19 Fun & Engaging Care Home Activities

Group activities in care homes are a fantastic way for people with dementia to socialise with each other, giving them an opportunity to talk, reminisce and share experiences, which will have a huge impact on their emotional wellbeing.

Here are some ideas:

1. Sing Along

Create a playlist of your care home residents’ favourite songs and encourage them to sing along to the music. You can print off large lyric sheets to help with the singing.

Why not try our dementia-friendly Radio & Music Player as a way for residents to play their favourite music?

Individuals with dementia may enjoy our free dementia-friendly singing activities. Simply sign up to get free access:

• Sing Your Heart Out - Encourage residents to sing favourite songs together.
• Sing-A-Song Title - Guess classic song titles from sung snippets.
  
  
  

2. Gardening

There's an added benefit when care home activity ideas also involve the outdoors. It's a great way to get fresh air while stimulating the senses.

Gardening doesn't need physical strength. So, you can do basic tasks such as raking and watering while easily tending to flowers or herbs.

Encourage care home residents to get involved in gardening, helping each other plant seeds and taking pride in watching their garden flourish as the year progresses.

Browse our free dementia-friendly gardening activities here. Simply sign up for free access.

If getting out and about in the garden is too tricky for some residents, bring the outdoors inside with this vibrant Aquapaints kit.

3. Walking

Gentle walking groups around a garden or local park encourage light exercise and give people with dementia at the care home an opportunity to spend time together. Try playing a game of “What can you see?” to spark conversation.

Here are some dementia-friendly walking activities. Simply sign up for free access:

• Just Strolling Along - Take gentle, mindful walks to spark conversation.
• The Glorious Outdoors - Explore nature together through outdoor observations and memories.
  
  
  

4. Lawn Skittles

Set up garden skittles, dividing care home residents into two teams and encouraging gentle competition. Make sure to celebrate every player to promote confidence and encourage engagement. This activity is perfect for summer days and garden parties.

For more dementia-friendly outdoor games, why not explore our free Garden Games activity? Simply sign up for free access.

5. Tea Dance

Organise a tea dance for the care home residents to enjoy dancing with each other to their favourite songs. Encourage residents with mobility issues to bop along from their seats.

Alternatively, you could arrange a dementia-friendly chair dancing activity. Follow our free chair dancing activity for guidance. Simply sign up for free access.

6. Art & Crafting Session

7. Bingo

Bingo is a great activity to run for a large group. There are specialised, dementia-friendly bingo games, such as Musical Bingo, which encourages cognitive function and social participation by getting participants to match familiar sounds to images of instruments.

Alternatively, why not try our free Card Bingo activity! Simply sign up for free access.

8. Book Club

Start a book club with your care home residents. In a quiet room, read a book aloud to the group, allowing people to discuss the story with one another and share their opinions. Some may just enjoy listening in and feeling part of a social group. Welcome suggestions from residents about which book to read next.

For a dementia-friendly option, why not try out our free For the Love of Books activity? Participants can share favourite stories, discuss beloved authors, listen to readings, browse familiar books, and reminisce about memories sparked by books and characters they have loved. Simply sign up for free access.

9. Jigsaw

Doing a jigsaw puzzle in a group is a fun way to interact, spending time helping each other to assemble the pieces. Dementia-friendly puzzles have been specifically designed for all abilities, and the images chosen help spark reminiscence and conversation. Take, for example, this Puppy Playtime Puzzle, which is ideal for those in the mid-late stages of dementia who love dogs.

Browse our collection of free dementia-friendly puzzles and quizzes here. Simply sign up for free access.

10. Baking

Cooking and baking classes are easy care home activities that engage the senses. They smell the delicious food, touch and sort the ingredients, and taste their finished product with pride.

In small groups, encourage care home residents to make a cake together. Each person can take on a task, e.g. cracking the eggs, mixing the batter, or preparing the fruit decoration. Once the cake has been cooked, everyone can enjoy the end result with a cup of tea.

For inspiration, why not try baking one of our dementia-friendly recipes? Simply sign up for free access:

• Tasty Madeleines
• Fabulous Fairy Cakes
• Jam Tarts
  
  
  

11. Sensory Session

Introduce a series of smells to the care home residents, asking them to discuss what each scent makes them think about. This activity will help encourage reminiscence and discussion within the group and among people with dementia. 

You may find our bank of free sensory activities for people with dementia helpful. Simply sign up for free access.

Some options include:

• Spring in a Jar - spark memories of spring!
• Walk Back Through Time with Scents - use familiar scents to evoke memories.
• Tales From the Toolbox - explore old tools and objects from the past to trigger memories.
  
  
  

12. Meditation

Group meditation is a fantastic care home activity to help residents unwind and relax. In a quiet, dimly-lit room, play some gentle music and read a guided meditation (these can be found online) or play a YouTube meditation for the residents to follow.

Alternatively, follow our free dementia-friendly Soothing Meditation activity. Simply sign up for free access.

13. Photo Sharing

In a group, ask each care home resident to bring a picture of a loved one or a memorable event in their life. In turn, each person shows the picture to the group and discusses their loved one/special event.

For inspiration, why not explore our free dementia-friendly reminiscence activities? Simply sign up for free access.

14. Film Night

Gather care home residents in a room and play a much-loved film for everyone to enjoy. Make it a special occasion by providing delicious snacks and drinks.

Think outside the box and showcase live concerts, musicals, ballets and operas, as well as films, to keep it fresh and appealing for all residents.

Get ideas from our free dementia-friendly Movie Time activity. Simply sign up for free access.

15. Washing Up

Ask a group of care home residents to help with the washing up, allowing them to take turns to wash, dry and put away the items. People will enjoy feeling useful and feel pride once the task is complete.

Our free dementia-friendly Scub-a-dub-dub activity is a great way to feel productive and also enjoy the sensory stimulation of completing daily tasks. Simply sign up for free access.

16. Discussion Group

Take the daily newspaper and pick out an article, read this to the care home residents and then they can discuss this and maybe have a debate about it, if they wish.

Bigger groups might enjoy playing All About Us, a conversation board game that allows players to explore their personal stories from childhood to the present. It’s a fun activity for visiting families and friends to enjoy with their loved ones, too.

Alternatively, why not explore our free dementia-friendly discussion activities here? Simply sign up for free access.

17. Knitting Circle

Quilt making, crocheting, and knitting are great sensory group activities for residents in care homes to enjoy. Working with your hands is both mental and physical therapy. Also, it's an excellent opportunity to mingle socially with people of similar interests.

To help make the experience more meaningful, see if you can participate in helping a local charity that needs blankets for babies or those in need.

Care home activities coordinators may also consider setting up a weekly Women's Hour group to encourage group projects such as this.

18. Spa Day

Invite a local salon to put on a spa day for residents. Getting hair washed, nails painted or experiencing a massage can make people feel pampered and appreciated. Letting people smell essential oils and playing relaxing music will help create a soothing ambience.

Explore our free dementia-friendly Ladies Spa Day activity for inspiration on how to do this! Simply sign up for free access.

19. Encourage Game Play

Playing games or cards can be a wonderful way to have fun and unwind. Card games like bridge are simple and fun to play. Scrabble and dominoes are also suitable for cognition and hand-eye coordination. At the same time, classic board games like Snakes and Ladders and Ludo are bound to bring out the competitive streak in residents.

Check out our dementia-friendly games range here.

Alternatively, explore our free dementia-friendly game ideas here.

Looking for more care home activity ideas? Relish can help!

At Relish, we’ve developed a wealth of products and activities designed specifically for people living with dementia in care homes. Backed by research, our products aim to promote wellbeing and spark joy for people with dementia. Browse our range of dementia-friendly care home products and free dementia activities today.

If you work in a care home, you may consider improving resident orientation by placing dementia-friendly day clocks in communal areas, providing constant temporal awareness in a simplified format. Alternatively, task reminder clocks can provide gentle alerts for activities, meals, and medication times. 

And don't forget, family members can support care home engagement by providing dementia gifts that encourage activity tailored to their loved one’s interests and abilities.