Have you ever thought to yourself, I need to find a craft for my seniors.
Then think, it needs to be age appropriate. It needs to be exciting. And the list goes on in your head, wondering what will gain attendance in your senior center or council on aging.

Look no further. I have a few suggestions for you…

In this post you will learn about

The Benefits of Crafting for Seniors

Choosing the right crafts for seniors

Two Crafts you can try right now

If you’d like to skip to a particular section, click the link above and it will take you directly there.

BENEFITS OF CRAFts FOR SENIORS

Photo in background of votives with fall leaves collaged on them. Quote in front "By sitting or standing in one place as we create, we are challenging ourselves to be with our current emotions."

Why is crafting good for seniors?

Crafts can be created at any age or stage of life. They have a wonderful way of keeping our focus, helping us to connect in community and showing us we have the ability to learn and grow within the creative arts.

As an art therapist, I know they connect us to parts of ourselves that we go day-to-day taking for granted. Here are three domains of development that crafting can help enhance and connect us to.

Cognitive Benefits

By focusing on the task of craft, creating or learning something new, we are creating new connections in our brains. Numerous studies suggest that continually learning something new, in this case a craft, can help reduce your risk of developing dementia (source).

Crafting can also engage the executive function part of the brain. This area is responsible for being able to make decisions and follow an order of steps to complete a goal. In people living with Alzheimer’s disease, this is one of the first areas in the brain to be challenged (source).

Emotional Benefits

So many emotions are swirling around in our head and body. By sitting or standing in one place as we create, we are challenging ourselves to be with those emotions. This is where having an art therapist facilitate a craft comes in handy.

As an Art Therapist for older adults, I choose crafts that I’ve learned can be challenging, and won’t increase a person’s stress levels in a negative way. One of my goals for art therapy crafts for seniors is that we try to reduce negative cortisol levels, while creating an environment of release.

Social Benefits

One of the more incredible gifts when leading crafts for seniors is not actually the completed craft. It’s the relationships created and enhanced among the participants. Some group members come early to chat before starting their craft. Some participants like to help with set up and clean up as we connect about their lives.

The benefit of people continually coming to art groups is that we get to know each other on a more personal level. They know about my little guy and I know about their children and grandchildren.

Choose the RIGHT crafts for seniors

It can feel quite daunting trying to figure out what to do with your seniors. There can be a big age range of participants. Some people see seniors starting at 55. This means you could have participants from the age of 55, all the way up to 100+.

As an Art Therapist who leads art groups in the Boston-area, I’ve included some limitations I’ve encountered, as well as things to consider.

What crafts can adults do?

Adults can do any crafts that feel right to them. This will vary with personal preferences. Below I’ve given you a few different ways of looking at crafts for seniors.

Physical and Cognitive Limitations

Aging can cause challenges to people physically and cognitively. They may have trouble with their vision, dexterity or following step-by-step instructions. This means creating a craft that can be accessible to all and allows for modification is important.

Hearing, Sight and Cognition Changes

If someone in your group appears to not be participating. Maybe they’re sitting in front of their art materials and not crafting. There are many possible reasons for them to not participate, cognition, hearing, or other health concerns. It’s important not to jump to conclusions.

This person might benefit from being placed near you when you’re giving out directions. If that doesn’t work, they might benefit from having someone attend the group with them. This could be a family member or hired caregiver.

What crafts are good for dexterity?

In my experience as an art group facilitator, participants have had trouble with fine motor crafts. An example would be needle point or coloring in thin lines. It might be best to offer gross motor type crafts for people experiencing this type of issue. An example of gross motor would be anything that is more open, and less about details… think large canvas painting.

Personal Preferences Matter

Some people really like having a finished product, while others enjoy creating without a product in mind. Some say they love product art and often appear disappointed at their results. Catering to both of these people is important!

the difference between product and process art?

Product Art

When working with a new art therapy group, I always lean into product art for the first few art therapy sessions. This kind of art follows steps and gets everyone to similar results. It engages and challenges the executive functioning area of the brain. I always come with a sample for those who feel they need reference to get to the end product.

Process Art

With process art, everyone starts in the same place, with the same materials and the same prompt. The end results are all different. In this type of art, participants are taking a risk to show themselves in their art. There is more opportunity for artwork to have meaning and symbolism. There’s often a larger story and journey of self-discovery in a process art group.

6 tips for starting a Crafts for Seniors Group:

Write a Disclaimer
When writing up descriptions for senior centers to publicize my crafts for seniors, I sometimes write a disclaimer. An example of this could be “All are welcome, if you have trouble with your fine motor skills, you may find this challenging.” That leaves the decision whether to sign up or not to the participant. I’d rather participants be aware of the challenge before they enter the group and possibly become surprised and frustrated.
Product Art to Start
Start with product art and then leave the results open. This can reduce anxiety for crafters. They know what they’re creating and can provide structure that people need to feel safe to create. It also provides openness for different results.

For those that like to be creative, there’s the acceptance that they can create whatever and however they want. You’d be so surprised by how many people say “I’m not creative” and their results speak otherwise!
Create Relationships with Members.
My participants inspire my programs in two ways. They create art that inspires the thought of other ideas OR they simply ask to do a specific art media. My role as art therapist is to create a client-centered program.

I go ahead and learn what they’re asking for and then teach that skill in a future group. My groups started doing Zentangles years before they became popular because someone asked me about it! My greatest joy is someone coming to the next session and stating “I did our past art session with my grandchild” or “Can you tell me what supplies I need to recreate this”.
Get Their Opinion on process art ideas.
Do you have an idea, but you’re too nervous it won’t be received well? After a few sessions of product art, simply survey participants. See what they think and if they’re open to taking a risk with you. They will probably surprise you.
Introduce a Process Art project.
Following along the lines of getting their opinion, introduce them to a process art project after a few sessions have felt successful. Below I reference two ideas. Scroll down for examples and suggestions.
Get Feedback
At the end of the session and beginning of the next session ee what participants liked and didn’t like. This is so important. They will tell you with their presence whether your crafts for seniors group is working for them. At the end of session see what they want to do next. If it’s a quiet group, bring options for them to choose from. Participants love to see and feel their future crafts. It gets them excited.

Popular ideas of Crafts for Seniors

What are some popular Craft Ideas for Seniors?

Here are some general ideas of crafts you could do with your seniors.

I have led all of these art therapy groups with much success!

You can look further into some of these ideas mentioned above. Pinterest can be a great place to find visual references of these ideas. I keep an inspiration folder for all of my senior center programs.

You can also follow me on Pinterest by clicking here!

Two Crafts you can try right now

Here are two crafts for seniors that I’ve done with several senior centers and council on aging. They were both a great success. I’ve written them like a recipe. With supplies first and then steps to follow.

Product Art Craft

Bring Your Canvas to Life

Supplies
Canvas 9x12
Assorted Florals
Glue Gun
Sharpie type Marker
Scissors
Duct/Masking/Painter’s Tape

Instructions

Draw a vase shape on the canvas with the sharpie. I suggest making a template of a vase and tracing that on the canvas. (image)
Gather flowers. Choose one or two larger flowers and a handful of smaller, filler flowers that go well with the large flowers.
With the scissors you will create three small holes on the top of the vase. Make sure to keep these small. As you start to add flowers to your canvas, the holes will grow to fit them. If you make the holes too big, the canvas will not be able to support your flowers.
Remove leaves from stems, or push leaves up to the flower.
Insert stem into the hole, with the flower floating above the top of the vase.
When flowers are situated the way you would like, you can glue the stems to the backside of the canvas with the hot glue gun. For even more support, you can use tape to hold the stems down.

Process Art Craft

Landscapes with Meaning

Supplies
Watercolor Paper 9x12 or 11x14
Foam Brush
Tissue Paper
Cup with water
Elmer's type Glue
Scissors
Assorted Fabric (Joann Fabrics sells remnants)

Instructions:

Ask participants ahead of time to bring in a photograph of a place in their life that has meaning to them. When asked about what kind of photo, I suggest any photo that has memory or meaning to it. Let them know they will be creating an abstraction of that place.
Lay out assorted fabrics on the table
Mix 2 tablespoons of glue with 1 tablespoon of water until a smooth consistency is created.
Have participants look at their photo from a color perspective. Choosing fabrics and colors that can be found in their photo or fabrics that speak to them.
Use the glue and water mixture as your adhesive. Cut or tear fabric to create a collage. You can glue under and on top of the fabrics, as well as the tissue paper.

I hope this article can be helpful to you! A big reminder that you do NOT have to do all of these things! Start small, choose one thing here that you feel you have the ability and capacity for.

Keep in Touch

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happy crafting!

Source 1

Hughes, T. F., Chang, C. C., Vander Bilt, J., & Ganguli, M. (2010). Engagement in reading and hobbies and risk of incident dementia: the MoVIES project. American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, 25(5), 432–438. https://doi.org/10.1177/1533317510368399

Source 2

Lima, Hannah, "How Art Therapy and the Expressive Therapies Continuum can be used to Enhance Executive Functioning Skills: A Literature Review" (2023). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 710. https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/710

Crafts for Seniors: An Art Therapist Perspective