Nikki

A children's birthday party theme worked really well in New Zealand where it's been traditional to hold these parties at home with mostly home cooked food. We have a couple of famous recipe books so I started with those and added cake decorating utensils, candles, serviettes, straws, an invitation, photos of children at a party, gift wrap paper, ribbons and anything else to do with a party. I laid it all out on a table covered in paper which the participants could write their favourite party food on. We talked about the games played, the advent of the goody bag, costume parties and even those held at a fast food place. We brought the men into it by asking about their role - blowing up the balloons, putting up shelter etc. An hour passed very quickly!

We give the winner (most fish) a chocolate marshmallow fish and the person who caught the least fish gets a chocolate frog.

I use my iPad to turn my voice into words for someone who is completely deaf. As this only happened in her nineties the guest doesn't have an established alternative way to communicate. If I make a new note and only use the heading area, which is in bold type, she is able to read what I've just said. This makes her feel much more included in our group activities.

A new activity has been posted by a Golden Carers member: ANZAC Day wreaths

What a great idea!

Also this month, for Australians and New Zealanders: ANZAC Day wreaths. Use 2-3 egg cartons per wreath, painting each segment after cutting it from the carton. Black felt, buttons or similar are glued to the centre before attaching to the circle of cardboard, once the paint is dry.

Sounds great!
I work with people who live in the community. Our activity centre has been closed for almost 6 months due to the pandemic. I found that emailing or posting a list to each person, with items they could find at home, made this a good remote activity. For example, a family photo, something in the kitchen which is blue, an item which is more than 50 years old, a hobby or sport item, something which belonged to your elders... This is really suitable for adapting to a particular group or seasonal changes if they can see outside. Reminiscence was encouraged by looking for the older items. I'm going to follow up with a Zoom gathering after the next scavenger hunt so everyone can share their finds with others.

Their family structure, past and present. People who didn't have children can still be grieving about that in retirement so Mothers' Day activities need to be handled with care, and the person brought up in an Orphanage may become very sad if a 'School Days' theme brings back negative memories. With knowledge we can avoid these situations.

I love the variation in degree of difficulty of these questions - perfect for the groups I support. Thank you.

A new activity has been posted by a Golden Carers member: Baking Favorites NZ Word Search