ginger’s creative costumes and activitiesginger’s creative costumes and themes - downloaded from...

Ginger’s Creative Costumes and Themes - Downloaded from www.recreativeresources.com

GINGER’S CREATIVE COSTUMES AND ACTIVITIES

Ginger conducts her rockin' themed programs for the young fashioned senior with love, learning, music and laughter. Her mission is to empower incredible senior citizens to feel young by creating a youthful attitude. Learn more at www.createdyoung.blogpsot.com. Have fun!

Winnie the Pooh Day Winnie the Pooh Day is a fun, tried and true simple program with an outfit you can create for free. First thing I do for a theme day is to put up signs for everyone, including staff, to wear the appropriate colors, in this case, red and yellow. Group pictures are great when everyone has on the same color and are each holding a prop related to the theme. I always try to find the time to email the pictures to residents’ families so they have fun things to talk about when they come to visit.

For my own costume, I wore a tan skirt and a red shirt. I cut out multiples of the letters POOH from yellow oaktag or construction paper so that everyone can become Winnie. Double sided scotch tape makes the application easy. As soon as one resident has the

letters on, everybody wants to get in on the act! Ears are very easy to make, cut out yellow ovals about 3 inches long and simply bend them and place a bobby pin at the crease. Add little noses with a black eyeliner pencil and you have yourself a room full of Winnie the Pooh characters ready to make "hunny" cookies.

My props for this theme day include yellow paper taped to a coffee can with the word "HUNNY" cut out of red paper taped on and a stuffed Winnie animal I borrowed. You can easily get information on the history of Pooh to teach your residents and his quotes are precious .If you google "Winnie the Pooh", you will find many websites dedicated to pooh trivia and many of his charming sayings including:

• If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you." • “If there ever comes a day when we can't be together keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever." • “Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would I'd never leave.” • "Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon”

I print "Winnie the Pooh" on a board and have the residents call out smaller words made from those letters. I also print out a coloring page and leave them in our art area for anyone who would like to color. We end the day by watching a short Pooh video while we're eating honey cookies and discussing how the day made everyone feel young and happy and put a smile on our faces! Happy Winnie the Pooh Day!

http://www.createdyoung.blogpsot.com/


Happy Unbirthday! When a resident moves in, I find it my personal responsibility to find out what makes that person feel young. Every year, I have an "Unbirthday Party" where we make believe it is everyone's birthday and all the residents are able to choose to be any age they wish. It's a lot of fun to walk into the room and say "Happy Birthday Bertha", Happy Birthday Marta". They get a confused look on their face and say "It’s not my birthday?" I explain that we are pretending that it is everybody’s big day and it has NEVER failed, even the grumpiest character has given a smirk and said, "Well happy birthday then!" This is providing I say it with silly enthusiasm and a silly birthday hat on my head!

During the first part of the day, I tie a balloon to every walker and ask them how old they want to be today. My assistant and I do this to every resident in the room while party music is playing. I then put that number on a sticky (brightly colored ones are cheap and colorful) and stick it on them and tell them that for today, they ARE that

age. Some want to be 5, some want to be just the age they are, but the majority want to be 21 or 39. I do try to arrange this on a day I have an entertainer and then I can call the show "The Unbirthday Party"." Young at heart “is of course a classic but if you don’t have a performance, you can put on a party cd with "hands up" and the alley cat" and have your own party! Of course, I have Happy Birthday signs everywhere (you can make or get them at the dollar store) and I even have some pin the tail on the donkeys for decorations. Go ahead and play it with their eyes open if you want! You can even play a slow version of musical chairs!

I love my big balloon in the picture that I got at Oriental Trading for $29 and is used over and over. Don't forget to give everyone a pointy hat and noise blower, both available at the dollar store at 8 for $1. Watch their attitude change when the noise maker is in their mouth! They become a child before your eyes! I bring out a huge cake made by our kitchen (or you could make your own cake as a part of the day). I put many candles on the cake and I first explain how lucky we are to get an extra wish this year so think carefully before I come around! I go around to the residents and have a few at a time blow out (or clap out the candles while making a wish (the new thing for sanitary reasons). Most of them wish for health but they're not supposed to tell me! We exchange a huge meaningful hug as if it really were a birthday because it is! In the evening program, I talk about having an attitude of gratitude and how they need to make the most of every day as if it were their birthday. Some quotes include: :

• Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. ~Mark Twain • You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear;

as young as your hope, as old as your despair. ~Douglas MacArthur • Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. ~Chili Davis • Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the

cone. ~Jim Fiebig • Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may

wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. ~Samuel Ullman

Notice this day requires no costume but a silly pointed cardboard hat, maybe a few banners, leis and noise makers, but is a proven that we are as young as we let ourselves feel. It is up to you to do it for you and it is up to you to inspire your residents to use that imagination muscle to keep their spirits young. They all feel as young as they say they are. There is no reason why residents shouldn't feel that way every day! Happy Unbirthday!


Bumblebee Day According to the law of physics and science, considering the size of its body in comparison to its wings, it should be IMPOSSIBLE for the bumblebee to fly. However, nobody ever told that to the bumblebee, so he goes on flying and buzzing away every day. This is the main message to get across to the residents on bumblebee day. Nothing is impossible, especially when it's Bumblebee Day, one of the most fun, favorite and easiest of my holidays to create!

Tell the residents, put signs up and let the morning caregivers know a few days before to dress invite the residents to wear solid black or yellow. Give them something to be excited out! I express excitement that bumblebee day is coming up for about a week ahead of time. It's wonderful for them to have something to look forward to! The only supply you

will need is duct tape for the stripes and bobby pins and pipe cleaners for the antennas. I also have a pair of wings and a stinger I made but neither one of those are really necessary. Duct tape is available at the dollar store in some colors, but the roll really isn't that long so get a few or just get one big roll of black and one of yellow at a hardware store. Have a few volunteers helping with the stripes for it will be much easier.

During the morning, you can have a "stripe application" party and play some upbeat music while everyone is having fun watching the other residents transform. People will have an instant smile on their faces. I'll never forget a lady who said to me "I'm not in a good mood, I don't want to be a bumble bee". I said, "But it will make you feel better". Next thing you know, I had stripes on her and she was actually buzzing and "stung" me! Costumes really work! Everybody will be giggling! It's also fun if you have a mirror to show them how they look.

I also like to give everyone a yellow balloon to tie on their walker. I have a helium machine, that's optional of course but the room looks simply wonderful and festive with everyone having their own balloon. Early in the day, I like to take what I call our "family portrait". I have all the residents wearing their costumes together with a possible stuffed bee or a jar of honey or other "bee props" and we take group pictures that I put up on the bulletin board the next week. I have the walls plastered with hundreds of costume and theme pictures. Residents can look at pictures over and over. Photos provide an instant positive memory to recall and also gives them a sense of belonging when their picture is on the board. After the pictures are up about a week, I add them to a big collage in the recreation room and often find both residents and family members looking at the giant collage with a smile on their face.

Since we are celebrating the beloved bumblebee, honey cookies are in order. Set the table with a yellow plastic tablecloth from the dollar store, some yellow flower centerpieces and run off the recipe printed out with a large font and picture of the bee on light yellow paper. Set the table so that each setting has a spoon, a pair of gloves and the recipe. The room will look sunny and festive, especially when they all walk in with their balloons after lunch ready to make cookies. While the cookies are baking, you can run a word search on the board, which is writing "Bumblebee Day” on the board and having residents call out smaller words within it. While residents are eating the cookies, I explain some interesting fun facts about the bee. You can google bumblebee and have pages and pages of incredible facts about the bee. We also play "Bumblebee Bingo. I will give out either a bumblebee knick knack from the dollar store or maybe honey shampoo. Last year, I found adorable ceramic banks I gave out. The Bumblebee - truly an interesting specimen of the insect world and truly an incredible make believe holiday! Happy Bumblebee Day!


Senior Girl Scout Troop

Last year, a young lady named Kelly, came to me and told me that she was working on her "Gold Award”, which is the Girl Scout equivalent of the Eagle Scout Award. Her Mom is the leader of her troop and they asked me if they could come brainstorm with me about how she could make a detailed plan of action to achieve this special award. That's the first time a volunteer ever said that to me. I have this whole orientation I made up for most young people doing community service, but Kelly was clearly different. She didn't want to just call bingo and get hours in quickly, she wanted to make a difference and I wanted to help her to make that happen.

My Mom was my Girl Scout leader and I was a Girl Scout from Brownies to Juniors. I wanted her to do this. As we were speaking, I had an idea. First off, through the years, there were a few sessions I talked to the residents about the girl scouts and I have a few times called an

activity a Girl Scout Troop when we did facials or something feminine, and even though it was all in jest, I always had an idea to possibly make this happen. It was something I just never got to. Years ago, I taught a class called "Girls just Wanna Have Fun" that I made up at the Y. I put it in the brochure and ended up having a G.J.W.H.F. Class every day for a number of years. The classes were filling up like hot cakes! It was my very own version of a group of little girls having fun and bonding together. I taught them how to make jewelry and dollhouses and perfume and it was a very special time in my life.

When Kelly came to me, I thought about my old class, about how my purpose is to make the residents feel young and rockin' and then it hit me! Let's have a Rockin' Senior Girl Scout Troop! What an awesome idea! Kelly went through all the steps of having an action plan and agendas for meetings and submitted it to the Girl Scouts of America Board, got approval and now we have regular meetings. The residents even have sashes she created and made! So far, we've had a fashion show by the younger girls where they modeled all the uniforms throughout history and also readings by the Brownies to the residents. The residents have been practicing the promise and the Girl Scout friendship song Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold. A circle's round, it never ends. That's how long I want to be your friend. They are now working on their music badge and the newspaper may be doing a story about the first official Rockin' Senior Girl Scout Troop in the World! I am very proud of this young lady. The residents love the program and I urge you to reach out to your local Girl Scout Chapter. You never know if there's a young lady waiting to make a difference for the residents at your facility. I know Kelly did!


Celebrate the Land of India Did anyone ever make your day? Well, there is no greater feeling than making someone else's day! My friend Chellar moved in about 3 months ago and he is one of the kindest, gentlest people I have ever met. I knew the minute I met him that I would make this day happen. There is a gesture that the Indians use that they touch their forehead and then bring their hand down (palm up) into the palm of the other hand. It means thank you. I would like to publicly extend a hearty thank you to Chellar, his children, and Betsy, one of our caseworkers, also of the Indian heritage, for helping me create a day in honor of the Land of India. I definitely could not have done it without the three of them. The two most important things on a day celebrating a country is the costume and the music. Betsy generously loaned me two costumes for the day and his son not only made me CDs of his father's favorite Indian music, but also gave me the spices I needed for the recipe! Between the sound of

the music, the smell of the rice cooking, the video visit to the Gandes River, and me in my costume dancing, it was an over the top, incredible day.

I also interviewed Chellar throughout the day about the customs, language and culture of India. Since I have been taking belly dancing for quite some time, I really got into the dancing and the residents loved it! It was absolutely awesome to take this humble, polite man who appreciates everything and turn him into the big man on campus! I don't think he ever got so many rounds of applaud in his life!

I made Indian rice that was to die for. Any Indian recipe will do depending on what spices you have available. I made it with lemon, turmeric powder, some curry leaves, a few chilies, salt and peanuts. I have one of those electric skillets and had the kitchen make the rice and I mixed everything together with Chellar's daughter helping me every step of the way. The smell of Indian spices permeated the room. It was like being transported to India! The Indian people are known to be people who are warm, polite, friendly and generous and Chellar and his family are that and even more. I urge any activity directors reading this to do a double take with your special people. What do your residents have to share? What country is the receptionist from? You can create a day like this about any country by keeping your eye out for people who come from different places. Most are thrilled to be recognized and appreciated and therefore happy to share, especially when it's for the seniors! Believe that most everyone has something to share, they just may need YOU to pull it out of them! Happy Land of India Day! Note: I'd call it Indian Day but I don't want to get it confused with American Indian Day, another awesome "Ginger Holiday" as my administrator calls it.


Purple Day It's pretty incredible what a big difference a little color can make. There really is no other difference except color and enthusiasm on purple day. That's why it's important to get the word out a few days ahead of time for the staff and the residents to wear purple. After all, it’s not purple day if you don't get hit with a sea of purple when you walk into the recreation room. I love taking "family portraits" of myself and groups of residents all wearing the color. I blow up the pictures and display them in the lobby so that they can remember the great day! Make sure signs are everywhere a few days before. In my facility, we have a log book to let the caregivers know to make sure to dress

their residents in the color if they have it. If not, I still make sure everyone has some kind of purple on. I cut ribbon to make headbands, I give out little purple stickers on their faces and of course, purple balloons. I do recommend having a helium tank to blow up the balloons. They do make such a difference. You can get a package of 15 of them for $1 so for a few dollars, you can make a major difference to an ordinary day. I tie them to all the walkers so that up and down the hall all day long, the royal color purple is king!

There are so many things you can do on purple day. You can make basic cupcakes and use food coloring in the cupcakes and the icing. You can play "Wheel of Fortune" on the board and have all the answers be things related to purple such as eggplant, lilacs and lavender. I do that on the dry erase board and put dashes for the letters and the residents call out letters for me to fill in. The winner of each round gets a purple flower. Again, the dollar store is great for pretty artificial, colorful flowers. You can get a dozen for a dollar. Of course, have a session on purple trivia. A lot of facts can be found here www.fortheloveofpurple.com.

There's really a lot of history to the color. Many years ago, only the rich could afford anything purple so it is therefore associated with power, wealth and royalty. That's where the phrase "born into purple" comes from. I have always loved the color. It is a creative, passionate color. As a matter of fact, my license plate used to be "elprup", purple spelled backwards!

I celebrate purple day in the springtime when the color is starting to appear. There is a line in the movie "The Color Purple" where there is an older woman saying to the younger woman in other words that God gets mad if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't stop to notice it. The message I try to get across on purple day is to appreciate all the little things that God has given us, like the color purple!

Passover Passover is a special Jewish holiday based on freedom. I am the "rabbi" at work and run my own Sabbath services with my own twist every Friday afternoon. I always tell them to focus on what they have rather than complain about what they don't. Residents of all faiths are more than welcome to join me for the hour. It's is probably the thing that takes more work than any other activity, yet it seems to be the one weekly activity that is more worthwhile than any others. It has become a tradition and something that everyone looks forward to. Tradition is very important in the Jewish religion, especially when it comes to celebrating holidays.

http://www.fortheloveofpurple.com/


Seder, means "order" and there are a number of rituals that need to take place before the meal is served on the first two nights of Passover. A Seder can take up to 3 hours but the most important message that needs to be emphasized is how lucky we are to be free. I follow the order of the Seder but I do it in a way that is much shorter, simple enough for anyone to understand, yet gets the message of freedom across. Everything done during the hour is symbolic. We retell the story of the Exodus and follow certain rituals to actually feel as if we were slaves and by the end of the meal, we feel as if we ourselves have been freed. It is very important that every generation do this so that we do not forget. We taste parsley dipped in salt water to remember the tears we shed. We eat matzo because when the slaves were finally freed from Pharaoh, they didn't have time for the bread to rise. We eat bitter herbs to remind us of the bitterness of slavery. We eat a mixture of nuts, wine and apples called charoset, which is symbolic of the clay the slaves used to build. Every single part of the Seder is symbolic. Even if you do not have Seder, you can play what I call "Passover Bingo". I play this game on many theme days if I am teaching something. I hand out a blank bingo grid page with pencils and write "Happy Passover" in the middle box. This leaves the residents 24 boxes to fill in. I tell them the story of Passover in a very informal way as they write down certain words in the story in one of the blank boxes. It is an awesome story.

Jewish people were slaved in Egypt and the children were being killed. One mother put her baby in a basket in the river. Pharaoh was the mean king (every story need a mean king). His daughter found the baby and named him Moses. When he grew up, he didn't like the way his family was treating the Jews so he left to be a shepherd. God spoke to him through a burning bush to persuade Pharaoh to free the Jews. Even after 9 plagues, from filling the land with blood and boils and locusts, Pharaoh refused. When he was finally threatened with the slaying of the first born, he let the people go. How blessed we were that God did so much for us.

We sing a special song called "Dayenu" (rhymes with my day new) that would trigger memories in any Jewish resident. I can just about guarantee that by just mentioning that word around a Jewish resident, you will find him or her singing the catchy chorus! So, as I tell this story of miracles, I write the new words on the board. As I come to each word, they fill it into anyone of the boxes on their paper. Between the 10 plagues and the other related words, I easily have a list of words for them to fill their bingo card. I then randomly call out some of the words until someone has bingo and wins a prize! During the Passover season, I'd like to recommend one special cooking activity even if you don't have a Seder or you don't do anything else related to Passover. Make matzo brie! Matzo brie is a version of what you could call a matzo omelet or matzo scrambled egg. There are many slight variations of Matzo brie recipes. You basically have to wet matzo to make it soft and then use it in a scrambled egg or omelet.

During this activity, everybody gets their own egg and a little bowl to scramble it in and I have some ingredients they may want to use on the table. This includes milk, cinnamon, chopped apples, onions and salt. I have my electric skillet at a table near an outlet. Always be sure never to leave a skillet unattended. My assistant or the residents bring me their mix and I fry it and put it on a plate. Matzo brie has this special texture and makes for a real incredible edible! You can also make this as a demonstration rather than a "make your own" session. Play some "Fiddler on the Roof" music while everyone eats their matzo brie and you can have a fun "Taste of Passover". If the kitchen will supply you with eggs, it’s basically a free activity as well! So, remember the Exodus and rejoice in our freedom.


Rosie the Riveter A few years ago, the theme for "National Assisted Living Week" was "Traditions of the Heart" and I decided to portray that by dedicating each day of the week to a different era. Needless to say, I worked very hard that week. One day I was a flapper for the 20's, sock hop costume for the 50's, hippy for the 60's and a disco queen for the 70's. I found my old clothes in the attic at my Mom’s house! Well, the week was coming together, but I was having a very difficult time coming up with something appropriate for the 1930's or 40's. I was stumped. So I went to my residents and asked them what they were doing during the 1940s. Most were young housewives but then someone mentioned that she worked as a welder while the men were at war and that's when it hit me! Some of my girlfriends belong to a motorcycle club. They are a group of strong women doing charity work all year round. The Cycle Sisters use "Rosie the Riveter" as one of their logos and I had just seen it on a flyer for an upcoming charity comedy show benefitting Leukemia Society and Suicide

Prevention. That's when I put two and two together and Rosie the Riveter Day began to be formed. I thought the costume was going to be my challenge, but it turned out all I needed was a denim shirt with some round buttons. I wore short jeans and work boots and a flashlight hanging from my belt. That left her iconic symbol trademarks, her hair and the red and white bandana. I started doing research. I found a wonderful website and after a few phone calls, Ethel the Riveter, my resident, and I became special guests on their site "Women's Memoirs" run by Kendra Bonnett found here: womensmemoirs.com/memoir-writing/a-rosie-the-riveter-talks-about-the-importance-of-rosie’s-bandana/.

Kendra interviewed Ethel and myself from my office telephone and she felt like a star, especially when I printed it out and had her sign copies for other residents. It was a superb day. I can't find the exact video I used for creating my hair but if I did it again, I would use this video to create the look of Rosie on myself. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hln-UEvhJN0&feature=related. It took me an hour to do my hair with all the bobby pins, but I did it. I dressed up all the residents in Rosie bandanas. I cut out strips from fabric I bought at the art store but they have beautiful commemorative bandanas on Kendra's site.

The whole day was full of information about life in the 40's and how hard some women had to work and we thanked Ethel for doing something so patriotic to really help our country. It was nice to see her so proud. Although we were celebrating Rosie and learned the history of these women, the day was really about Ethel. She is even on a YouTube video dedicated to Rosies and at the end it features her as the oldest living Rosie. I can't find it but just again, take a second to look at who your residents are. Everybody has something to offer! Happy Rosie the Riveter Day!

http://womensmemoirs.com/memoir-writing/a-rosie-the-riveter-talks-about-the-importance-of-rosie%E2%80%99s-bandana/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hln-UEvhJN0&feature=related.


Daisy Day

"He loves me, he loves me not." Residents may not remember what you said to them but they will remember how you made them feel when you give them a daisy. Everybody loves a daisy, they are such happy flowers. There's nothing more simple and delightful as a daisy and the very thought of it can cheer up any day! Add a splash of yellow and see what happens. It is like the sun is shining when you walk into a room and the majority of people are wearing yellow and yellow balloons fill the air. It is not a popular color in the clothing department so it really is a pretty sight. I stocked up on daisy dollar store flowers and put them all to use. I also attached some to an ordinary headband with yellow tape to make mine and I wore the brightest yellow shirt I could find. I layered it with

a white t-shirt, which gave it a real daisy effect. Actually, daisies come in other colors too, but for today, they were just white and yellow. I put some in a vase and gave bunches of them out at Daisy Bingo. That is just one activity you can do on Daisy Day. Last year, I made "Daisy Cookies" with a recipe I found using the brand "Daisy" sour cream and at them while watching "Driving Miss Daisy". My daisy day was created during one of my brainstorming sessions with the residents. I always have them help me think of new ideas. I absolutely love when I make a Ginger holiday out of a wild idea and I love making a fuss over the resident who thought of it. I have the other residents give a round of applause when the creator comes into the recreation room and I thank them all day. They must feel like a star for it really raises morale and encourages other residents to do some thinking so that they can have a day, too! This year I incorporated our annual gardening club into daisy day. We have some big planters out in our courtyard that we put flowers in every May to cheer up the garden. I wear a pair of wings and call myself the "Gardening Angel." It was a lot of work going to pick up the flowers, getting them all into my car and then back to work but it was such a beautiful, happy day that it was worth it. “Daisy, daisy give me your answer do..." Those are the first words to a very nostalgic song that even residents with advanced dementia will be able to sing along to. When I ran an Alzheimer's unit at a nursing home, music was the key to establishing a connection with the residents. Singing a nostalgic song like "Bicycle Built for Two" calms residents and makes them happy, just like daisies!

Daisies were at one time called 'Days Eyes" because the flower petals closes up at night and reopens, revealing the eye of the flower, every morning. It is a flower of innocence and simplicity. I can picture a pretty little girl holding them at her First Communion. That sight brings a smile to my face. There were smiles everywhere on Daisy Day. It is a very easy, inexpensive, fun day to create. There is also lots of information about daisies on this site www.buzzle.com/articles/daisy-flower-facts.html. You can even contact your local Daisy Girl Scout Troop and see if the girls can come give out daisies!

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/daisy-flower-facts.html


Butterfly Day There is a story about a little boy who watched a butterfly struggle to break out of its cocoon. Not wanting the little creature to suffer, he took a pair of scissors and helped him out by cutting the cocoon. The problem was that in trying to be kind, he actually handicapped the butterfly and it crawled around the rest of its life instead of flying. Things happen for a reason and sometimes in life, we have to struggle but remember that everything will be all right if we just "Let it be". This is the message behind butterfly day. I love my theme days to have a message, especially when I can play the guitar and sing it to them! Let it Be is one of the few songs I can play!

Since my beautiful butterfly wings are yellow, I have signs all over a week ahead of time for people to wear yellow. It gives a nice uniformity to the day and a togetherness between the residents when a lot of people wear the same color and I blow up a lot of balloons. Most of the residents love having a balloon tied to their walker and the whole facility is cheery on a day like this! Of course, any color is fine. It is your day, have fun with it. Since butterflies come in many colors, one year, I chose two or three colors for everyone to wear. It is up to you. This is a link to one site where you can find some fun facts about butterflies. www.thebutterflysite.com/facts.shtml. I prefer sites like this compared to the encyclopedia site. It is easy to look at the paper and teach the residents the information and sound like you're a genius! The trivia is simply listed. Some sites are too wordy to do this so I search the internet by writing in the subject and "fun facts" next to it and usually come up with some interesting tidbits on whatever my subject of the day is. I love the "incredible edible" on butterfly day as shown in the picture. Pretzels are used for the wings and cream cheese or peanut butter is used as the glue. In the past, I have used those little chocolate piece for the eyes, a thick pretzel stick for the body and an almond for the antennas. It is fun to be creative. You never know what you may find in the candy aisle at the supermarket. Pay attention to the shapes. I have come up with very interesting "incredible edibles" through the years. I am sure you can, too.

On butterfly day, you can play stretch-a-word. Write it on the board and the residents can come up with smaller words within the word. You can also find a video of the butterfly emerging from the cocoon. This year, during "Butterfly Bingo" I gave out little pins shaped like butterflies I found at the dollar store. My eye is always open for special prizes to give out on my theme days during bingo. Butterfly Day is truly a way to make an ordinary day extraordinary and a reminder that sometimes we have to struggle, but everything will be okay!" Lastly, some people believe that when you see a butterfly, it is a sign that someone special is watching over you. I believe that, too. Happy Butterfly Day!

http://www.thebutterflysite.com/facts.shtml


Pow Wow Day Everybody gets a new name on Indian Day. Just for today, I am "Shining Star" and you can be "Rising Sun." Picking names for the day is an activity unto itself and also gives everyone permission to be young! Here is one place you can find names to choose from www.apples4theteacher.com/native-american/names/. It would be acceptable to call this day "Native American" or "American Indian" Pow-Wow Day. Whatever you decide to call it, it is a fun, informative, interesting youth spirited day. I have an Indian flute music "Tumi" CD that I keep on all day. Music always sets the tone and is actually the heart of the theme of the day, besides the costume, of course! Play it while the residents are coming to the recreation room after lunch or better yet, during lunch if you can. This is one of the few costumes that I use that I did not make but it remains one of my favorite because it makes so many people smile.

Every year at Halloween time, I call the local stores that are open just for the season and ask them for any donations of ripped or incomplete costumes. That is how I got my headdress. I have 3 outfits. Two were donated by friends. Make sure that all your friends know that you would be interested in costumes that they may have in their attic somewhere. You will never know if you do not ask. The other outfit I have is really just an inside out fringed hippy vest. I add some stripes on my face and put my hair in pigtail braids with the headdress and I become an Indian. Keep your eye out in the children's department at toy stores all year round. "Cowboys and Indians" is still the classic game for little boys and you may be able to find toy Indian artifacts that you can use. I have even seen plastic arrowheads and things like that at the dollar store. I wear my costume all day but the highlight of the day is when I spread out all the things I have collected like dream catchers, a bow and arrow, a mandala and all kinds of Indian artifacts. I even have a buffalo jaw! Some of the things I got at a Pow-Wow out on Long Island. During my presentation, I explain what each object is used for. Of course, a program like this does take a lot of research and studying beforehand but it is more like Native American 101 course for the higher functioning residents. I even encourage them to bring their number 2 pencils if they would like to take notes! This is one of the programs I have available to do at your facility if you are interested and you are located in the New York area.

However, you do not need a collection to have a successful Indian Day. There are many fun activities you can put on your calendar. You can easily print out pictures of these things and teach the residents yourself! You can talk about everything from the different tribes to teepees to wigwams! There is beautiful Indian poetry available on the internet. Collect twigs and show your residents how they communicated and made arrows on the trails. String beads! You can also make very simple headbands with a construction paper feather or real ones you can get at most dollar stores. Dream Catchers are occasionally found at the dollar store as well. They make great bingo prizes on Indian day. I love the legend of how a grandmother was watching a spider spinning and weaving his web and then the grandson came in and he went to kill the spider. She stopped him in his tracks as he lifted his moccasin to kill it. After the grandson left, the spider thanked her and told her that he will present her the gift of catching all of her bad dreams in his web. I encourage the seniors to focus on the positive, instead of complaining about the negative. We have three meals a day, a roof over our head and spare change to play dreamcatcher bingo. We are richer that 75% of the people in the world. We need to count our blessings. The Indians count their blessings.

Happy Pow-Wow!

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/native-american/names/


Lucky Day It's your Lucky Day! Make any day every residents Lucky Day! Get rid of accumulated stuff in your supply office to boot! I very often have boxes of donated things that make great prizes due to the generosity of the community. For instance, one woman is always bringing me makeup and lotion samples, which the ladies love. I am always keeping my eye out for things that would make appropriate giveaways. It all starts when I fill my pocket with pennies. As each resident walks in, I take one out of my pocket and tell them that I made a special blessing over it and I guarantee that it is lucky. I tell them to keep it in a special place and bring it out and rub it on a bad day and things will definitely get better. Not one person questioned it and they all reacted as if I really did give them something lucky. Because I did! Even some of the caregivers wanted a penny and I was happy to supply them. Months after lucky day, one of the residents went into her bag and pulled out her lucky penny. I thought that was very special.

At the start of every activity, I gave everyone their half of the tickets from one of the rolls you can get at any party of office supply store for just a few dollars. A roll of tickets goes a very long way and provides tons of fun. Prizes include everything from leftover Mardi Gras beads to coupons for a free day of bingo to a small box of Lucky Charms cereal! The sky is the limit. . Each raffle ticket has seven digits so calling out the numbers and having them process it and look for the number is very stimulating for their minds and having them calling out " I got it! " is a wonderful feeling and a fun activity. It is very exciting. Of course, some residents will need help looking at their ticket and I encourage them to help each other. Everyone loves to be a winner. I make sure that everyone leaves the day with something and that every resident feels like a winner.

Throughout the day, I also have a discussion about lucky charms around the world that you can find here. http://www.squidoo.com/goodlucksigns. I bring some samples in if possible. You can also write”lucky charms" on the board and have residents find small words within the letters.

For crafts, you can cut out their hand shapes from construction paper and decorate them. Hand shapes, called khamsas, are considered lucky in Africa. Here is a website you can find this simple craft. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/africa/khamsa/. If you would like to do a cooking activity, what I call " incredible Edibles", try making cereal bars with Lucky Charms cereal using a recipe that you can find here http://www.food.com/recipe/lucky-charms-treats

Although I usually do Lucky Day during the St. Patrick's season, it would be appropriate to do at any time of year.

Any day can be a lucky day! Good luck!!

http://www.squidoo.com/goodlucksigns

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/africa/khamsa/

http://www.food.com/recipe/lucky-charms-treats


Betty Boop Day During the Depression, people needed something to lift their spirits! They would go to the movies and during the 8 minute cartoon, Betty Boop got into all kinds of predicaments but everything always turned out good. She diverted America’s attention from the Depression and they fell in love. The Betty Boop character with all her charm and charisma was created and she is more popular today than she ever was! To be honest, I never knew a thing about Betty before today except "Boop boop be do" I and don't own one thing with her on it!

So you may wonder how I ended up having Betty Boop Day. I will tell you. The fact of the matter is that almost everybody has something to share, including friends, co-workers and residents alike. Once a month, I have a brainstorming session with the residents and try to find out what they're interested in, if they collect anything and/or what they would like to learn. With the help of the computer, it is so easy to research the history or fun facts of just about anything! My residents think I know everything! I always tell them "I know a little bit

about some things and a lot about nothing!" Whatever the subject is, I like to find websites like this http://bettyboop.ca/99%20Little%20Known%20Facts.htm because it is easy to read and the facts are listed and separated, making it easier for me to tell the residents and sound like I know what I'm talking about!. I rarely have time to "study" so I need information that is easy to transfer to my eager audience!

During one of my brainstorming sessions, one of the residents told me that she collected Betty Boop. Then I heard that one of the staff had a collection, too! And that's all it took to come up with the idea of Betty Boop Day! I asked them both to bring down their collection on a particular day so I could display it all together. One important thing on a day like this is coordinate the music with the theme. I went to itunes and bought 5 songs song by Helen Kane including "I Wanna be Loved by You" and "Button up your Overcoat" and I also ordered Betty Boop Videos on Netflix to fill in some time. The music and my costume were what really gave the day the energy. Everybody was "boop boop de booping!" I ordered the wig on ebay and the flapper dress I had in my costume closet but I almost wore a black skirt and red shirt, which would have been fine. Oh I also had on eyelashes and red lipstick, which gave it a nice touch. I used my thick red ponytail holder as a garter and cut out a red heart out of construction paper and pinned it on.

Outside of the collection and presentation of the trivia I learned, the only other Betty Boop activities were the word search and Betty Boop Wheel of Fortune, playing on the board with all things related to Betty. Did you know that the reason she covered her mouth and opened her eyes real wide was to say “keep your eyes open and your mouth shut??” I learned as much as I taught today.

I was also happy that my Mom, shown in the picture to the left, stopped by. She gets a kick seeing me in my crazy get ups and seeing what I do for a living. I got my start because of what she taught me. It was fun today giving a big round of applause over and over to both the resident and the staff member who brought in their stuff. I really appreciated their "share and tell" and by having everyone clap their hands and having them stand up as special guests, it gave them two important things any human needs, which is validation and appreciation, especially for the resident. I interviewed her about how she got started collecting and her memories of when she was a child, and for the day, she felt like a star! And she was! What was really sweet was that she came into my office at the end of the day and gave me a little trinket to thank ME for having the day! I was appreciated too! Happy Betty Boop Day!

http://bettyboop.ca/99%20Little%20Known%20Facts.htm


Angel Day

Angel day is proof that an ordinary day can become an extraordinary day with the help of just a costume and color! "Be an angel to someone else whenever you can, as a way of thanking God for the help your angel has given you." ~Quoted in The Angels' Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994. 'You are my angel, you're my darling angel" is a song I as well as other songs with the word angel in it. I usually go to itunes and upload my theme songs for the day onto a CD. It costs $1 per song or for free or I go to the library and take out the appropriate CDs. This may take a little longer but when you're working on a budget, you need to watch these little costs because they add up quickly.

Everybody wears white and I blow up a lot of white balloons. The atmosphere is more like a wedding! I have a white dress that I bought for $20 at the flea market which I top with a tiara, wings and a wand and voila, I'm an angel! At this point in my career, I have a number of all these props, but I'm sure you can order them at or buy wands and tiaras at most dollar stores. I dance into the recreation room wearing my costume and sing to the CD I made. I start off by reading the residents some great angel quotes and I then ask them if they believe in angels. There is usually a bit of a debate but then I read them an excerpt, All About Angels, which I found at http://www.ibelieveinangels.com Later on in the day, I make a mock angel cake. There are many versions of this cake available. Simply search Mock Angel Food Cakes on the internet. I double the recipe and have the residents help me figure out the math and we reminisce about what they used to bake. While the cakes are baking, I read angel poems. This is one of my favorite angel poems and of course, there are many more that you can find just by searching for "guardian angel poems" on the internet.

Friends Are Angels Anonymous

Our friends are like angels who brighten our days

In all kinds of wonderful magical ways

Their thoughtfulness comes as a gift from above And we feel we're surrounded by warm, caring love

Like upside-down rainbows their smiles bring the sun And they fill ho-hum moments with laughter and fun

Friends are like angels without any wings

Blessing our lives with the most precious things

I don't know about you but I believe in Angels! I call them friends. That is the main concept behind angel day that we can all be angels to each other. True friends may not have wings, but they are angels!

Happy Angel Day!

http://www.ibelieveinangels.com/Always/welcome-to-ibia.html


Rainbow Day Ever hear of ROY G BIV? It's an acronym for the colors of the rainbow. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet I remember seeing a double rainbow stretched across the sky one evening at the beach. I believed that it was my Grandma watching over me and that felt good. I've always loved rainbows and some people believe that they are a sign .There is a great story about how all the colors of the rainbow started arguing that they were each the best for various reasons and then it started to thunder, which caused them to bow down together. The colors realized that even though they were all different, they could be beautiful and get along together despite of their differences To read the entire story, check out this site www.rainbowpetsitting.com/story.htm Rainbow day is another day that is easy to create. Have the residents (and staff!) wear a solid color of the rainbow that day. I have signs everywhere for a week beforehand. I have a tie-die rainbow shirt I wear and I have a few rainbow headpieces. One year, I could not find the shirt and ended up layering the right colored tank tops and had rainbow pig tails. All the rubber band colors come together

on a little cardboard for a dollar at the dollar store.

The main event of the day is the art lesson. I put up white paper on the board and make palettes of all the colors of paint on paper plates. You can also use watercolor or crayon sets, also for $1 each. You may even have some already in your art and crafts closet. Set the tables and chairs so that everyone can see the board. You can tell the story as you paint the colors or use it at another time during the day. I slowly paint each color and wait until everyone is finished with that color before going on to the next. All rainbows are beautiful. There is no wrong. Act as if every painting is absolutely the most beautiful thing you have ever seen, and once these colors are together, you will be sure that there is no such thing as an ugly rainbow!

There are also awesome colorful quotes about rainbows on the internet. One of my favorites is an old Irish blessing that I wish for everyone reading this:

May God give you... For every storm a rainbow For every tear a smile For every care a promise and a blessing in each trial For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.” ~ Irish Blessing Happy Rainbow Day!

http://www.rainbowpetsitting.com/story.htm


Strawberry Day

Strawberry day will bring out the inner child in anybody and it is so simple and fun to create. Like with most of my theme days though, color is very important. Make sure you get the message across for the residents to wear solid red. The only thing required to create human strawberries are brown and green construction paper. Cut out leaves from the green to tape around the neck and small ovals for the pits as seen in the pictures. The average strawberry has 200 seeds but you'll be busy all day if you apply that many! This is a great website that has lots of information that you can share with the residents http://www.londonstrawberryfestival.com/facts.htm I also have a few "Strawberry Shortcake" glasses and hats from the popular children's character that I wear and put on residents to take pictures. At the dollar store, I buy strawberry shampoo or something else strawberry related to give as bingo prizes. If I have an entertainer that

day, I call it the "Strawberry Festival" and give out strawberries during the party. The point is that the day is yours. It would be hard to have bingo, entertainment, strawberry trivia, word search and cooking all in one day so do what is good for you and meets your budget and needs. If you have cooking that day, there are endless possibilities of what you can make. Simply google strawberry desserts (short cake, muffins, Jell-O, cake, etc.) and you'll find a lot of great recipes. Have a great Strawberry Day!

Candy Cane Day Legend has it that a choir master years ago gave out sugar canes to the children if they behaved. I also heard that the shape resembles the letter J for Jesus or a shepherd’s crook. As far as I’m concerned, it's a candy and that's good enough for me! One of the most fun days of the year for the residents is Candy Cane Day. It is a day that makes people of any age feel young and happy. It will also put anyone in the holiday spirit. All it takes is a little duct tape available at the large chain of office supply stores. Duct tape comes in all colors and fun patterns. I make sure that I get the word out beforehand to have the residents wear solid red or solid white. I have both red and white tape. I walk into work without the tape and the residents have fun watching my assistant apply my diagonal stripes of tape and watch me transform into a human candy cane right before their eyes! I blast fun, familiar sing -a-long music while I turn everyone into candy canes and take what I call our "family portrait". Creating one of

these pictures requires a little work but it is worth it. I to e-mail pictures to families, who really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I don't have the chance to send everyone, but I try. Just a little tape makes so much difference.

For the rest of the day, any Christmas activity would be appropriate but my favorite is to take a white pipe cleaner and have the residents string them with alternate red and white beads. Twist and bend the end and you have an adorable candy cane ornament. I also give out boxes of candy canes for bingo. The choices are endless but candy cane day without duct tape would be like any other ordinary day during the season. The tape is what makes the day extraordinary! Even residents that don't see well can see the bright tape, which is guaranteed to make them smile, and that is what makes it so meaningful, creating smiles. Happy Candy Cane Day!

http://www.londonstrawberryfestival.com/facts.htm

http://www.noelnoelnoel.com/trad/candycane.html


Carrot Day This was my first Carrot Day. I gathered all the orange clothes I could and even borrowed some orange jewelry from my girlfriend. I knew it would work and I was right. Color, of course is a big thing on most of my theme days so I would suggest getting a helium tank. I have a big one in my office and it is definitely worth it considering how much fun the balloons bring. They also have disposable ones at the local party chain stores for about $50 that would probably be enough for 50 balloons but investing and renting a large one is definitely the way to go if you are planning to have a lot of theme days. I also use it to give residents a special foil balloon on their birthday. I thought of carrot day while I was looking through a party planning catalogue.

There were carrot party hats that were a dozen for 10 bucks and I thought to myself, "I can make those" and I did! Very often, I make my own version of what I see in the catalogues and save myself tons of money. I have a tight budget and make whatever is possible. The shipping alone is expensive! Usually, I can use construction paper I already have to cover a cone hat and I can replicate most any simple craft found in the party places. I am in the process of writing an ebook with patterns for some of my designs, including the beloved carrot hat! I made a few a day so by the time carrot day came, I had plenty to give out. I really got silly and had the residents say the "Carrot Pledge" when they put it on and promised them a chocolate bunny at the end of the day if they still had it on, and I paid up! (I had already bought chocolate bunnies for 88 cents each.) Hold up 2 fingers and repeat after me" "I promise to wear the carrot hat all day long because carrots make me healthy and keep me strong!" Everybody was into it because I was into it. Attitudes are catching, as I always say! It was really funny catching one woman coming out of the elevator in the middle of the day with an orange balloon tied to her walker and the carrot hat and she said “I feel so young"! There is nothing wrong with doing things that make you feel young! Yes, it is silly, but it is youthful and fun and gets everyone giggling and that is such an incredible thing to do to a group of 80 and 90 year olds. They were all laughing about wearing their carrot hats. When is the last time you giggled? Think about it. It was such a fun day for the residents who agreed to open up their imagination pocket. The only thing I bought for the day besides the bunnies were these little plastic carrot goodie bags that I filled with jelly beans for bingo prizes and a bag of baby carrots that everyone munched on throughout the day. I also had a great upcoming activity sign that I made with a piece of orange oaktag cut into the shape of a carrot with some green oaktag for the roots. The highlight of the day was my carrot pudding recipe. Any carrot recipe would be fine. As I made the pudding in a room as orange as the sunset on a beautiful evening, I talked about the history of carrots and the nutritional benefits. When the pudding was done, guess what they watched while they ate this incredible edible? Bugs Bunny! Talk about feeling young! Carrot Day is a prime example of taking an ordinary day (cooking class, discussion group, bingo, movie,) and with the help of a little color, making it an extraordinary day. It's funny, I have never been fond of the color but after carrot day, I believe it’s now one of my favorites! Happy Carrot Day!


Lady Bug Day I look forward to Ladybug Day all year round. It is quite a creative Ginger day, from the costume to the incredible edible part of the day. To begin with, the costume is very easy and it costs virtually nothing to turn everybody into a ladybug. A person who is willing to be turned into a ladybug by simply a stripe of black tape and scotch taped black construction paper spots will become young before your eyes! Add some pipe cleaner antennas you can add onto a headband and the same wings you used for other costumes and really bring it to life. You should definitely have a pair of wings in your closet, they can be used over and over and result in many happy smiles. I have seen many pre-made ladybug props for children's birthday parties but anything solid red, from a piece of clothing to a bucket to a balloon will look create a ladybug environment by adding black spots made with paper or tape. By the way, a ladybug can also be orange or yellow and when creating the costume for the residents, adding tape and spots to any solid color will work.

There is great info on the web about ladybugs. This is just one site you can gather information from http://insects.about.com/od/beetles/a/10-facts-ladybugs.htmI. With these facts, I play "Ladybug true or false". For instance, I will say "You can tell the age of the ladybug by counting its spots, true or false?" The answer is false, believe it or not. I know I grew up believing that was true, but the amount have spots can just tell you what kind of ladybug it is, not its' age. When residents guess true, we may end up reminiscing about how they used to catch ladybugs in jars when they were children. I don't like to boldly teach facts. I like each question to promote discussion, even if the conversation may go off course by doing so. I like the recreation room to feel more like my colorful, informal living room where everyone feels welcome, rather than a classroom. I like to make learning so much fun that they don't even realize that they are learning! It is so important because constant learning is the best medicine for seniors. It keeps the brain stimulated and exercised and therefore, helps to decrease the decline of cognitive skills. I will even give a quiz after my lesson. I joke that they need to get out their number two pencils and composition books! I then go over the facts that I just taught. Even if they don't remember or don't even call out the answers, whoever tries to remember the answers will be improving their thinking and brain power? My favorite part of Ladybug Day is the recipe. It is such a creative project and a tasty appetizer made with crackers, cream cheese, olives and quartered tomatoes, I found it here http://therecipefile23.blogspot.com/2009/08/ladybug-appetizers.html. Everyone gets such a kick out of their edible ladybugs. They eat them while I run a word search. Very often, they have ladybug knick-knacks at the dollar store that you can give out during bingo or the quiz.

So, pull a little imagination out of your pocket and have a great Ladybug Day!

http://insects.about.com/od/beetles/a/10-facts-ladybugs.htmI

http://therecipefile23.blogspot.com/2009/08/ladybug-appetizers.html


Hippie Day Have a flower power hippy party! Its easy, fun and free! There are many subjects to talk about on hippy day including Woodstock, Vietnam, San Francisco and Volkswagons. Besides discussion groups and trivia games, you could tie-dye t-shirts, which I have done many times but I would not recommend doing that on the same day that you have entertainment. You also need an outdoor area, buckets, rubber bands, fabric dye, rubber gloves and a clothesline. It would be exhausting to do both so this year, I just had the music. When having a reminiscing program, pull from your own memory if you can. It makes it interesting and exciting for them to learn about you plus it fills time because many residents will not come up

with stories. I have a bucket full of stories in my head that I can tell for most occasions. I kind of make it my business to collect them and tell them in an animated, funny enlightening way.

Growing up in Flushing in the 1960's, I was a wannabe hippie who sat on the stoop with the other kids in the neighborhood listening to the first portable record player on the block. All the kids would bring down their records and we would dance by my father's garage. Also, I was a "hippie" myself in the early 1970's. I belonged to a group of teenagers from all over Long Island who hung out at the famous Jones Beach. We called ourselves the "Jones Beach Bums" We played guitars and we sang. Between the two memories, I became and still am a big fan of classic rock from the late 60's and early 70's so this day was a lot of fun for me. I also play the tambourine with several local classic rock bands, so music is a very big part of my life. Music, rock n roll specifically, is my medicine. I enjoy going to as many concerts as I can, trying for a floor seat as much as possible. There is almost nothing more thrilling than being in the front row to a famous classic rock band. I have been privileged to have done that to quite a few well known performers and I hope I will do it again many more times. Music is definitely a natural high. But that's the hippie in me talking. Let's get back to hippie day. The main thing I needed was my own costume, which was easy; pigtails, tie-dye shirt, John Lennon glasses, a headband, patched jeans, a daisy painted on my cheek and a peace sign. I had my favorite entertainer come and he put together a show with all songs from the 1960's. I sang almost every song with him and danced around making peace signs saying things like "groovy party! I am so digging it, man!" Everybody got into it, greeting each other with peace signs all day! I cut ribbon, which I gave out as headbands and I got bright stickers to put on their cheeks. It's all about the spirit and the music. A song can instantly take a person back to a place and time. When the right song is playing, all of your problems disappear. I sang all day and believe me, I'm not a great singer but it does not matter to the residents. I sing along to cds, I play a little guitar and sing and they love it. It's like when a parent watches their child play, they love it even if they are horrible. If you want to be a successful activity director, do not be afraid to sing out loud, even off key. Tell them you never sang out loud before and I know that they will even love you all the more! I find it funny that they can't believe that I know the lyrics to so many songs. I tell them that the music part of your brain will live as long as you do. I'm sure that they can sing along to almost any Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra song, so they are just as talented as me! I ran an Alzheimer’s' unit years ago. I had residents who couldn't recognize their own children, but when "You are My Sunshine" was playing, they knew every word! That is the bottom line on Hippy Day. Listen to the music, keep it in your heart and never stop rockin'! Rockin' is what keeps us young! Happy Hippie Day


French Day

I can't tell you how proud I am of taking a residents' French Day idea and filling every second of the day with French activities. If you plan to do a French Day after reading this, I will tell you that it is a lot of work and most residents will not thank you for your efforts but we expect that in the recreation field and you just have to know in your heart that you made a difference, even if some residents may forget all about it by tomorrow. I love when I got an idea and turn it into reality. I also loved making two residents from France feel very special today. One was in charge of the morning French lesson, with sheets I made and the other was in charge of the art program. Of course, neither one of these people can really teach, but I made it as if they were in charge. My art lesson was in the style of Henry Matisse. He did a mix of large collage and painting. I precut hand shapes from lots of colored construction paper. Residents glued the hands as a mosaic on a colored sheet and then painted it. It was a simple, yet effective project and perfect for French Day. Mattisse was a

very famous French painter and it was a great activity teaching about his life and showing them the technique, they came out amazing. Music is a big part to create an atmosphere of being in France, so I purchased a few songs from itunes after I only found romantic, slow French music at the library, I like lively, upbeat danceable music! It makes everyone happy. Of course, playing Cabaret or a Maurice Chevalier cd would be fine, too. Music makes a great atmosphere surrounded by easy to make French flags while they are coming in for lunch. I also love to dance so I dance as they walk in and while waiting for enough people to start the program. What I also found at the library was a video visit to France. I played it while I was making and serving the French toast I made while dressed as a scaled down version of a French maid! Did you know that French toast was not originally French! The Celtics would take stale bread and dip it in the mixture of egg and milk and bake it so they would not have to throw away food. I demonstrated making French Toast and had my special French resident break the eggs, like a co-host on a t,v, show. It made her feel so special.

It was my second costume of the day. That's a first, 2 costumes in one day. I started out as an artist, which was quite easy to make. After hunting for a beret, I saw a resident wearing one who lent it to me for a day. I also took a big smock kind of shirt and did a French knot in a scarf around my neck. I also demonstrated different French scarf ties, which I found on YouTube. There was also plenty of trivia all over the internet. Search for trivia of the Mona Lisa, the Louvres, Arc De Triumph or just French or France trivia. I highly recommend this day. It was full of learning and music and laughter and love, my special four ingredients, and it was absolutely free! Merci! Bon Soir! Happy French Day!


Pilgrim Day Pilgrim Day is a fun day to create. The only problem you may come across is finding a bonnet. I think the first one I had I got from a children’s' clothing store. It was tight, but it worked. Ask around. You never knew who has taken a trip to the Amish Country and bought one as a souvenir. Always use your friends as resources. You would be surprised what people have in their basement and are more than happy to lend or even donate if you ask. Besides the bonnet, Pilgrim Day is easy to create and a costume that causes a lot of reactions. I even get grumpy people laughing! For the rest of the costume, I have a long black skirt and a long sleeved black shirt. I take a regular piece of white paper and cut two long wide strips and tape them around my

wrist to form the cuff. Through the years , my "bib" and apron have changed but in this picture, my bib is really the apron from a French Maid Halloween costume and the apron is simply the plastic ones my facility stocks in the kitchen. You can use any white apron or even a pinned handkerchief for the bottom. You can see in the picture, the second life I gave to some "doilies" I found at a garage sale. I love to get the residents in costumes. It definitely add to the imagination and youthfulness of the day. It is not necessary, but a really nice detail. I wear basic black pumps and make a square out of white paper, cut out a square and tape it onto my shoes. It's totally free and the residents love it. The trimming on the man’s hat in our "family portrait" is also made from plain construction paper, colored in with brown marker, but keeping it white is fine. Add a few Thanksgiving props such as gourds and autumn leaves and you and your residents will become a group of Pilgrims! Make sure you take a family portrait! It takes a few minutes to get everyone where they belong and pose them with the props and you will definitely need some patience but it is possible. The residents feel so special and validated when I make such a fuss over them for the pictures.

Anyway, now that you have got your costume on, there are quite a number of things you can do with the residents to celebrate Pilgrim day. The highlight of the day is demonstrating making Pumpkin Pie, the "Incredible Edible”. .There are many pie recipes, including one found here: www.food.com/recipe/easy-pumpkin-pie-100396. While I mix my recipe, I double it and I ask residents to help figure out how much of the ingredients I need. While the pies are being baked, I take this opportunity to talk about Gratitude. I encourage them to have an attitude of gratitude and appreciate all they have rather than complaining about what they don't have. Statistic are if you have 3 meals a day, a bed and a roof, you are richer than 3/4 of the world. Thank God for all you have. Appreciate the little things. I tell them of when my cousin, who is an officer at the US Embassy in Vienna, took an old Polish Lady for a ride through Poland. She marveled at an ordinary house that had flowers. He said she was overwhelmed at how rich a person must be if they have the luxury of growing flowers rather than necessary fruits and vegetables. Have your residents talk about what they are grateful for. You can even have them fill out a thankfulness record, naming one thing a day and keeping record of it.

Throughout the course of the day, I also teach them about the first Thanksgiving. While they eat, we do a Pilgrim Word Search, finding small words out of the big words. I also have a special bingo where I give out dollar store Pilgrim figurines or something similar, or I hand out a large print search a word. It is a wonderful, easy, informative, educational, fun, proven successful program for Thanksgiving. It is with deep gratitude that I get to be a Pilgrim and make so many people smile because of it. You can do the same thing. Feel free to e-mail me with questions. If it is too much for you and you would like to have a day like this at your facility and are in my area, please contact me and I can make it happen. Either way, be grateful or be thankful that you have a career where you make other people have better days. I consider myself blessed that I have these people, my people, in my life. Happy Thanksgiving!


Chinese New Year Chinese New Year has to be one of my favorites to celebrate with the residents. Throughout the years, I have learned about this culture and I find their beliefs fascinating and meaningful. I have even spent New Year’s with a Chinese family. This is one of the programs that I bring to other facilities but it is really easy to celebrate on a budget. It takes a little preparation but it is so worth it. It does make a difference if you put together an outfit for yourself. Put your hair in a bun if you don’t have a wig and use chopsticks in it. My mom had an old robe with big sleeves and that really worked perfectly. I had an old" moomoo" that worked, too. Of course, if you're in New York, buy one down in Chinatown! I love a day trip

there, it gets me in the mood for our special day and on each trip, I pick up a few bright red decorations. It takes place near Valentine's so the red fits in perfectly. Get real red Chinese envelopes or just buy a package of red ones at local stationary or art store. This is NOT necessary but it adds a nice touch. I fill each one between a quarter and a $5 ($10 total) for hidden prizes. In Chinese tradition, children and single women get red envelopes with money inside. When they sit down at the table, each carefully placed setting has a red envelope. On red dollar store tablecloths, the centerpiece is anything to create a Chinese feel or green plant. I use Chinese takeout menus as the placemat, chopsticks the restaurant gives me and a fortune cookie, which are very cheap. I have Oriental music playing, you can get it for free at the library. I print out The Chinese symbol for Chinese New Year and run it off on red paper in black letters. i bend them back and forth to make fans and tie them with black ribbon. They are more beautiful than the ones you can order from a supply store. I make "ten for a dollar "cheap oriental flavor noodles that I just add hot water to and put in red plastic bowls. First, I teach about the customs of this holiday, especially how the devout Chinese does NOTHING, without consulting the stars because they believe that their ancestors dwell there and watch every move. Their ancestors are regarded as wise people with the utmost respect. They burn the "Kitchen God" to get rid of sins. They pay back debts. It is solemn until midnight. The holiday has so many interesting customs. Then I give chopstick lessons and we eat noodles! To create a theme out of the whole day besides the dessert party, there are a number of options. I have a woman come in and do tai chi with the residents and do a demonstration. You can look online and find the Chinese horoscope. Everyone is an animal and a mineral. It’s a fun discussion group. Use “Confucius " quotes for a wheel of fortune game. Happy Chinese New Year!

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