7 Ways to Celebrate Halloween in Assisted Living

Last Updated: October 29, 2018

The spookiest of seasons is upon us. The seniors living in your assisted living communities likely have many fond memories of celebrating Halloween throughout their lives and you don’t want this year to be an exception.7 Ways to Celebrate Halloween in Assisted Living

You can help them create new Halloween memories by simply planning some Halloween-themed activities for your assisted living residents this year.

How to Celebrate Halloween in Assisted Living

We’ve got a list of seven fun ways your residents can celebrate Halloween in assisted living this year:

1. Decorate.

Fill the community with spookiness. Start with any crafts residents created that function as decorations and supplement with various decorations you buy or create yourself. Halloween decorations are easy to find this time of year and they add a sense of festive fun to the space.

2. Have a costume contest.

For any residents that want to participate (and participation should be optional), have a costume contest. The contest can include both your assisted living residents and any family and friends they invite over to join. Figure out some sort of fun prize to give to the winner – maybe a goofy trophy or a Halloween-themed figurine.

3. Have a scary movie night.

Scary movies aren’t for everyone, but for the people that like them, they’re a reliable good time. Host a scary movie night at your assisted living community for the people interested. You can take votes from people on their favorites to figure out what to show, or pick some movies you know have solid reputations so your residents can experience something new.

If your community doesn’t have too many people that are into genuinely scary movies, you can show something that falls more in the horror/comedy vein, like “Hocus Pocus.”

4. Invite children and grandchildren to visit.

Seeing their grandchildren dressed up and celebrating will likely be the best part of Halloween for any residents that have family nearby. Extend an open invitation to all the families of residents and equip everyone in the community with some candy to give to any children that come by.

5. Make Halloween crafts.

Halloween crafts are an activity with many benefits when it comes to celebrating the holiday. They give residents something fun to do. They come with the satisfaction of creating something fun and they can be used as decorations to get your community in the spirit of the big day.

6. Make (healthy) Halloween recipes.

Candy’s arguably one of the best parts of Halloween, but your residents probably shouldn’t be eating a ton of sugar throughout the day. Make some healthy Halloween recipes that still offer the feel of Halloween sweets, but are a bit more in keeping with the doctor’s dietary recommendations for your various residents.

7. Share Halloween stories.

How people celebrate Halloween has changed a lot over the years. Your residents likely have some interesting memories from celebrating Halloween as children, and then in later years with their own kids.

Encourage people to share memories of their favorite costumes, favorite Halloween hijinks, or any trick-or-treating stories they recall.

If people don’t have much to add, you can switch over to sharing scary stories. Ask your residents about any strange or paranormal experiences they’ve had. You can come in prepared with a few scary tales from a book or the internet to contribute.

Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. She turns that interest to researching and exploring subjects helpful to seniors and their families for SeniorAdvisor.com.

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