Holiday Fun at Our Germantown Retirement Community
From Mrs. Gourley’s Nutcracker’s Alley to wherever our elves are getting into mischief, the Village at Germantown is full of holiday spirit this time of year. Have a ball at our Christmas and New Year’s parties, participate in the Christmas Carousel Gift Fair, attend the Village choir’s holiday concert, and enjoy festive performances by the ECS choir, Joy Weiner Student Violinists, and our very own staff members.
Villagers can also hop on the shopping shuttle to take in holiday store displays and get some exercise by window shopping, or use the suggestion box in the mailroom to request Christmas movies to be played in the Village theater. Besides these organized events, there are many more ways for Villagers to celebrate the season on their own or with friends, so this post is all about holiday activities for adults.
Holiday Memories
A wonderful way to capture your holiday memories is by making a scrapbook of old photos with handwritten captions, family recipes and funny stories that children and grandchildren can cherish every year.
Wouldn’t you also love to hear how your friends spent Christmas morning when they were growing up? Get everyone to share these memories by hosting A Cup of Christmas Tea party. Reading aloud the charming, rhymed story of A Cup of Christmas Tea while sipping gingerbread tea from festive cups around a decorated table has become an enjoyable trend among many older adults.
Many retirement community members make friends from various cultural backgrounds, so the holiday season is a perfect time to learn about each other’s heritages. A great way to do this is to have each friend decorate their villa or apartment for the holiday they observe, and serve food that is traditional for their family, while sharing stories about their holiday customs.
Holiday Activities for Adults
Villagers love a good round of Wii bowling or bridge, so why not get everyone laughing with some holiday games for adults? A great one is “funniest Christmas presents,” where someone names the three funniest Christmas presents they have ever received, with two being true and one being false. Then participants have to guess which one of the three is made up!
Many regular games can even be turned into holiday games for adults. For instance, use holiday characters in a game of charades or play a game of “name that tune” with Christmas carol lyrics.
Another simple one is guessing (with only a glance) how many ornaments are on a friend’s tree in their villa, with the winner receiving a fun prize. The same can be done with Christmas candies in a glass jar, and the closest guesser gets to take the jar home!
Christmas Crafts for Adults
You don’t have to be a trained artist to have fun with these Christmas crafts for adults. We’ll let you in on a secret called the window mural. Get an old window or even a backless picture frame and tape to the glass a print out of whatever you want to paint. Trace the picture with a permanent marker and fill in the spaces with water based acrylic paint. Just make sure to wait for sections to dry before you go back over them with a second or third coat of paint. Even easier art projects are the adult coloring pages that are popular right now, like these Christmas themed ones.
When grandchildren come to visit, or even if you’re decorating your apartment with your spouse, it can be fun to go back to the basics and string popcorn garland or cut paper snowflakes. You can also make gingerbread houses by adhering graham crackers to paper orange juice cartons with icing, and then using icing to attach candy and sprinkling coconut for snow! You could go an even simpler route by selecting a kit with pre-cut gingerbread pieces and pre-measured candy.
This last one isn’t exactly a craft, but it’s beautiful nonetheless! Have you ever grown amaryllis flowers? They’re bright red and pink pops of color in the wintertime, and they bloom indoors so you don’t have to brave the cold to care for and enjoy them. They’re easy to grow, and you can even get a package with a pot and a bulb all ready to go.
Home for the Holidays
We look forward to hearing about the fun you have with these holiday activities for adults. Look for pictures of the Villagers’ holiday fun on our Facebook page, and we encourage you to visit us if you’re interested in moving here because the holiday atmosphere is a great representation of the spirit of our community. Happy Holidays to you and your family!