Remember the old-fashioned fun of the school carnival? As children we would look forward all year to winning lots of cheesy prizes at homemade booths.
Believe it or not, older adults still love this kind of simple entertainment. You’ll have as much fun watching them as they have playing. And, they will love you for your efforts.
All you need is a bit of simple planning and you’re on your way to a day of fun!
We planned 10 games (you could have more of less depending on your situation such as ages and mobility of seniors).
We gave each person a program describing the games, a colorful bag for prizes and 50 tickets.
1. Cupcake Walk-We decided to have a cupcake walk instead of a cake walk because most seniors will never eat a whole cake by themselves. Staff members donated brightly decorated cupcakes for prizes. We used colorful duct tape to make a board on the carpet large enough to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers. Seniors walk around the edges of the board stopping only when the music stops. One years I used numbers and we drew to see who had won a cupcake. This year I put x’s on the the board and whoever landed on the x won a cupcake. This was the only game held indoors. This game was 4 tickets to play.
2. Win-A-Fish-For this game we purchased glass ivy bowls and inexpensive fish. We treated the water 24 hours before adding the fish with AquaSafe. We placed the bowls on one table with an empty table in front of it. Contestants then bounced a ping pong ball on the front table in an attempt to land in one of the bowls. The Seniors loved this game. They were very excited to win a pet for their rooms. This event was 4 tickets.
3. Duck Pond-We ordered floating ducks from a novelty company and labeled each on Small, Medium or Large. We filled a wash tub halfway with water and added the ducks. Contestants simply picked a duck to determine the size of their prize. The prizes for this game were duck key chains, duck coin purses and duck-billed hats. This game was 2 tickets to play.
4. Bean Bag Toss-We used a ready made bean bag toss game from a novelty company, but you could easily make one if you wanted. The prizes were determined by the total point value gained in three tosses. This game is 2 tickets to play.
5. Lollipop Tree-You can purchase cardboard Lollipop Trees but we made ours by painting an 18″ Styrofoam cone green and poking lots of holes in it. We put black marks on one third of the lollipops and stuck them all in the tree. Contestants who pulled out a marked sucker received a prize. This game was 2 tickets.
6. Kissing Booth-Two of our most popular staff members (one male and one female) volunteered to kiss our residents on the cheek for 3 tickets. They also gave out Mardi Gras type beads to all contestants. This booth was very popular!
7. The Ole’ Fishin’ Hole-For this game we made three sizes of card stock fish and attached two paper clips to each one. We attached twine to dowel rods and corks with magnets to the other end of the twine. Fish were placed behind a covered table. Contestants could “fish” for small, medium and large prizes. This game was 3 tickets.
8. Bozo Buckets-We took this one from the kids TV Show Bozo (remember The Grand Prize Game?). We took six plastic buckets and decorated them with stickers and paint. They were numbered 1-6 and placed on the ground with one being the closest and six being the farthest. Buckets one through five had prizes in them that contestants would retrieve as soon as they threw a ping pong ball inside. Bucket number six was empty. If contestants could get a ball into bucket six, they would receive the Grand Prize ( a stuffed animal or a larger prize of some sort). This game was 3 tickets to play.
9. Face Painting-This can be done in one or two ways. You can use paints and brushes to draw different designs or you can use the wet and release tattoos. We have tried both and find that the tattoos are quicker if you have a large crowd. The residents enjoy both of these methods equally. This was 2 tickets for each tattoo.
10. Balloon Burst-We took a 48″ bulletin board and staple tags reading small, medium or large. Then we attached small balloons with push pins. Contestants were given three darts for three tickets.
We had an open seating Carnival style lunch from 11am to 1pm with such foods as soft pretzels, corn dogs, funnel cakes and much more! This really gave the day a fun, relaxed feeling. We also had local volunteer clowns posing for pictures and handing our beads and balloons.
We gave away such prizes as plastic blow-up animals, fake rabbits feet, whistles, pinwheels and much more. The tables were decorated with handmade posters and plastic streamers. We held our Carnival outdoors but this would work indoors just as well. The smiles that came from our residents that day were priceless! We all can’t wait until next year!
