Fun Activities for Seniors: Over 100 Ways to Play

Whatever your age, interests, or abilities, you can enjoy pastimes that make you laugh, lose track of time, or feel like a goofy kid at heart. And plenty of activities cost little or no money. Some of the best types of diversions for older adults or elderly people include:

According to one study, four of the top five activities most commonly cited by seniors as being their favorites are, by their nature, very active. They include walking and jogging, gardening and yard work, playing sports, and other physical pursuits.

But fun takes many different forms. So check out the following list of things to do for inspiration. And learn why play is so important.

9 Best Types of Fun Activities for Older Adults

1. Active Games and Sports

These give you the chance to get some exercise, improve your hand-eye coordination, and gain a sense of control over the physical world. All of that can be very satisfying, especially if you get to overcome obstacles or compete with other people in a friendly way.

Consider examples like:

Golf
Miniature golf
Pool
Shuffleboard
Bocce
Tennis
Badminton
Pickle ball
Croquet
Ball tossing
Frisbee tossing
Volleyball (including with a beach ball or balloon)
Horseshoes
Lawn bowling
Indoor bowling
Wii Bowling
Curling

2. Dancing, Karaoke, and Other Performance Arts

Dancing to music can connect your body to exciting and healing rhythms. Singing popular songs (even badly) in front of other people can help you enjoy the humor in your efforts and avoid taking yourself too seriously. And performing in other ways—such as acting in a skit or trying a stand-up comedy routine—can remind you of how fun it is to tell stories in new or creative ways.

Take a chance and try things like:

Line, ballroom, salsa, or swing dancing
Seniors' or all-ages karaoke
Acting in a play
Telling jokes to an audience
Reading books to groups of young kids
Writing and acting out skits
Participating in comedic improv
Starting a seniors' dance troupe

Socializing can be a powerful way to inject more fun into your life. That's particularly true if you get to reminisce about old times or talk about the other things that interest you. In fact, a good conversation may elevate your mood and outlook more than anything else on this list, especially if you keep things jovial.

So don't shy away from attending other people's parties or joining clubs. Also, consider planning some of your own events. You can plan parties around all kinds of themes such as:

Casino night
Murder mystery
Trivia night
Mexican fiesta
Ugly sweaters night
The 1920s, 50s, 60s, etc.
Masquerade ball
Arabian nights
Mardi Gras
Pirates
Hawaiian luau
Jungle bash
The Oscars
Formal tea
Secret Santa

4. Traditional Games and Puzzles

Board games and card games provide great ways to socialize and benefit from the joyful challenges of friendly competition. And puzzles can help sharpen your mind and give you a sense of progress and accomplishment.

Consider options like:

Uno
Scrabble
Pictionary
Yahtzee
Bingo
Checkers
Chinese checkers
Dominoes
Monopoly
Chess
Backgammon
Cribbage
Go Fish
Poker
Bridge
Mahjong
Canasta
Rummy
Solitaire
Crazy Eights
Crossword puzzles
Jigsaw puzzles
Word search puzzles

5. Animal Interactions

Just like people, animals want and need to have fun. So playing with them can be mutually beneficial.

Besides, it's often easy to find animals to interact with even if you don't have any pets. For example, many animal shelters welcome seniors who want to give dogs, cats, or other critters some quality attention.

6. Gardening, Bird-watching, and Other Outdoor Pastimes

Group of four senior friends enjoying a picnic on a sunny day

As long as the weather is decent, being outside can do wonders for your mood. After all, the natural world is full of pleasurable sights, sounds, smells, and other sensory delights. They let you feel like an explorer or like you're connected to something larger than yourself.

Consider diversions such as:

Gardening
Bird-watching
Walking
Hiking
Picnics
Boat rides
Metal detecting
Kite flying
Nature photography

7. Arts and Crafts

These kinds of creative recreational pursuits are great for people of all ages, and they often make terrific elderly activities.

Ideas like these can reignite a person's vitality and sense of what's possible:

Painting
Sketching/drawing
Ceramics
Mosaics
Woodcraft
Polymer clay modeling
Papercraft
Beading
Knitting
Crocheting
Embroidery
Quiltmaking
Card making
Jewelry making

8. Active Learning

Learning is always more fun when it's something you choose to do for its own sake. Whole new avenues of possibility reveal themselves.

So follow your curiosity and impulses. Learning something new is beneficial at any age. As examples, consider learning how to:

Sing or play a musical instrument
Speak a foreign language
Use computers more effectively
Write code
Design websites
Take professional-quality photos
Write great stories
Cook exotic meals
Decipher hieroglyphs
Perform magic tricks

9. Outings and excursions

Many great options exist, especially when you gather a small group of people to share the experiences. You may not be a kid, but that doesn't mean you can't go on field trips for some laughter, excitement, exploration, and social bonding.

For singles especially, getting out of the house is an important part in finding potential partners. You might meet someone doing a shared activity you both enjoy, or you could plan fun outings and activities for dates with other seniors you meet through online matchmaking.

Consider excursions to places or events like:

Theme parks
Carnivals
County fairs
Comedy clubs
Hands-on science museums
Adult arcades
Concerts
Sporting events
Theatrical performances
Art shows
Wineries
Beer festivals

Happy senior couple laughing together with text for Silver Singles dating service advertisement for the young at heart

Why Play Is Important

Scientific studies continue to show that enjoyable activities can have several major benefits. For example, they have the power to help:

Improve how your brain works. Do you want to maintain your memory and optimize your ability to learn new things? Engaging in play on a regular basis can enhance your creativity and mental sharpness.
Heal, establish, or maintain relationships. A lot of seniors are lonely. In fact, on average, seniors who live alone spend over 10 hours alone each day. But having fun can enable older adults to make new friends or improve existing relationships.

Things like laughter and friendly competition are known to increase harmony, trust, empathy, and intimacy among people who experience them together.
Improve your mental and emotional well-being. Do you like the way you feel when you have a brighter outlook on life and your sense of time recedes into the background? Engaging in activities you enjoy can expand your optimism, multiply your moments of joy, and reduce your stress. It can even help prevent depression.
Extend your life and improve your physical vitality. Who doesn't want to feel younger or more energetic? Creating plenty of fun moments in your life can be a good way to boost your immune system, reduce your risk of illness, and minimize your perception of any pain you might already have.

Play should be a major part of life for everyone. We can all probably use many more joyful experiences. It's who we are, no matter our age.