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Bringing joy to people living with dementia

Festive Activity Guide

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Choosing the Right Activity

Level 4 - Planned Able to carry out activities and work towards completing that activity, with support needed only if a problem arises.

Level 3 - Exploratory Able to carry out activities following simple instructions, that are very familiar in well-known surroundings.

Level 2 - Sensory Able to engage with activities that prompt a response because of multi-sensory stimulation.

Level 1 - Reflex Able to engage with another person or an object when direct sensory stimulation is provided to raise the person’s self-awareness.

Type of Activities:

Read & Write

Media

Trips Out

Music

Event

Arts & Crafts

Games

Reminiscence

Puzzles & Quizzes

I’ve 10 mins

Discussion

Food

I’ve 20 mins

Movement

Sensory

I’ve 60+ mins

In the Garden

Activity Levels by Jackie Pool:

Each activity idea in this guide has been categorised to identify the type of activity and who the activity is best for to support you in finding the right activity, for the right person/group and planning activity rotas.

Daily Tasks

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Christmas Gift Race Instructions

What You’ll Need

• A variety of Christmas music

• Wrapped up gifts in different sized boxes and shapes to disguise the gift inside (small gifts like soap, chocolate bar or pack of tissues work well)

• 1 x large candy cane or baton to pass around

• Gather the group in a circle

• Have ready as many wrapped gifts as people in the group

• Place the presents beside the person so they know that it is theirs – for the start of the game at least

• Give one person a candy cane/baton and explain the rules to the group. Ensure they’re aware that when the music starts, they are to pass the cane/baton around clockwise

• Start the music and pass the cane/baton

• Stop the music randomly and whoever has the cane/baton can then choose to swap their present with someone else

• Once they have swapped, continue the music and start passing the baton again

• Keep going for as long as the group is happy to

• When the game has finished each person gets to keep the prize that they have, and either be really happy to receive a bar of soap or not so pleased

• To make it more interesting why not try adding a different element to the game. When the music stops, the person holding the baton will have to swap with a person who is, for example, wearing glasses, or wearing slippers, or has curly hair. Have a set of choices prepared to use before the game begins

This is a simple but fun-filled party game which can become quite competitive! A great game to play as a group in a care home or even at home with close friends and family around. To make sure the activity is moderately challenging, try to disguise the gifts so it is more difficult to distinguish what is in each. However, some may take a fancy to a certain gift and always try to get this back therefore sure to be a recipe for hours of fun.

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Festive Reminiscence and Sensory Session

Instructions

What You’ll Need

• Christmas carol lyric sheets

• Mistletoe (real or artificial)

• Christmas poems

• A Christmas stocking (filled with items such as walnuts, satsumas and socks)

• Christmas crackers

• Fake snow

• Poinsettia

• Sticks or jar of cinnamon & jar of mixed spice

• Pine scent

• Mulled wine (non-alcoholic or alcoholic)

• Mince pies & chocolates (make sure to have some soft centres)

• Christmas cards and pens

• Various traditional Christmas decorations (tinsel, baubles, fairy, star and ribbons)

• This activity will work best with a group of 4-8 people or alternatively either one to one or with families and friends.

• Prior to the session starting you will need to prepare a plan to ensure the activity will flow as smoothly as possible.

• We have included a sample session, but feel free to create your own or adapt the one below to suit your group specifically.

TOP TIP - If the person/group shows particular enjoyment of a certain part of the session, don’t feel you need to cut it short in order to move on to the next section. The important thing is that people are enjoying themselves and are allowed time to participate in each activity they wish to be involved in.

This Christmas activity will take a little longer to prepare, however the range of different elements involved will mean that there is something for everyone to enjoy. The extra work will definitely be worth it. Designed to trigger memories and spark conversation, this activity focusses on all the things we love about Christmas by using the smells, sounds and sights and treats that you get at this festive time of year.

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Sample Session

• Start with a song, ‘Jingle Bells’ is a great one as it is uplifting and one that most people will know (however still fix large prints up or hand out song sheets to help if needed)

• Firstly, ask the group/person how they would decorate their home for Christmas. Meanwhile, you can pass around a box with some decorations in and encourage everyone to feel the shapes and textures inside.

• Take around the pine scent for each person to smell and enjoy the aroma and ask everyone to share their own memories which are conjured up with the group/family. They could also, just enjoy the smell and the memories it brings back for themselves.

• Moving onto poems, ‘The Mistletoe’ by Walter de la Mare is a nice festive one and you can pass out the mistletoe for people to look at and feel while the poem is read.

• Time to reminisce about the Christmas dinner: encourage everyone to share memories of what they enjoyed and traditions they may have had in the past.

• One tradition is to have crackers at the table. Why not grab some and pull them with each other then tell the daft jokes inside and put on the paper hat.

• Stop for a small break and share around some mulled wine and mince pies with the group.

• Now time to pass round a stocking which will be filled with a few goodies. Get everyone to have a feel of the stocking and see if they can guess what is inside.

• Then, spend some time encouraging the group/person to share memories of presents they would have got in their younger years.

• Take the vibrant red coloured poinsettia and show this around to each person, encouraging them to feel the petals and leaves and admire the glorious colour.

• Next, pass around some cinnamon or mixed spice for everyone to smell. Encourage each person to share what memories this scent evokes or simply spend time enjoying the aroma.

• Who doesn’t love receiving a Christmas card? A great opportunity to show around some traditional Christmas cards to everyone. It may also be a nice idea to take a pen and write a card to send to a loved one or a friend.

• Next, take the fake snow (in a bowl) and pass around, this snow has a real feel of being cold and soft and will feel lovely to touch.

• Now to mix things up, time for another poem. Try ‘The Band of Carollers’ by L.A.France

• Spend some time encouraging the group/person to reminisce about Christmas carolling and who used to take part in this activity during the festive month.

• Sing the popular Christmas song ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’ and carry on with other songs if you wish.

• Finish off the session by passing around the tin of chocolates and ask the group to choose their favourite centre.

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Quick Christmas ActivitiesStuck for some ideas? Try out one or all of these festive themed quick activities.

1. Christmas Sing-a-long Get the song sheet out for some rousing ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Frosty The Snowman’. Choose a mix of carols along with popular songs.

2. Christmas Free Space Have a room set aside that is Christmas free that can be dedicated for those who would like to opt out of any activity that is too loud or busy for them. This can be formed into a more relaxed environment with other quiet activities on offer instead.

3. Candy Cane Hunt Hide candy canes around the home (aim to hide in places that can be seen from a seated position or moving around) and encourage people to find and collect as many as they can. Then have a small prize for the winner who finds the most!

4. Guess What’s in the Stocking. Place a present in the stocking and encourage each person to feel the stocking and see if they can guess what is inside. (Try bars of soap, satsuma, teddy bear or a hair brush).

5. Christmas Stories Why not find some festive themed stories to read aloud and enjoy? ‘The Night before Christmas’ by Clement Clarke Moore always proves a popular one.

6. Christmas Poems Have a poetry session and read some Christmas poems together, such as ‘At Christmas Time’ (author unknown) or ‘Christmas Long Ago’ by Jo Geis.

7. Decorate a Tree Who says you need only one tree? Why not have various colours and styles and decorate in different ways. Encourage everyone to get creative and place the baubles and tinsel in the position of their choice.

8. Decorate the Garden Wrap up warm and head into the garden. Take a box of baubles and decorate the trees and bushes outside with lots of colour and sparkle to add a Christmas feel top the space.

9. Quick Mince Pies Grab the ready roll pastry and jar of mincemeat and make some quick mince pies with your group. Bake for 15-20 minutes on 220°c/gas 7.

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10. Make Christmas Tags Grab some old Christmas cards from last year and use some serrated scissors and cut into squares or circles. Use a hole punch and add ribbon to finish off and they can be used for Christmas presents this year.

11. Name That Christmas Song Have a playlist of Christmas songs and carols, play the opening tune of the song then stop it a few seconds in and see who can guess the song. This may result in lots of impromptu singing, a great way to bring everyone together and spread festive cheer!

12. Cracking Jokes Grab a cheesy joke book and lots of chuckles and groans will be sure to follow!

13. Festive Movie Time With all the fun filled activities going on everyone will benefit from a break to sit back and relax. Grab the popcorn or marshmallows and enjoy a festive film.

14. Christmas Colouring Grab some templates online or draw some Christmas shapes, such as Christmas puddings, stockings or a robin and spend time colouring in. Once finished they can be displayed around the home and add to the decorations. Choose from our Life In Colours Book.

Life in colours

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Festive Cheese & Wine Afternoon/Evening

Instructions

What You’ll Need

• Selection of cheeses

• Crackers

• Soft fruits

• Selection of wines

• Soft drinks

• Mince pies

• Christmas music or entertainer/singer

Social events like this are so important as they encourage families and friends to spend quality time with their loved ones in a relaxed and fun way. Often, visits can be quite stressful, as people find keeping up conversation hard - especially if the person living with dementia has difficulty with communicating. Organising family/group events can help with this as the activities can be observed, enjoyed and commentated on in a more relaxed way. This is far more productive than trying to force longer conversations.

Do some research and serve wines with complimentary cheeses (some suggestions below) however all various pairings are sure to be enjoyed too.

Sauvignon Blanc with Goats CheeseChardonnay with Camembert or BrieMerlot paired with a strong Cheddar or Manchego Port with StiltonOr Mulled Wine with Wensleydale with Cranberries.

This event could be arranged with friends and family at home or for an event in a residential home too. At this busy time of year, it will be nice to invite family and friends to spend a more relaxed festive afternoon or evening with their loved ones and enjoy some delicious cheese and wine.

Have a selection of cheeses, including some soft cheeses too, and a mix of red, white and sparkling wines. Have some non-alcoholic wines and sparkling soft drinks available as well.

Have a variety of crackers available, as some may prefer to eat their cheese with these. You could also add a few grapes and soft melon to the mix as well. Have a few mince pies on offer too.

You could organise an entertainer for the event. Be sure to choose someone who will complement the event well. A piano player is a good choice, playing a mix of relaxed and some upbeat festive and other music while people are enjoying the food and drink. If you opt for a singer, go for a Jazz singer, as this genre has a more relaxing tone to the sound.

As everyone arrives, perhaps start off with a small glass sparkling wine and then go around and take requests for the wine. Suggest they come and help themselves to the cheese. (you can label the cheeses with what wine they go best with; this way people can make a choice about what they would like to try).

The event will then need very little else to do but ensure everyone is enjoying the food and drink and engaging with someone. If this event is in a care home, there may be some people who have not had family and friends visit for the occasion. Take time to sit with them and engage in conversation if they wish or ensure that they are sat with a group of other people they may be familiar with.

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Christmas Quiz

1. Which Christmas Carol includes the Lyrics ‘all seated on the ground, the angel of the Lord came down and glory shone around?’ While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night

2. Which country is Eggnog said to have originated from? England (East Anglia)

3. Which famous scientist born on Christmas Day was the first scientist to be buried in Westminster Abbey? Sir Issac Newton

4. What is the name of the little boy in the film ‘The Snowman’ by Raymond Briggs? James

5. Which English author wrote ‘A Christmas Carol?’ Charles Dickens

6. In the Nativity story, which town had Mary & Joseph travelled from before arriving in Bethlehem? Nazareth

7. Which 3-dimensional cubed shape puzzle was the most popular Christmas gift in 1980? Rubik’s Cube

8. Which spirit based sauce is traditionally poured over Christmas pudding? Brandy Sauce

9. In the Christmas song ‘Jingle Bells’ how many horses pulled the sleigh? One

10. What song by Sir Cliff Richard was Christmas number one in 1988? Mistletoe and Wine

Quizzes are a great activity to encourage people to use their cognitive skills in a fun way. This group activity can be competitive at times, although people should not worry if they get questions wrong. Not everyone will always know the answer to every question, sometimes it is just fun to try and guess the answers and if not right, people will have the opportunity to learn something they did not previously know. Try out our Christmas themed quiz as a more relaxed activity during the season. There are some suggestions below.

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11. What did My True Love Bring to Me on the 5th day of Christmas? Five Gold Rings

12. Which British Monarch gave the first ever Royal Christmas broadcast on Christmas Day 1932? King George V

13. In which German city would you find the shrine of the ‘Three Kings’? Cologne

14. Which fictional land from a CS Lewis Novel, never has a Christmas but it is always winter? Narnia

15. Which country is said to export the most Christmas trees? Denmark

16. What is the name given to Father Christmas in France? Pierre Noel

17. Which sauce is traditionally served with Turkey at Christmas? Cranberry

18. ‘Bearing gifts, we traverse afar’ are words taken from which Christmas Carol? We Three Kings

19. What/who are wassailers? Carol Singers

20. Who donates a Christmas tree to be displayed in Trafalgar Square each year? Norway

21. What were the names of Jesus’ parents in the Nativity story? Mary and Joseph

22. What did ‘my true love bring to me on the 3rd day of Christmas?’ Three French Hens

23. In which year did the Post Office first introduce Christmas stamps for postage? 1966

24. What is Scrooge’s first name? Ebenezer

25. Who discovered Christmas Island? Captain Cook in 1777

26. How does Good King Wenceslas like his pizza? Deep and Crisp and Even

27. How many presents were given in total in the ‘12 days of Christmas’ song? 78

28. What is the second line of the song ‘I’m dreaming of a White Christmas’? ‘Just like the ones I used to know’.

29. What is considered lucky if you find this in your Christmas Pudding? Sixpence

30. What colours are the berries of the mistletoe plant? White

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