Winter Activities to do with your residents

Winter is well and truly on its way here and to keep spirits high you may want some activity inspiration for your service users. Why not try out some of these activities that have been tried and tested by some of the Care Control staff from their times working in care.

Soup Making

Nothing says winter like a good old bowl of soup and some chunky bread. Making soup is a meaningful way to get residents involved in everyday life activities of helping to prepare their meals. The great thing about it is it can be customisable to people’s tastes, and there is a job for every ability from peeling and cutting vegetables to stirring the soup whilst it is cooking. If you are feeling adventurous you could even have a go at making your bread to dip into it.

Winter Walks

As mentioned in our previous blogs on Sundowning and Season Affective Disorder (SAD), getting your service users outside into natural light and fresh air can help to reduce symptoms of these. Winter walks provide other benefits, for your service users, it is good for their joints as it is low impact and can prevent stiffness.  Just getting outside is a good way of gaining a source of vitamin D. Obtained primarily through sun exposure, vitamin D is vital for maintaining a healthy heart and bones and it is a good social activity which is a good mood booster.

Winter flower arranging

Flowers will automatically improve the mood or vibrancy of a room, which makes flower arranging a perfect activity, especially during the winter when moods may be lower. Service users can choose to design their flower arrangement in a vase or wrap the stems of the flowers into a lovely arrangement. When it comes to floral arrangements, all you need to do is mix and match different types and colours of flowers to make them seem pretty. You can either get store-bought flowers or go and pick some from your garden or a park.

Knitting

Knitting or sewing enables service users to use their fine motor skills, helps to keep their brains active and provides them with a creative outlet. Once they have finished their piece, they will also have a sense of satisfaction with the achievement of completing something.

Make bird feeders

Making bird feeders is a great activity which provides multiple benefits. It is a simple project for service users to be able to do, but also once they have hung them up in the gardens, they can then bird watch. Getting the benefit of craft and the peace of birdwatching whether indoors or outdoors.

Here is a simple set of instructions for a birdfeeder here.