Here is a huge list of Christmas holiday activities that you and your loved one with dementia can do together. Adaptations may be necessary to ensure your loved one has success.
Are you looking for activities that you and your loved one with dementia can do during the Christmas holiday season? I have gathered over 74 activities that you can do together during the holidays. I bet you’ll be able to find something to do from this list.
Yes, some of these may indicate they are activities for preschoolers. If you’re a caregiver of your loved one with memory issues, a preschool activity may be just the right skill level. For others it may be too easy. You can always adapt them to fit the skill level of your loved one. There are a lot of activities that involve hot glue guns so supervision will be needed.
what christmas activities are good for seniors with dementia?
Think about your loved one. What era did they grow up in? What activities did they do at that time in their life? That may help direct you towards what they might enjoy.
There’s always these old standbys:
Cut out paper snowflakes
Paper chain garlands
String popcorn
Decorate cookies with sprinkles and icing
Check out Michaels, Amazon or your local craft store for wooden items that can be painted such as bird houses or little chests like these from Hobby Lobby.
But let’s go beyond those ideas……
Check out this cute Christmas card activity in this post. I think this would look great with either buttons or small pom poms.
Washi Tape
Cookie Cutter Ornaments
Mitten Ornaments
Wooden Tags
Who knew that adding colorful, fun tape to something could be so satisfying! Check out these colorful choices for Washi Tape below and check your local dollar stores as well. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Monogrammed Ornaments
Christmas Tree
Ball Ornaments
For these, I would stick with plastic ball ornaments rather than using glass ones.
Colour Themed
Snowman Ornaments
Marble Paint
Pom Poms
Neon Puffy Paint
Personalized
Melted Crayon
Reindeer
Fabric
Additional ideas – stuff the ball ornaments with narrow strips of fabric ribbon or colored tinsel.
Nail Polish
Marbled look
Marbled variation
Doily
Hoop
Decorated
Terra Cotta Pots
Polka Dot
Variety
OMG! This round-up has a bunch of pots that are so stinkin’ cute. Such variety but especially check out #6 and #16.
A Few More
Christmas Tree
felt ornaments
Santa
Christmas Tree
Vintage Baubles
Snowman
Variety
Check out this post, DIY Festive Felt Ornaments from The Spruce Crafts for a variety of felt ornaments. Take a look at #5, the intricately twisting ornament.
toilet paper tubes
How about making a cute Santa using toilet paper rolls!
Twig/stick ornaments
Not only do you have an activity your loved one can create but you can also get them outside for some exercise when you go out picking up sticks! A 2-for-1 deal!
Clay Ornaments
One note of caution with this type of ornament –> make sure your loved one doesn’t try to eat the dough/clay.
popsicle stick ornaments
Rustic Planked
Snowman Hat
Mini Pallet Signs
Sled
Santa
Wood Ornaments
Not to be confused with popsicle sticks or twigs, this category refers mainly to the round slices of wood you can purchase or cut yourself and wood beads.
Rustic Wood
Painted
Wood House
Small Wood Balls
Wood Blocks
Ideas for men
In my opinion, most of these activities seem to be more feminine things. Most “manly” DIY projects seem to involve nailing, sawing and building.
It was hard to find activities that I thought men would like that didn’t involve nails and tools. Some of these are more gift ideas rather than creating Christmas decorations.
Make a Clock from a Book
Comic Book Coasters
Doormat
Square Pots
Yarn Wrapped Flower Pot
Flannel Trees
Yard Dice
Stacked Wood Pieces
Yarn ornaments
Yarn Wrapped
Wrapped Cardboard
Wrapped Reindeer
Yarn Ball Ornaments
Yarn Wrapped Cardboard Initials
clothespins
Snowflake
Reindeer
Snowman
Rudolph Variation
odds and ends
Beads
Large Metal Can
Bells
So….are the ideas running wild in your head now that you’ve seen a few of these? I’ve included a few links to some craft items below from Amazon. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
wire
Personalized
Star
paper
Hanging Ornament with Tassel
Cone Tree
Stars
(Update – As of October 19, 2023, the above link does not work so it has been removed.)
A Bunch of Other Paper Ideas
burlap
Frames
Ornament
More Burlap Projects
I-Spy ornaments
Let your imagination run wild with this group when thinking of things to put in the ornament to search for. If your loved one with dementia loved gardening, look for some garden tool miniatures. Sports lover? Look for those miniatures. Look for dollhouse miniatures. Hobby Lobby is a good place to look for these items. Also check out buttons.
And there you have it. Surely you’ll be able to find something in this list that your loved one might like to do during the Christmas holiday season.
I chose these activities by thinking about my mom (more on her here) and what she would have been capable of. Early on in her dementia journey some of these would have been too easy and she probably would have pooh poohed them. For someone who was so creative and could sit and draw things, towards the end I couldn’t even get her to color a simple picture. There were too many cognitive steps involved and she just couldn’t do it.
You be the judge. If there’s an activity you think your loved one might like, go for it, just adapt it as needed.