Introduction
Many seniors are still looking for ways to stay engaged and involved in the family holiday celebrations. As many adults lack a lot of physical or cognitive ability, crafting has increased in popularity because it gives them and the members of their family a chance to be creative. Creative projects are often enjoyable, rewarding and fun; they keep everyone involved in the season while also providing valuable gifts they can give away at Christmas time.
It’s that time of year again when we’re rushing to find gifts for everyone in our lives. One reason to add a few holiday crafts for seniors to your list is that doing so could help them stay connected with family and friends, especially during the holidays. While there are many fun crafts that all ages can enjoy, this article includes a few ideas exclusively designed with seniors in mind.
Fun Holiday Crafts For Seniors
1. Holiday Wreaths
If you have a senior on your holiday shopping list, an easy addition to their home is a new holiday wreath. There are a few different ways that one can be made depending on the size of the budget and how much room the recipient has for one.
A simple way to create this type of gift is to visit the local craft store and find a pre-made cardboard wreath form. In this form, mount festive holiday shapes such as bells, stars or glittery snowflakes using hot glue and spray paint them accordingly. To add personal touches, have your senior mark their name in block letters to display just below the decorations and finish off with some seasonal greenery like pine branches or holly leaves.
2. Holiday Ornaments
While wreaths are great for homes, seniors also enjoy displaying ornaments on their doorways. Younger members of the family can help create these with simple dabbing and stenciling techniques. For decoration ideas, a simple idea is to have your senior decorate the main branch of an evergreen tree with festive colored balls and use opaque white ones for the smaller branches. Then you can hang these ornaments off their door frame by using various types of threading needles and attaching them directly to each branch.
3. Holiday Home Decorations
While making personalized holiday decorations from scratch may be too much work for some, even young kids love to embellish their room with fun images. For this reason, you can make a simple banner by tracing a group of photos printed on index cards and spray painting them with paint of your choice. If you’re feeling creative, you can also sketch out various designs and color them in with crayons to create unique designs.
If you have an older member of the family who’s not interested in making their own decorations, encourage them to join your efforts by teaching them how to make paper snowflakes for hanging around their home or place a series of these on the front door for the season.
4. Holiday Recipe Cards
If you’re on a tight budget for holiday gifts, one way to keep more money in your wallet is to make your own homemade versions of popular products and snacks. Instead of simply giving away these products as gifts, get creative by making them into decorative baskets and boxes.
If you have an older member of the family who likes to cook and bake, ask them to make some recipe cards that they can share with their family or friends. You can create some handmade recipe cards by having your senior write out recipes on construction paper then decorate them with stickers, glitter or scrapbooking elements.
5. Holiday Ornaments And Crafts
While most holiday wreaths are decorative, not all of them are intended to be used as such. Make some decorative ornaments from paper and decorate them with holiday elements. Then simply hang one or two on a window to enjoy the beauty of the season.
For seniors who are more crafty than practical, you can find scrapbooking supplies and embellish empty gift boxes to create unique decorations for their homes. You can also create an ornament out of a fun seasonal photo by customizing frames that hold photos.
6. Holiday Greeting Cards
Much like other types of cards, a holiday card is a great way to show your family and friends that you appreciate them. For older people, there are no requirements as to how many cards they need to send out each year, so they can make their own or find them at their local craft store or create them together with their kids.
7. Holiday Charts
Some people might be interested in tracking the amount of gifts they receive during the holiday season instead of simply counting the number of days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. A unique way for seniors to keep track is to create a holiday chart that tracks the number of gifts received. To make this easy, use a spreadsheet application and track the quantity of gifts with each gift recipient’s name. When the year comes around, you can remove all of the names from your chart and then simply add them again for your next year’s chart.
8. Holiday Boxes And Bags
If you have a senior in your life that enjoys crafts, ask them to make some holiday boxes from construction paper or other types of paper. The inside can be decorated with pictures or pastel-colored ribbons that are easy to change up every year depending on their preferences. You can also ask them to make bags out of cloth or paper for storing holiday presents inside.
Conclusion
For seniors, the holidays are a great time to reconnect with friends and family. While you may be tempted to simply give a senior on your list an edible gift basket, adding some handmade gifts for seniors to their collection will help them enjoy this time of year even more. By asking members of their family and friends to pitch in, these crafts will come together quickly and can make a great gift idea for many more years than an edible basket could. Do you have any ideas for holiday gifts for seniors? If so, please share them in the comments section below.
Sources: