Christmas Activities for the Elderly: 12 Easy Ideas

The best Christmas activities for elderly relatives are short, can be done sitting down, and are done together: a Christmas quiz, a carol singalong, decorating biscuits, writing cards, a word search over a cup of tea or an afternoon with the photo albums. Here are 12 easy ideas for a visit at home or in a care home (a nursing home or assisted living in the US), with what to prepare for each and how to fit them around a busy December.

Before you plan: energy, eyesight, hands and timing

• Energy: plan 30 to 45 minutes, not an afternoon. Ask them, or the staff, when in the day they're usually at their liveliest.
• Eyesight: big print, black on white, and a good lamp angled on the table. Anything you write or print should be readable at arm's length.
• Hands: stiff fingers struggle with scissors, tiny beads and fiddly lids. Do the cutting in advance and choose chunky pencils and pens.
• Hearing: one conversation at a time, and the music off while you talk.
• Timing: care homes run their own Christmas programme (carol services, school choirs, a party). Ask for the dates and visiting times so you don't clash.

Christmas games and quizzes

1. A Christmas quiz with answers

Write 15 questions in large print, mixing carols, films and Christmases past, and read them out one by one. A few to start you off:

• On the fifth day of Christmas, what did my true love give to me? (Five gold rings)
• Who wrote A Christmas Carol? (Charles Dickens)
• In It's a Wonderful Life, what is the name of the hero? (George Bailey)
• Which Christmas song is Bing Crosby best known for? (White Christmas)
• In which year was the royal Christmas message first shown on television? (1957)

Play in teams of two, one grandparent and one grandchild, so nobody is left on their own with a tricky question.

2. A word search over a cup of tea

Large print grids are easy to share at a table, and you can take turns spotting words. Our large-print Christmas word search has 64 festive puzzles, from Advent to Pancake Day: Stir-up Sunday, mince pies, carols and choirs, Panto Time. For the rest of the year, our large print word search book has 90 easy puzzles on everyday themes. Each 13 × 13 grid fills a page, with squares of about 1.2 cm and bold capitals, and our guide to word search books for seniors explains what else to look for. Or make your own Christmas grid with family names: our guide explains how to make a word search.

3. Christmas bingo

Draw 3 × 3 cards with Christmas words or simple pictures (a bell, a robin, a pudding), in big letters. The caller reads the words out of a bowl and players cover them with buttons or coins. Easy to follow, and it works for a whole family.

4. A hand of cards or dominoes

Whist, rummy, cribbage or dominoes, the game they always played. A deck with large index numbers and a card holder help if hands or eyes are tired.

Easy Christmas crafts

5. Clove oranges

Press whole cloves into an orange in lines or spirals and tie a ribbon round it. Make the holes first with a cocktail stick so the cloves go in without pressing hard. If grandchildren come along, they can do the ribbon while grandparents choose the pattern.

6. Christmas cards for loved ones

Bring pre-folded cards, stickers and envelopes with the stamps already on. The grandchildren draw; the grandparent writes the message in their own handwriting. Address them together and post them on the way home.

7. A simple table decoration

A glass jar, a string of battery fairy lights, a few pine cones and a sprig of greenery. Many care homes don't allow real candles, so battery lights are the safe choice everywhere.

Baking and festive food

8. Decorating biscuits or mince pies

Bring them ready-baked, with icing pens, sprinkles and a tray. Decorating takes 20 minutes, needs no oven and leaves something to share with the other residents or the neighbours. In a care home, ask the staff about any special diet before you bring food.

9. A Christmas pudding to stir

Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, is the traditional day to make the pudding, and everyone gives the mixture a stir and makes a wish. Even if you bring a ready-made one, it's a lovely starting point: “Who made the pudding when you were young?”

Music, carols and Christmas memories

10. A carol singalong

Print the words of four or five carols in a large, plain font, one carol per page: Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Away in a Manger. Sing along to a recording or a grandchild's recorder.

11. Hum that tune

A grandchild hums a Christmas song with no words and the grandparents guess, then swap. It works across generations: the old carols are hummed alongside the newer pop songs.

12. Christmas memories

Get the photo albums out and ask open questions: “What did Christmas dinner look like when you were ten?”, “What was the best present you ever had?”. Write the answers in a notebook for the family. If they like to watch the King's Speech at 3pm, watch it together and talk about the ones they remember.

Visiting a care home at Christmas

• Call ahead to check visiting times and the home's own Christmas events.
• Bring something to do together, not only a present: a few printed puzzles, the photo albums, the carol sheets.
• Keep it short if they tire easily; a 40-minute visit with a game can be better than three hours of small talk.
• Think about the quieter days between Christmas and New Year, when there are fewer visitors.
• Label anything you leave with their name.

Grandchildren coming too? Our printable family Advent calendar includes several cards that suit a visit to grandparents, such as clove oranges, cards for loved ones and hum that tune. More quiet pastimes on our printable activities for seniors page.

To print before your visit

Large-print Christmas word search

€6.90

Christmas word searches you can read without squinting

Large-print word search, volume 1

€9.90

Word searches you can enjoy without squinting

Printable Advent calendar: 24 family activities

€14.90

What if Advent became family time again?

Frequently asked questions