Fun things for elderly people to do.

[Rachel-Eyes]

Kind of a bizarre thing to request, I know, but my grandmother is 80 and loves doing stuff. Problem is, she has some trouble sometimes getting around, and I think she gets bored easily. Does anyone have any ideas for stationary things that we can do together? We're talking about doing a puzzle sometime soon, and we like to bake and we like to go out to restaurants together. (The latter is getting quite difficult to do these days.)

She recently had a heart catheterization, and soon she is having her gallbladder removed. I'm trying to think of some fun things that the two of us can do together while she recovers to keep her entertained without having to get up and move around so much.

[kaoskat]

Scrapbooking? It can be lots of fun going through old pictures.

[Aadra310]

Card games or dominos? Board games like scrabble or something that you could leave and pick up again on the next visit?  Does she like to read?  I'm trying to find a book club for my grandma but she's blind so the books would have to be available as audiobooks.  If you and your grandma read similar things, you could do your own bookclub!  Or, you could watch documentaries and discuss them. 

You could also get to-go dinners and bring them to her to still kind of do the restaurant thing before her gall bladder comes out.  She might have to eat differently (less fat and other "problem" foods) after that.

My other grandmother LOVES puzzles.  I wish we would have introduced her to them many years ago!

[Rachel-Eyes]

These are all very nice ideas so far... I love the idea of scrapbooking! We love looking through old photos, so maybe I'll suggest this to her. She loves to read, but for her, reading is sort of an alone time thing. I've offered to read aloud books that were printed in fonts too tiny to see, but I think books are things that she just likes to do by herself. Maybe we could try the discussion thing- that's a nice idea. I'll get down some board games though... we have some but I had forgotten all about them!

As far as carryouts go, I've offered to bring food back before but she always insists on actually going. I think she likes just getting out of the house. Maybe we'll try doing our own recipes together once we get a diet plan after the surgery. My grandmother is a very social woman, so I think that as long as she's keeping her mind active and being around other people, she'll be fine. Especially when those people are her family. She loves all of her grandchildren, but she and I have a special closeness that makes the time we spend together all the more precious. When she talks about me she calls me her "buddy." She's just an incredibly special person.

[Sarahlacewing]

My grams loves puzzles but you know more than that she just likes company. She is happiest when we are with her because it means we care about her and also because having something to do makes her day go quicker.

Hmmm...

Does she still have good function in her hands? My grams likes to do artsy things for the church craft fair but she has arthritis so these days not as much. Knitting, crochet, latch hook, embroidery, needle felt (sharp... Not for folks with thin blood or trouble controlling movement), sewing, quilting, beading, writing down favorite stories, reading, painting fingernails.

[Rachel-Eyes]

Oh, I forgot to mention... I have offered to teach her to crochet, but she really hates the idea of doing any sort of needlework. She said someone tried to teach her when she was young but she couldn't do it, so I guess she's just afraid of failure again. I have thought that it would be a fun thing to do together, but she isn't really the creative type, and the last thing I want to do is push it.

Beading might be fun though. She's always been a very classy lady, loves jewelry and lots of bright colors. I'll see what she thinks.

And I certainly agree that the best thing we can offer is our company. So many older folks just get so lonely, you know? I try to keep it fun. The last thing I want is for her to get bored as she has to adjust to getting older every day. I'm sure that doing nothing but listening to me talk about my problems and my ponies might get old. (She does really like my ponies though. Every time I get a new one, the first thing I do is take it to her and show her. Also my Monster High collection lives in my bedroom at her house, and she adores them. It's really cute to see her mess with them or ask questions about them.)

[Malancaiwen]

I don't know how much she can move since you mentionned you don't want something that might need her to move around too much but have you considered "soft" Wii games?
I did some volunteering a long time ago at my city's retirement house and I loved playing bowling with some of them! Also, they can do it while sitting, only need to move the arm and it'll bring some competition between you and her :3

[Starfall]

Scrapbooking? It can be lots of fun going through old pictures.

Better still, get all the new photos lurking on cameras, hard drives and phones, and scrapbook those together! My photos never make it off my screen :-(
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[wystearya]

I don't know how much she can move since you mentionned you don't want something that might need her to move around too much but have you considered "soft" Wii games?
I did some volunteering a long time ago at my city's retirement house and I loved playing bowling with some of them! Also, they can do it while sitting, only need to move the arm and it'll bring some competition between you and her :3

I was thinking about this too.  Some of the easier, no stress games might be a lot of fun for you to do together!  Maybe there are puzzle games..? 

Reading your post makes me miss my Great Grandma.  I never knew either of my Grandmothers, but I did get to know my Great Grandma.  She was so sweet.  I wish I could spend time doing anything with her now!

I think scrapbooking is a good idea too.  Sometimes discount stores have good deals on all the papers and stickers and books. 

[Rachel-Eyes]

Ohhh I didn't even think about the Wii games. I'm not really that into video games, but my brother won one in a contest that he never uses. Maybe I will poke him and see if he still has it.

[Sugar]

Trying to think of what quiet activities I do with my mum (she's in her seventies and getting close to needing a wheelchair)...

She loves her DSiXL!  Got her a 1001 games cartridge, and she loves it to pieces.

Planting.  Mum can't get around to do it much, but she loves her houseplants, and setting up a tray/table to help her repot her beauties or start new ones is always fun.

Crossword/trivia puzzles or games.  Keeps the little grey cells sharp!

Card games (cribbage is a family favourite).

Genealogy is another interest here - maybe you could work it in with the scrapbooking idea?  A family tree with photos would be a cool thing to work on together!

She's also started recording funny little anecdotes from her youth in a book for my son, for when he's older.  It practices her penmanship (she has RA and regular arthritis) and is good exercise for her hands.

Radio programmes!  Reminds my mum of when she was younger and radio was all that was readily available.   I'm sure it's all available on satellite, but we don't have that, though some stations up here run blocks of vintage radio shows - complete with the vintage adverts!

She also thrives on celebrity gossip () for which I have little patience, but I try to keep on top of what's going on (and who's doing who, as she likes to say!) and bring her a couple magazines now & then.  She likes that Woman's World magazine, too - lots of small articles we read together, recipes to try, and inspirational stuff. 

And just plain big hugs for spending time with your grandmother - that's the main thing!

[CottonTALE]

I'd suggest Scrabble. I play it all the time with my grandparents and my mom.

If she will be confined to a mobility device, perhaps go for a push in the park with her on a mildly temperate day? I know that my great grandmother who was confined to a wheelchair for the last years of her life loved it when I took her for walks in the park and she got to see all the little kiddies playing around in the splash pad area (which provided a nice cool breeze off of the water) she'd tell me stories of when she was back in the homeland (Slovakia) and when it was getting later in the day, we would go back to my house and I'd put on some of the silver-screen movies (one of the things we had most in common was our love of movies and the fact that I loved the movies of her time made it even more special.)

[lovebeam]

if she is mobile a nice walk together is fun. you both could volunteer for some charity or something like that as well.

[StoryDreamer]

What if you interviewed her? Record her recollections for future generations and also just memories. You could ask her questions about her childhood, things she's seen, etc. Kind of help her record a memoir.

You could do word searches together too.

[melodys_angel]

Gardening or picture taking/collaging? I know mine loved her garden