Guide
Thanksgiving Activities for Seniors: 15 Easy Ideas
Thanksgiving is one of the easiest holidays to plan for older adults. It is about food, family and memories, and almost everyone has a story to tell. These ideas work for activity directors in assisted living and memory care, senior center staff, and families planning a visit. Most need nothing more than a printer, pencils and a table.
Gentle group activities
- A thankful tree. Cut out paper leaves, ask everyone to write or say one thing they are grateful for, and tape the leaves to a paper tree on the wall. It grows all month and becomes a conversation piece for visitors.
- Thanksgiving trivia hour. Short multiple-choice questions about the first Thanksgiving, the Macy's parade and old family traditions keep everyone in the game. Read the questions aloud and let the room call out answers.
- Finish the saying. Read the first half of an old proverb ("An apple a day...") and let the group finish it. Familiar sayings draw in residents who rarely speak up.
- Recipe memories. Ask what was always on the table when they were young. Write the answers on a big sheet. You will hear about pies, stuffing and relatives nobody has mentioned in years.
- Remember when. Look at pictures of old kitchens, parades and family dinners together and talk about what each person remembers.
Quiet activities to do alone or with a visitor
- Large print word searches. Words like harvest, pumpkin and gratitude, in a grid with big letters. Try our free Thanksgiving word search.
- An easy crossword. Kitchen and food themes suit the season. Our free Grandma's Kitchen crossword has clues printed at 16 point.
- Word scrambles. Unscramble harvest words with a hint for each one.
- A coloring page. Pumpkins, leaves and acorns with bold outlines are calming and easy to see.
- Writing thank-you notes. Large-print note cards to family, staff or friends are a lovely way to close the month.
Food and sensory ideas
- Smell and guess. Cinnamon, cloves, orange peel and pumpkin spice in covered cups. Guessing the scent sparks memories.
- Pie tasting. Small samples of two or three pies and a vote on the favorite (check diets first).
- Napkin folding or place cards for the holiday meal, so residents help get the room ready.
- A parade morning. Watch the parade together on Thanksgiving morning with coffee and a simple parade bingo card.
- Veterans Day tie-in. Thanksgiving comes two weeks after Veterans Day on November 11, so it is a natural time to honor veterans in the community with cards or a short program.
Tips for success
Keep printables truly large: at least 16 point type, with plenty of space between grid letters, and print at "Actual size" rather than "Fit to page" so the type stays big. Offer every activity at two levels so no one feels left out. And leave room for talking; the conversation is often the best part.
For a ready-made month, our November activity packet has three word searches, a crossword, a scramble, a 20-question trivia hour, conversation cards, a thankful tree and every answer, all in true large print. For quiet solving, the Large Print Thanksgiving Puzzle Book has more than 400 puzzles. And our free 16-page puzzle pack is a good place to start.
