• Display a white board in the dining room listing the day’s activities
• Publish a monthly calendar and distribute it to both residents and family members at the beginning of the month
• Never offer less than three activities per day (four is ideal)
• Plan at least one family event per month, preferably on a weekend
• Plan at least one trip out of the building every month (i.e., shopping, movie, tour of Christmas lights)
• Send out press releases to announce special events that would be of interest to the community.

Make every effort to have a wide variety of activities. Live music is always popular, but keep in mind that residents may have very different tastes. Seek frequent feedback from residents about their level of satisfaction with your activity offerings. You can contain costs by seeking volunteers to provide music or time for other activities. The following activities are usually popular with residents:

• Invite local high school girls (i.e., resident’s granddaughter) to paint fingernails
• Crafts
• Drawing and art lessons
• Sewing clubs
• Daily exercise group (i.e., throw beach balls around the circle)
• Walking club
• Lunch with the Director (take a few residents at a time out for lunch)
• Tea with the Director (invite all residents to enjoy tea and conversation with the Director)
• Intergenerational activities with local schools and preschools
• Ask school bands, choirs, and drill teams to perform for residents
• Host a fashion show
• Offer root beer floats, banana splits, homemade doughnuts, etc., to break up the afternoon
• Invite preschoolers over to cut out and decorate sugar cookies
• Dip pretzels and crackers in chocolate and white bark
• Invite citizens who have taken an exotic trip to show slides and talk about their trip (consider making an authentic meal from the country they visited)
• Invite local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in to talk about their projects with residents
• Organize card and board games (i.e., Scrabble or poker tournament)
• Theme parties (i.e., holidays, State Fair party)
• Trivia (and other games that stimulate mental activity)
• Current events (choose interesting items from the daily newspaper or magazines)
• Popcorn & a movie night
• Live bands and musicians
• Sing-along (purchase music tapes that include songs from the residents’ era.)