Easter is a great time to reconnect with loved ones, share food and sweets, play games, and have fun.
It’s also one of our favourite holidays here at Fulford. We get to welcome springtime with bright decorations, baked goods, and wholesome activities for our residents.
With that in mind, we’re sharing our experience with six things you can do with older family members during the Easter break.
Fun springtime activities for older people and their families
1. Host an Easter egg hunt
We just love to throw open the doors of the care home and welcome our residents’ families for an “eggciting” Easter egg hunt every year.
A lovely reminder of childhood, searching for colourful eggs (chocolate or hollow plastic eggs with treats inside them) around the home and garden encourages movement and teamwork, and sparks joy.
Just remember to make your hiding places accessible to all participants, young and old.
Looking for ideas for how to throw an Easter egg hunt? Check out this BBC guide.
2. Get crafty with homemade Easter baskets
Another staple of the Easter holidays, the humble basket can be dressed up and decorated with a variety of crafty additions, sweets, and toys.
And while you can buy a plain basket and add your own spin, it’s more fun to make the basket from scratch. All you need is some colourful cardstock, glue, scissors, and ribbon. They can make a terrific gift for grandkids.
Check out this tutorial for easy Easter basket designs.
3. Make some bright and beautiful Easter cards
We love hosting craft-making activities in the home, and one of the most popular is our Easter card-making events. It’s a chance for our residents to get creative, share ideas, swap cards with one another, or send them to friends and family.
Again, all you’ll need is colourful card and paper, pens, pencils, stickers, scissors, and a few other crafty items. Perhaps share some templates to provide inspiration (or make a few of your own for them to copy).
Here are 25 Easter card design ideas to help you get started.
4. Stop and smell the flowers
One of the best parts of the Easter holidays is that it often coincides with the weather getting better and the flowers bursting into full bloom.
If you can, take full advantage of the fresh spring air by visiting a local botanical garden. Enjoy the open green space, the unusual plants and flowers, and the engaging nature trails. It’s also a chance to walk off that Easter chocolate!
Local to Fulford? We highly recommend the York Museum Gardens.
5. Visit a local farm or petting zoo
It’s not just flowers blooming into life when spring has sprung. Many local farms welcome baby lambs, chicks and bunnies at this time of year, and some will even let you visit and interact with their newest arrivals.
Meanwhile, here at Fulford, we have live eggs arriving in May and will watch chicks hatch in the lounge with our residents.
Beetle Bank Farm in Murton, York, hosts an Easter Eggstravaganza with baby animals and activities for all the family.
6. Enjoy a spring afternoon tea
Who doesn’t love a hot cross bun and a cuppa?
A springtime afternoon tea is a wonderful opportunity for friends and family to get together, decorate with bunting, balloons, and seasonal flowers, and serve up delicious sweet and savoury treats.
That’s why we love hosting one each year. It’s a chance for our staff to engage with our residents and strengthen their relationships, while also enjoying the festive atmosphere (and yummy food).
Ready to host your own afternoon tea? Check out these tasty Easter cupcake recipes.
Happy Easter, from all of us here at Fulford Nursing Home!
There you have it. Six wholesome Easter activities for older people and their families. We hope you enjoy this special time of year.
Want to learn more about the social activities programmes here at Fulford? Contact us at 01904 654 269.