31 Meaningful Activities For People With Dementia

How can you help people with dementia live a fulfilling and joyful life? Whether you work with or care for someone with dementia, we see you and we send you our support. It’s important to find ways to stay connected and discover bursts of joy in everyday life, so we’ve put together a list of 31 meaningful activities for people with dementia to gain a sense of accomplishment and improve the quality of life they experience.

Prepare to be inspired! 

Activities for dementia patients at home

As a caregiver for someone living with dementia at home, you may well feel like you’re running out of ideas! So, give some of these a whirl: 

• Looking through photo albums
• Board games
• Crosswords
• Jigsaw puzzles
• Wordsearches 
• Listening to an audiobook or podcast
• Doing everyday tasks together (like folding laundry, arranging books, or pairing socks)

Activity ideas for late-stage dementia

In the later stages of dementia, you may think it’s impossible to improve your loved one’s well-being through activities, but from our experience, there’s always something new to try if you keep an open mind!

Why not try some of these and see how you get on? 

Singing – a fun activity is to research popular songs someone with dementia listened to in their youth. Encourage them to join in and you’ll be surprised at how many songs are stored away in their long-term memory. It may help them remember things long forgotten and share stories about artists they enjoyed in the past. 

Listening to music – if they’re not in the mood to belt out an old classic, encourage your loved one to simply listen to music – this can be just as great for the well-being of a person. Why not create a playlist to listen to together and let their minds wander back to old times in peace as you enjoy each other’s company?

Make your own games – see https://www.instagram.com/bewegen.is.leven/ for ideas like catch, whack-a-mole, DIY golf, and more. Simple activities like using everyday household objects – like throwing a ball into a box or umbrella – can be physically stimulating to work on those fine motor skills, as well as mentally engaging to bring a smile to everyone’s face.

We love the Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/bewegen.is.leven/ as it’s full of inspiring ideas and wonderful moments! Take a look for yourself and see what you think 😀

Outdoor activities for people with dementia

Physical activity is fantastic for everyone’s mental health, and getting out into the fresh air to move with others combines multiple meaningful activities for people experiencing dementia who may often be cooped up inside.

Why not try one of these engaging activities to help a person with dementia stay active?

• Local nature trail
• Shopping trip
• Tai chi
• Yoga
• Guided walking tour
• Bike ride
• Basketball or netball (wheelchair-friendly versions if they’re less mobile)
• Golf
• Gardening

Obviously, the leisure activities you plan for your loved one will depend on various factors, like their mobility and location. Some activities may not be suitable, so speak to their care team first to check which activities are safe.

But hopefully, this gives you some ideas of what’s possible to organise and try out together. 

Dementia Friendly Days Out in the North of England

Dementia Friendly Days Out in the South of England

Social activities for people with dementia

Social interaction is proven to boost the quality of life for people living with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. 

When your loved one meets other people diagnosed with dementia, it can help them feel less alone and give them renewed hope about living well with dementia.

Here are some ideas for socialising you could look out for in your area:

• Local dementia group or memory cafe
• Specialist fitness session
• Swimming clubs
• Drama groups

Creative activities for people with dementia

Getting creative is a wonderful way to unleash everyone’s inner child and find mindful moments of reflection and joy. It’s no wonder art can be a form of therapy for all!

Together with your loved one or in a group setting, you could take part in many different artistic pursuits to boost well-being in people with dementia.

• Matching Memories – our conversation-sparking game designed to encourage connection, reminiscing, and joy. 
• Colouring books
• Drawing/art classes
• Make a collage (tip: find magazines relating to their interests or background to stir up memories they may want to share with you)
• Baking
• Arts and crafts 

Plan activities to stimulate your loved one’s mind 

We hope this blog helped you gain inspiration for the best and most meaningful activities for people with dementia to enjoy a better quality of life. 

We also wrote another article designed for activity ideas for care homes so make sure to read that too!

Like you, we’ve experienced the progression of dementia in a loved one and we know how challenging it can be. In fact, we’re passionate about creating resources and sharing ideas to brighten your day, we started our own business to do just that! 

At A Good Day, we designed Matching Memories as a dementia-friendly conversation game to make it easy for your loved one to open up and stay connected to you as their dementia progresses. 

It can be used in care settings or at home between someone who has dementia and their family or caregiver – and trust us, you’re going to love it! 💛

Which of the different activities shared here are you going to try out for yourself? Please drop us a message or comment on social media to let us know!