Winter Fun for Seniors from the Warmth of Home

Let’s face it. This time of the year in Pennsylvania can be downright miserable outside. With the ice and snow, combined with sub-zero temperatures, it is enough to make anyone want to hibernate. Especially for senior citizens, who are more prone to falls, staying inside often sounds appealing and safer. However, that doesn’t mean seniors need to be lonely or bored. There are plenty of options for seniors to have winter fun from the warmth of their home.

Here are 20 ideas to have winter fun at home this year:

1. Bake some comfort foods. Try out new recipes. Baking will make the house smell great, and the tasty reward after the dish cools is always worth it.
2. Have a spa day. Bring out the foot bath and Epsom salts. Pick your favorite polish colors and get all fancied up during the at-home pampering session.
3. Try yoga. As the new year begins, set a fitness routine. You can do yoga from the comfort of your home. Pull up a beginner video on YouTube, grab a mat and get ready to stretch and strengthen your body.
4. Play some board games. Bring out the old Clue game or Guess Who and see who wins. If you’re in it for the long haul, play Monopoly. Did you know there are variations of the game and even some that center solely around places in Pennsylvania and even Penn State?
5. Winter days at home are a perfect time to help teach seniors about technology. Maybe they got a new phone for Christmas. You can help them learn the intricacies of it. Or maybe it’s time to finally teach them how to use the remote control. 
6. Take up or start a hobby. Maybe your senior has always wanted to learn to knit. Now is the time. Did they used to crochet and want to restart? Order or pick up the materials, and get to work.
7. Consider hiring a Visiting Angels Chadds Ford caregiver for companion care. If your senior feels lonely and stuck inside, having a compassionate caregiver in the home a few times a week or each day to keep them company can help. Caregivers can bring new ideas and life into the home and can do activities with your seniors all winter long.
8. Plan a spring getaway. While you might be cooped up now, looking forward to breaking free in the spring is always fun. Make a list of your dream locations and start researching and planning. Planning for a trip is always a big part of the fun.
9. Even if you can’t go somewhere in person now, you can visit plenty of places virtually. Many domestic and international museums have online galleries, including the Louvre and the Met. On Google, there are more than 1,200 galleries you can view.
10. Make a healthy meal plan. After all the holiday eating, it is a great time to write down a plan and stick to it for more healthful eating. Get your senior loved one involved in meal planning and finding dishes they want to try.
11. Go through old photo albums or pictures. If the photos are scattered about, organize them with your senior and find out who is in each picture. Write down the names on the back of the photos or in the margins of albums so you will always know who they are.
12. Usually, we don’t see the popular attractions in our hometowns unless we have guests visiting from out of town. Make a list of places in and around Chadds Ford that you’ve always meant to visit but never have so that when the weather turns nicer, you can go. Have you ever visited the Brandywine Battlefield? It’s a battlefield that harkens back to the American Revolution. It was home to the largest single-day battle, and you can visit it. 
13. Make some festive decorations for the season. You can make giant paper snowflakes to tape to your patio door. Craft a new winter-themed or Valentine’s wreath for the front door to welcome visitors.
14. Be a super fan. Cheer on your favorite college basketball team. Wear their colors. Plan for March Madness, and predict what the brackets will be. Lounging on the couch, cheering loudly with great snacks, is a fun way to spend a cold winter day indoors.
15. Make a list of all the movies you’ve wanted to watch but never have had the time. Writing them down will help you remember, and when you’re looking for something to watch on an ice-cold day, you’ll have your list to refer to. Hibernate with your senior loved one for a day under blankets and knock a few movies off the list.
16. Get ready for Valentine’s Day. Cut out 14 pink and red hearts, or even hearts with doilies, and write things you love about your senior citizen on each one. You’ll be ready for a new one up each day of February leading to the 14th.
17. Bird watch from the patio door. See if you see any colorful cardinals or blue jays peaking out in the winter. Get a book on birds or look it up online to see what birds still call Pennsylvania their home in winter. 
18. Spend a day building a small feeder for the birds in your yard. You can even offer them treats or some fresh, unfrozen water to help them and draw them to your yard.
19. Have a storytelling session. Your seniors can tell their favorite sales from their youth. If you want to remember them, record them or write them down.
20. Have an ice cream sundae night. Get many flavors of ice cream and toppings galore. Pile your sundaes high and enjoy the treat.

Visiting Angels Can Help

This winter and any time of the year, our professionally-trained caregivers at Visiting Angels can help the seniors in your life. Our goal is to offer expert caregiving while also helping senior citizens to maintain meaningful, independent lives. Our compassionate caregivers at Visiting Angels Chadds Ford can do everything from light meal prep to helping seniors with mobility issues. Our caregivers can help seniors get ready each morning, help with fall prevention and even focus on dementia care. Our experts will help develop a personalized individual care plan for the senior in your life.

Our professional caregivers serve clients in Central & Southern Delaware County and Southern Chester County, PA. To use our services or to learn more, call us at 484-428-6636 or fill out an online form here.