Plan party games and entertainment specially designed for senior interests and abilities.
Liven up a senior's birthday party with games tailored to the guest of honor's interests, memories and abilities. Set up card games that are familiar to him or set up a bingo tournament. Stage music and trivia games focusing on the decades in which the senior honoree grew up. With simple preparation and planning, your next party for a senior citizen can be a big hit.
Game Table
A game table at a senior party will help get both older and younger guests to interact with games they can all enjoy. Set up a table with decks of cards, board games, poker chips and snacks. Seniors who enjoy playing cards can sit at the table and start a round or set up a tournament. Spice up a game of poker by having penny and nickel stakes for a competitive, yet easygoing scene. Ask the guest of honor what his favorite board games are and have them ready for the day of the party.
Bingo
Get everyone involved and bonding with an interactive game of bingo. Either purchase or create bingo game cards and pass out small bowls of game pieces, such as buttons or pennies, to cover up the bingo numbers. Assign one guest to call out the numbers. Play a traditional diagonal game, four corners or full-cover board. Walk around every so often to check if anyone needs assistance. Encourage a lively crowd to shout out "Bingo!" when they've won, then distribute small prizes such as bath products and home decorations.
Name That Tune
Take a trip down memory lane with a musical game of Name That Tune. Before the party, create a play list or a mix CD of popular songs from the time period during which the birthday senior grew up. For example, if you're throwing a party for a senior born in 1935, include popular songs from her teen years in the 1950s, such as "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets, "Rockin' Robbin" by Bobby Day and "Peggy Sue" by Buddy Holly. Gather the senior guests to listen to the songs and call out a song title and artist upon recognizing it; this can be just for fun or for prizes. Make the song choices progressively harder and more obscure for a competitive Name That Tune tournament.
Trivia
Play a friendly game of trivia with the seniors at the birthday party. Set up a decades-themed, Jeopardy-style game that the seniors can relate to. For example, if the party crowd mostly grew up during the 1940s and 1950s, create a Jeopardy-style game based around those decades, with categories like, "Hit Songs," "Historic Events" and "Sports Championships." Alternatively, play a nostalgic memory game with pictures that you've asked the seniors in advance to bring from their years growing up. Gather the pictures at the beginning of the party and, if possible, use a projector to display them for the seniors or just pass them around. Have the seniors try to guess which party guest is in the picture.
Tags: Name That, Name That Tune, That Tune, birthday party, board games, guest honor, Jeopardy-style game