Dec 19: Top Senior Activities

December 19, 2024

What are our older folks getting up to these days?

We continually read and hear that there are more seniors than ever, living healthier and longer.

That’s great, but what are all these folks up to with their free time? Save with SPP decided to try and find out.

The Age Space blog has a list of 50 activities! Here’s a small sampling.

Crafts. “Wreaths aren’t just for Christmas,” the blog post states. “You can make some beautifully creative decorations for your home all year round.”

Another pastime – getting back into cooking. “Dig out an old recipe book or watch a cooking show and choose a meal you’ve never made before. The more unusual the meal, the better!”

Farther down the list is an interesting one – the virtual coffee club. “Have a weekly coffee morning video call with your friends. This can be even more fun if you bake the day before, and you can have a little treat with your coffee – and share the recipe!”

The PrimeCarers website offers up a few more.

The first – putting on walking shoes. “Walking is a simple but helpful way for elderly parents to stay active. It makes their hearts healthier, muscles stronger, and bodies more flexible.” There are often walking trails and parks nearby, the article encourages.

Gardening, the site suggests, helps older folks “enjoy nature… it can help improve their hand skills and give them a sense of achievement as they care for plants and watch them grow.”

Another classic activity is birdwatching, the site notes. “Help (seniors) set up a bird feeder in their garden or take them to local parks or nature reserves. Birdwatching can encourage them to spend time outside, enjoy nature, and sharpen their observation skills,” the site adds.

The Great Senior Years blog says group exercise classes “are an excellent way for seniors to stay active and maintain their fitness levels.” A side benefit, the blog adds, is that the classes also provide “a social and enjoyable experience.” Options include yoga class, which benefits flexibility, balance and strength, and for older seniors, chair exercise.

Our mother-in-law, now 92, takes part weekly in the next activity suggested by the blog, Wii sports. Her specialty is bowling, and she often gets the high score in this interactive, “motion sensitive” video game that allows seniors “to participate in sports they may have enjoyed earlier in life or (to) even try new ones.”

A final suggestion from the blog is art class. “Art classes provide a wonderful opportunity for seniors to explore their creativity, develop new skills, and foster a sense of connection with others. Engaging in artistic activities has been shown to have numerous benefits for the elderly, including improved cognitive function, reduced stress levels, and enhanced emotional well-being. Whether it’s painting, drawing, sculpture, or ceramics, art classes offer a diverse range of mediums for seniors to express themselves and engage in a fulfilling hobby,” the blog concludes.

Our circle of seniors do many of these activities, as well as dancing (line and square), playing bridge, darts and pool, cycling, singing groups, working out at the gym, travelling and cruising, and much more. Once you join the ranks of the retired you will wonder, as they say, how you ever squeezed in the time to actually work.

If you don’t belong to a workplace pension plan, and worry you lack the expertise to invest your retirement savings, take a good look at the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. Members of SPP can contribute any amount they want, right up to their annual registered retirement savings plan limit. Then SPP takes on the heavy lifting of investing and growing those savings in a low-cost, professionally managed pooled fund. At retirement, SPP can convert some or all of your savings to a lifetime monthly annuity payment. There’s also the more flexible Variable Benefit option.

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Age Space, Great Senior Years, PrimeCarers

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