Looking for ways to celebrate the 4th of July at your nursing facility? Our friends at notjustbingo.com have come up with these 6 indoor or outdoor activities to have at your Fourth of July party.

1. Independence Day Sports Tournament

Divide your residents into two or three-person teams as you have them compete against one another in a patriotic game of football toss, basketball, or just a simple ball toss game.

Equipment:

• Red, white and blue football
• Mini patriotic basketball 
• Red foam ball

Use a typical tournament-style playoff system to have each winning team play another winning team until you end up with your facility’s Independence Day champions. Decorate the field with red, white and blue balloons too!

2. America Themed Game Challenges

Encourage residents to compete in a fun American Trivia challenge game as you divide residents into two teams: women and men. Each team will have to put their memory and knowledge of the USA to the test! Encourage family members and staff members to join in on the challenge too.

3. Whose Kite Can Fly Higher?

Invite residents to decorate patriotic kites to fly outdoors to see whose kite can fly the highest. Pair residents into teams of two, in which one member is holding the kite string and the other is helping the kite get off the ground to catch the wind.

45. Name That American Landmark

Invite residents to watch a patriotic DVD that features music and imagery of American landscapes and landmarks. As the different landmarks appear, encourage residents to be the first to identify the landmark.

5. Patriotic Crafts

Encourage residents to work with their hands to make some fun patriotic themed crafts. You can display the finished crafts around the facility. Here are some great craft ideas!

6. Patriotic Bingo

Play patriotic bingo by creating Bingo cards on your computer and filling in the boxes with the titles of patriotic songs. During the game, use a patriotic CD for residents to hear the song, identify the title, and find it on their bingo card. The patriotic CD also works well for a patriotic Name That Tune game.

Find more ideas from Notjustbingo on the S&S blog here.

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About Not Just Bingo:

Not Just Bingo is an online resource of fun, senior activity ideas for activity professionals of assisted living facilities. They have been providing fun activity ideas online since 2009, and continue to assist activity professionals across the country by creating meaningful and engaging activity ideas for their residents that go “beyond bingo.” Not Just Bingo feels privileged to help activity directors better the living experiences of their residents while demonstrating that a senior’s quality of life can actually improve when they move to a senior facility!

Want even more ideas each month? Visit www.notjustbingo.com for how-to activity ideas, monthly newsletters, and daily holiday ideas. You can also sign up for the Notjustbingo Membership to receive specialized activity ideas to keep your residents and staff engaged, active, and having fun!

For more patriotic activities for the 4th of July, visit www.ssww.com/blog/tag/patriotic