Thanksgiving Activities for Seniors

By Anna Hazard

Thanksgiving is the time of year where families from all locations and all ages tend to gather and reunite with enough merrymaking to go around for both the young and old.

Here are a smattering of Thanksgiving related activities that would be suitable for senior assisted living or within the comfort of your own homes this holiday season. Many of the general autumn based senior activities previously mentioned in our Autumn Activities for Seniors blog post can also be tweaked for Thanksgiving.

Create a Gratitude Tree

• Have seniors hang colorful cards with notes to what they are thankful for from a Thanksgiving Gratitude tree. The basic tree itself can be a plant brought it for the occasion, several tree branches crafted together, or even a drawn tree on paper.
  
• Check out Mom It Forward for more detailed instructions on creating the basic tree
  

Listen to Thanksgiving Music

• Nothing stirs nostalgia -- and memories -- quite like favorite music from the past. Here are some lists of old classic Thanksgiving (and feasting) related music that you can listen to with your seniors.
  
• Top 10 From Daily Herald | 18 Songs from Fuse TV | Billboard's Song List
  

Thankful Storytelling + Reminiscence

• Another good activity to help jumpstart memories is a storytelling circle where seniors can expand upon what they feel grateful for or tell funny or memorably stories from their Thanksgiving past.
  

Thanksgiving Dinner Memory Game

• Another fun game that can be customized to celebrate the holiday is a memory game that centers around what the seniors plan to eat for dinner. The first person in the game starts with "At thanksgiving dinner, I plan to eat [insert-food]..." with each following person adding in another food item.
• With a large group playing (or a small group with good memories) the feast in the game can become quite large indeed.
  

Thanksgiving Crafts

• These crafts from our previous Thanksgiving Crafts for Seniors blog post work not only as activities, but will also act as decor during the Thanksgiving dinner & festivities
  

Thanksgiving Turkey Hunt

• This scavenger hunt can be held indoors or outdoors, depending upon the current weather and mobility of the participants. Thanksgiving items such as turkeys, pumpkins, and gourds can be hidden amongst the normal decor with holiday related prizes given to the player(s) who find the most items from their checklist.