Creative projects can be very beneficial for the elderly, especially for those living in assisted living facilities. As well as being a great way to keep the mind more active, taking on a craft project together will help to prevent them from feeling isolated and lonely. You’ll be able to enjoy the satisfaction of making something together, create new memories and help them to feel happier.
Does your grandparent already have a creative skill? Perhaps they can knit, make clothes, build furniture or are good at woodworking. Take advantage of knowing an expert, and ask them to share their skills with you and teach you how to do it. This will be a lovely way to keep a skill in the family and help your grandparents to pass on something that has brought them joy during their life. Depending on what they can do, spending some time teaching you could help them to strengthen their memory skills or improve physical dexterity by keeping mind and hands active.
Take on a creative project together around your family history. Go through old family photographs or other keepsakes together and find a way to display them in photo albums, scrapbooks or some sort of display. You can learn the stories behind different pictures and save them for later generations, keeping family stories and memories going for longer. Why not take on a challenge like creating a quilt with squares depicting different family members.
Perhaps your family comes from a cultural background with traditional crafts, like folk art, basket weaving or making dreamcatchers. Sharing these crafts as a family is a lovely way to learn about your heritage, your family’s history and some traditional art methods. Get younger children involved to encourage them to learn about where they’re from and some of their cultural traditions. As you work, ask your grandparents to teach about other traditions, to learn more and to make them feel as though their memories and stories are valued.
You could try some crafts that fit in with other interests you and your grandparents share. For example, if you’re both green-fingered you could make crafts for the garden. Make pretty labels for plants or decorate pots for citronella candles. Preserve flowers from their garden by pressing them and using them in other crafts like fitting them in shadow boxes or in decoupage.
Take on a new challenge together, like learning to crochet, or how to make clothes. Spend a few weeks making Christmas gifts for the family together, like coffee mug cosies, comfortable scarves or small pieces of personalised jewellery.
