Best Arts & Craft ideas for Senior Citizens

With age surely does come wisdom, but for most of the senior citizens, those brink years are accompanied by many physical and mental limitations. But these should not deter them from being creative enough. Always remember — rest of your life should be the best of your life. The key is not to limit your imagination.

Many seniors are discovering the rewards of finding a new hobby or a pleasurable crafting in their retirement years. For seniors living in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, making crafts brings people together and helps them to develop a sense of belonging and friendship. Crafting helps to keep the mind sharp and stimulated. Aging does make it difficult for some seniors to enjoy certain crafting, but by slightly adapting the craft, most senior citizens would certainly enjoy a favorite pastime.

This article focuses on best creative and easy craft ideas for senior citizen:

Polymer Clay Crafts:

Projects that involve working with polymer clay are an easy and fun craft for seniors and even those with limited dexterity can generally mold the clay without difficulty. While working and softening with the pliable clay, they also exercise their hands and fingers and create useful or decorative objects like Holiday ornaments, Pencil holders, Bendable bookmarks, Beads, Vases, Picture frames, Bowls. Browse internet for many great polymer clay craft ideas, as well as crafting supplies, products and kits for sale.

Beading:

Making or designing their beads can be a very rewarding experience. Seniors can keep it simple or make as complex as they wish. Provide them with plain wooden beads of various sizes and shapes, and stain or paint for the crafters to create their own colors and designs before they begin beading more complex necklaces or bracelets.

Fabric crafts:

There are some very easy patterns for making simple gifts out of fabric that can be utilized by senior citizens. Design a notebook or journal covers and carry bags or purses that can be made out of variety of fabrics are fun gifts for staff, family friends, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Use a thicker hook or needle and opt for a heavier gauge yarn, if you love to crochet or knit but are having difficulty in holding the tools.

Photography:

Photography is a wonderful art for seniors and knowing how to incorporate them into crafts is even more fun. It also provides ready resource material to create other crafts for those who are not interested on photography. They can enjoy making collage, scrapbook, photo magnets and photo crafts using cut out pictures of magazines.

Painting:

One-stroke painting is one of the easiest, most relaxing and creative past time for many seniors. It is a technique in which the artist loads the paintbrush with more than one color at a time to create a three-dimensional effect with each simple brush stroke. It works well for decorative crafts such as painting mailboxes, plates and beautiful highlights for murals and easel work.

Mosaics:

Many seniors living in assisted living facilities find mosaic creation as a very stimulating and interesting pastime.

Mosaic is the process of creating images by assembling small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other material and depending upon their level of dexterity as well as their eyesight, they can work with small or large pieces which can be a planned design or simply be a colorful abstract. Mosaic project includes flowerpots, picture frames, mirror frames.

Gift Baskets:

Making a gift basket is easy and they make very satisfying senior activity ideas. These can be made individually or done in groups such as for silent auctions, fund raising or a group gift such as birthday, anniversary. Perfect for tucking in a keepsake, you can get many donated items if your baskets are for a fund raiser; or have other bring in items from home.

Food and snack making: Everyone loves snacking and senior activity ideas with making food are really popular. Either individually or in a group, they’re really easy and are fun to do, then eat.

These can be combined with other senior activity ideas, such as having a little party, or playing a game, afterwards.

We do sincerely hope that these easy to follow art and craft ideas would fulfill every senior’s life with creativity and wish your life full of pleasurable crafting.