Holidays in an adult residential care home can leave some residents feeling lonely and sad. This is especially true when the joys and celebrations of Christmas have ended. Many think celebrating the New Year is for young people to take on the town. In reality, celebrating the New Year is for the young at heart and that includes the residents in your adult residential care home.

Ring in the New Year

Boost your resident’s spirits by ringing in 2017 with these fun ideas.

1. Invite families. Invite residents’ families to attend a New Year’s Eve party with the residents and staff members. Residents often miss out on valuable family time during the busy holiday season and will be thankful for the extra quality moments.
2. Get festive. Provide decorations, party hats, and noisemakers for your residents. Get them involved by asking them to hang up the decorations before the party. Streamers, signs, and balloons all help make the evening more enjoyable and bring smiles to your residents’ faces.
3. Make party food. No New Year’s Eve is complete without party food. Take a survey of your resident’s favorite food and snack ideas. Prepare these to be served during the party. Include all residents by preparing alternative versions or alternative snacks that meet multiple diet restrictions.
4. Sharing time. Kick the night off with a sharing hour. Have residents sit in a circle and take turns sharing their favorite past New Year’s celebrations, a favorite memory from 2016, and their 2017 New Year’s resolutions. Encourage them to celebrate each other’s decisions and memories to make the most of the evening.
5. Games! Continue the fun with board games and card games. Games increases continued resident engagement throughout the evening. Let the residents choose which game to play or set up stations around the room for multiple games to take place at one time.
6. Watch the countdown. Broadcast the New Year’s Eve celebrations on television for everybody to enjoy. Watch the countdown as a group to celebrate the start of the New Year together.
7. Toast to the New Year. Provide non-alcoholic toasts in festive glasses to help make the residents feel young again. This is a year tradition for many families and friends and is one that should be continued.

Boost your resident’s spirits this New Year by making the evening a fun group celebration.