Sunday, 18 March 2018

Lets Plan For The Best Easter Ever!

So we have had so many amazing themes to celebrate and one of the biggest and the best ones is coming up and it is Easter.
 In this quick blog I want to suggest lots of cheap,cheerful and meaningful activities you can do with your residents which  cost next too nothing  and suggest how you can use this time of year to raise money for your residents fund and lots more.




Easter Bonnets- 

This is a great one to do with your residents, ask relatives , look in charity shops for old straw hats you can decorate with your residents. You can get lots of hat decoration from the pound shop or use real flowers and greenery from the garden! Old bits of ribbon or scarves.
Have a Easter Bonnet parade and get the manager to judge the best bonnet and have a first, second and third prize and runner up prizes for everyone else.


Hot Cross Buns and Tea -

Make an occasion out of tea time on any of the days from  Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday . Serve hot cross buns at tea time and share a part of the Easter Story each tea time over the Easter period.  (12 hot cross buns £1 in Asda)

Egg Pacing-

This is a lovely activity that your residents would of done when they where children and it is painting boiled eggs. Once painted they can be given as gifts to each other or relatives for easter.
( Iceland 15 eggs £1.60)

Easter Cards- 

Making and giving of Easter cards is a great way to keep in touch with relatives, allow your residents to enjoy an art session. Keep it simple, get printed easter egg pictures that  be coloured and  stuck onto card.

Easter Egg Hunt-

 Simply hide easter eggs around the home and get those who are able bodied and with good mobility to go on an Easter egg hunt and those in their rooms you could give them a quiz with clues of where you would hide eggs and if they guess correctly they win the egg. Ensure everyone is involved. 


Egg Tapping

Egg tapping is an old tradition from the North of England which is a bit like conkers . What people do is tap each others egg and whoevers egg last the longest wins. have an egg tapping contest.


Easter Service

Arrange for the local minister to come and hold a special Easter service or at least communion  for your residents , especially for those who are practising Christians as Easter is the main event for the Christian faith. And it is very important that your residents spiritual needs are met.


Make Easter Baskets-

 Buy or ask for people to donate baskets that can be decorated with ribbon and can be either filled with painted or chocolate easter eggs or have a lovely planted flower arrangement in them, like daffodils from the garden.




How to Raise Money For Easter For Your Residents Fund


Raffle- Do a raffle to raise money. ask for donations from local business, relatives and staff. Sell raffle tickets .

Easter Fete Day- Hold an event with stall holders, special act, bouncy castles, face painting, etc charge a small entry fee and invite the local community to attend your home's fete.

Sell Table/Stall Places- Sell stall places at your event to raie money for your home and help attract people to your event by doing this. get it announced on the radio in their free events sections, most local radios offer this service free.

Do A Sponsored Event- You can do a sponsored walk, bike ride, sit in baked beans in a bath, shave your hair anything to raise money for your home.

Sell Home Made Goods- Get your residents to make items to sell to raise money like cards, key rings, pottery etc.


Hope you find this useful. Lots more resources available in my online community.

I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. www.actasticacademy.com.

Don't Be Alone!
Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup


Sign up  to go on my mailing list and get my FREE  ebook: "10 Top Tips for Engaging and Stimulating Activities With The Elderly" 

Please click below:
http://eepurl.com/Iw9p1

Until next time.

Keep shining brightly and by the way thank you for being you and doing such a brilliant job.

Have a blessed, happy and wonderful Easter .

Love,

Ann Marie x 


Friday, 2 March 2018

Lets Plan March- Activities Ideas For You

I can hardly believe its March already. We have so much to plan, on main theme days ahead in this month and I thought in this blog I would give you all a few suggestions.

 March is a great month with plenty to celebrate and get your residents involved in  and is also a wonderful time of the year as spring is all around us .


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So  here is my activity suggestions for March-

Women's International Day 08/03/18International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.
Take the time to research information on the suffragettes -Emmeline Pankhurst and all that she and many others did for women. 
Create a display and hold discussions  about how they got the right for women to vote and use this as a theme for discussion to talk about how things have changed over the years with your residents.


Take a look at the role of women during WW2- The role of women changed forever during WW2 as they no longer would return to just keeping the home after the war .  Women were called up for war work from March 1941.

Jobs undertaken by women during the war included:
  • mechanics
  • engineers
  • Tank drivers
  • Building ships
  • Working in factories - making bombs and aircraft parts
  • Air raid wardens
  • Driving fire engines
  • Plumbers
  • Ambulance drivers
  • WRVS volunteers
  • Nurses

Use these various roles as an opportunity for women to discuss their respective roles in WW2 and have a great reminiscence session. Research the internet for more information and make an occasion of it and have a special tea organised to mark the occasion.


Mother's Day 11/03/18 - Mothers day is celebrated all over the world., the day to honour what Mothers do for us. It will be celebrated this coming Sunday the 11th of March in the UK. 
Here are some mother day ideas for activities for you -

  1. Cook your residents  favourite meal or get a take away as a treat for them all,  have a fish and chip supper.Arrange  food on nice plates and decorate the table a bit. You could even go all out with candles, flowers, and fancy china!
  2. Throw a casual potluck party where you invite the relatives and staff and everyone brings a dish and spends the afternoon relaxing, chatting, and eating together.
  3. Bake cookies or cook a favourite dish together. Depending on their abilities and interests, they could work side-by-side with you, prep a few simple ingredients, or keep you company and be your taste tester.
  4. Have a Cocktail Hour as  a way to spice up the day in the afternoon. Serve nibbles and make it an occasions for them.
  5. Have a sing-a-long or just sit and enjoy their favourite  tunes together.


Commonwealth Day 12/03/18- This is a day were members of the commonwealth celebrate their link with the UK. 

Activity Idea- Celebrate different countries of your choice who are part of the common wealth and create a virtual tour of each country and do food tasting  sessions to sample the food and make it into a cultural day if you have residents and staff from other nations who could share their knowledge and experiences.



St Patricks Day 17/03/18-Saint Patrick's Day (La Fheile Padraig) is a holiday on the 17th of March, named after Saint Patrick (circa AD 387 - 461).

This is a wonderful opportunity to go Irish for the day and celebrate the culture of Ireland, learn about St Patrick, put up bunting, get a local Irish dance school in and sample some guinness 


Easter 30/03/18- .The New Testament states that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith. The resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness.

Activity Ideas-

Easter Bonnets - Use old straw hats and get the residents to decorate them and even the pound shop sell great decorations in there you can use. Have a competition for the best Easter bonnet hat and also have a parade.

Easter Egg Hunt- Get the residents and their relatives involved in an Easter egg hunt around the home and the in the gardens.

Easter Baskets- Make Easter baskets and fill them with small chocolate eggs to be given out.

Easter Cards- Make  Easter cards that residents can give each  other and to family.

Petting Zoo- Contact local farmers or Petting Zoo that will visit your home to bring in lambs and rabbits etc for a fun afternoon.


 Hope you find this useful. Lots more resources available in my online community.

I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. www.actasticacademy.com.

Don't Be Alone!
Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup


Sign up  to go on my mailing list and get my FREE  ebook: "10 Top Tips for Engaging and Stimulating Activities With The Elderly" 

Please click below:
http://eepurl.com/Iw9p1

Until next time.

Keep shining brightly and by the way thank you for being you and doing such a brilliant job.

Love,

Ann Marie x