stars and songs.
- Play along with television game shows or host your own version.
- Bring a travel book or brochure to dream about your fantasy vacation.
- Decide what you both would do if you had a million dollars.
- Watch a sports game together.
- Play word and trivia games together.
- Play card games or board games together - lifelong favourites and new ones.
- Do crossword puzzles together - or on your own to see who can finish first.
- Do jigsaw puzzles.
- Keep up on television programs that your older adult watches and discuss them together.
- Play charades.
- Bring things related to the season or upcoming holiday to do and talk about.
- Bring along a bird book and see how many different types of birds drop by. (How many different types of birds they recognize?)
- Use Google to explore where your older adult grew up.
- Bring along a bird book and see how many different types of birds drop by. (How many different types of birds they recognize?)
- Sort socks, utensils, buttons, change or playing cards.
- Do exercises together.
- Take a walk outside, sit and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.
- Ask for help planning your garden and look through the seed catalogue.
- Plant and take care of an indoor windowsill garden or create low-maintenance terrarium.
- Go to the park to watch the children play.
- Attend a recreation program together.
- Bring along a treat made from a recipe your older adult passed on to you.
- Do some baking or no-bake cooking together.
- Have an indoor picnic with your older adult's favourite foods.
- Enjoy a cup of a favourite beverage together.
- Give your older adult a gentle massage with moisturizing lotion.
- Give your older adult a hug as you arrive and each time you say goodbye.
- Brush, comb or style your older adult’s hair or paint their nails.
- Pamper your older adult with makeup, perfume, aftershave, or a manicure.
- Keep a journal of interesting discussions you have during your visits.
- Learn a new word each time you visit.
- Challenge your older adult in a two-person spelling bee.
- Bring familiar, loved items to touch and talk about.
- Bring things to stimulate the sense of smell - spices, herbs or flowers.
- Bring different textured fabrics to touch - silk, wool, denim, corduroy, or velvet.
- Talk about what you both have been doing since your last visit.
- Keep these items in your older person's room: white board with erasable markers, cards, pens, pencils, note pad.
- Create an activity box that you can leave with your older adult to keep all your activity items in.
- Use headphones with a splitter to listen to music together.