The short answer
- Match the activity to what they can do nowA parent who is frailer than last year, or newly in a wheelchair, needs a different list, not the old one done less often.
- Stay active however small the movement isThe NHS advises older adults to move every day, even lightly, and to do strength and balance work twice a week. Ask the GP first after a fall, a hospital stay or a new diagnosis.
- Company matters as much as the activityLoneliness is common in later life and it is not a small problem. A regular visitor, a phone call rota or a companionship carer all help.
- For dementia, adapt rather than addThe same activities work, offered around what already has meaning for that person, kept short, and with nothing marked wrong.
If your parent is fit and active, the activities here will feel like a small selection: the ability grid below starts one step on from that. Activities to do in later life, linked at the end of the next section, has a longer list for that stage.
Where to start
Find the row that sounds like your parent
Families searching for activity ideas usually already know the trouble with the long lists: half the suggestions assume an independent, mobile person, and the other half do not fit somebody who has just come out of hospital or is managing a serious illness. The table below sorts ideas by what your parent can still do, across four areas of an active life, so you can start from where they are today.
Still gets about under their own steam
Walks with or without a stick, safe alone for a few hours, tires a bit sooner than they used to.
Keeping moving
- A regular walk, or a gentle hike on level ground
- Gardening, or an allotment
- Bowls, golf or swimming
Using the mind
- A book club or a crossword
- Cards or a board game evening
- Learning something new: a language, an instrument, a craft
Working with the hands
- Knitting, painting or woodwork
- Cooking or baking with the family
- Photography or keeping a scrapbook
Company
- Volunteering locally
- A day trip, or a senior travel group
- Time with grandchildren
Frailer, and needs a hand to get about
Uses a frame or someone’s arm, more at risk of a fall, tires within a short walk.
Keeping moving
- Chair-based exercise or gentle yoga
- A short walk to the end of the road and back
- Light gardening from a raised bed or a chair
Using the mind
- Crosswords, Sudoku or a jigsaw with large pieces
- Audiobooks, if reading has become tiring
- A board game at the table
Working with the hands
- A hobby picked up again: knitting, drawing, simple crafts
- Baking something together, seated at the table
- Sorting old photographs into an album
Company
- A regular companionship visit
- Video calls with family
- A local lunch club or day centre
Uses a wheelchair, or sits for most of the day
Needs help to stand or transfer, spends most of the day in a chair.
Keeping moving
- Seated stretches shown by a physiotherapist
- A wheeled walk in the garden or a local park
- Gentle chair-based dancing to music
Using the mind
- A crossword or a quiz read aloud together
- Talking radio or an audiobook
- Looking through photographs and reminiscing
Working with the hands
- A simple craft on a lap tray
- Folding laundry or sorting buttons, something with a purpose
- Handling something textured: wool, fabric or a pet’s coat
Company
- Company at a meal, rather than eating alone
- A trip out in the chair, even a short one
- Sitting in the garden or by an open window
In bed for most of the day
Needs help to sit up, cared for mainly in bed or in a chair beside it.
Keeping moving
- Gentle range-of-movement exercises shown by a physiotherapist or district nurse
- Being helped to sit up and look out of the window
- A change of position, part of the care plan itself
Using the mind
- Someone reading aloud
- The radio, or a familiar television programme
- A favourite piece of music or an audiobook
Working with the hands
- A hand or foot massage
- Holding something familiar: a soft blanket, a photograph, a pet brought to the bedside
Company
- A hand held and a familiar voice
- A video call propped where they can see it
- Family visiting in twos rather than a crowd, so it does not tire them
If your parent is fit and gets about easily, activities to do in later life has more ideas for that stage of life. This page is for when their needs have started to change.
Keeping moving safely
How much activity is right, and when to check first
Movement helps an older person's balance, strength and mood at almost any level of ability, but the amount and kind that is safe depends on their health, so it is worth knowing the guidance before you start building anything up.
Move a little every day
Any ability
Build strength and balance twice a week
For those who are steady enough
Ask the GP or physiotherapist first
After a fall, a hospital stay or a new diagnosis
Stop if they are unsteady, breathless or in pain
Every time
The full NHS guidance is in the physical activity guidelines for older adults, which sets out 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity for someone already active, alongside the strength and balance work above. How to deal with a fall covers what to do if a fall happens despite this, and the elderly exercise guide goes into more detail on specific exercises by ability. Where falls, unsteadiness or a wheelchair are the main concern day to day, mobility and falls care is the fuller guide to that side of things.
Mind and hands
Keeping the mind occupied and the hands busy
Mental stimulation and something to do with the hands matter for mood as much as for memory, and almost all of the ideas here work seated, so ability rarely rules them out.
Puzzles and games
Any ability, seated
Reading, audiobooks and radio
For failing eyesight, audiobooks work as well
Arts, crafts and cooking together
A small art station or a shared task
Music and old favourites
Familiar over new
Technology helps too, once someone has shown your parent how to use it: video calls with grandchildren, a tablet set up for their favourite programmes, or a smart speaker for music and the news. Home technology for the elderly has practical suggestions for setting this up so it stays easy to use.
Staying connected
Why company is as important as any activity on this page
Loneliness becomes more common in later life, particularly after bereavement, a house move or losing the ability to drive, and it affects wellbeing as much as anything on this page. It is worth treating on its own, not as something a hobby will fix by itself.
Ways to build regular company into the week
0 of 5 ticked
Family and friends
The wider community
Paid company
Activities to try with a companionship carer goes further into what a companion carer's visit looks like in practice, matched to how your parent is feeling on the day, and how much does a companion carer cost? sets out a full week at different visit patterns. More on Age UK's services against loneliness is on their loneliness support page.
If they have dementia
Adapt the same activities rather than reach for a different list
Everything above can still suit somebody living with dementia. What changes is how it is offered: built around what already has personal meaning for that person, rather than picked from a general list or treated as a test.
Tends to work
- Something familiar from their past: a hobby, a job, a piece of music
- Sensory and hands-on activities: handling fabric, smelling flowers, baking something simple
- Short activities, ten minutes counted as a success rather than a failure to fill an hour
- Offering something specific rather than asking an open question
Tends not to
- A quiz or memory test with a right and wrong answer, which can feel like being caught out
- A brand-new skill, which is usually harder to hold onto than an old one
- Pushing on when interest has faded, rather than stopping and trying again later
- Assuming a "no" today means "no" for good
This follows the Alzheimer's Society's guidance on activity ideas for people with dementia, which centres on finding what has meaning for that person. 37 activities for people with dementia has a longer list of ideas by stage, and can lack of social interaction cause dementia? looks at what the research says about loneliness and dementia risk. If your parent refuses help or an activity more often than they used to, how do you get someone to accept care? is written for exactly that point.
Questions
Questions families ask about activities for an elderly parent
Start from what they can still do rather than a long list of possibilities. Think about how they get about (independently, with help, in a wheelchair, or mainly in bed) and pick a few ideas from that level across movement, mental stimulation, something for the hands, and company. Needs change, so it is worth reassessing after a fall, a hospital stay or any other change in health.
Chair-based exercise, tai chi and yoga classes aimed at older people all build the strength and balance that reduce falls risk, and a short daily walk with someone steady beside them helps too. Ask the GP or a physiotherapist what level is right before building activity up, especially after a fall or a hospital stay, and stop straight away if your parent seems unsteady, breathless or in pain.
The same activities as anyone else, chosen around what already has meaning for that person: an old hobby, a piece of music, a sensory task like handling wool or baking. Keep activities short and expect no particular outcome. 37 activities for people with dementia has a longer list by stage.
Seated stretches shown by a physiotherapist, a wheeled walk outside, chair-based dancing, puzzles or a quiz read aloud, handling something textured, and simple crafts on a lap tray all work well. Company at mealtimes and a trip out, even a short one, matter as much as any structured activity.
Gentle range-of-movement exercises shown by a physiotherapist or district nurse, being helped to sit up and look out of the window, someone reading aloud or playing a favourite piece of music, and simply a hand held and a familiar voice all count as real activity at this stage. A video call propped where they can see it keeps family close without a visit having to tire them.
Common, and not a sign that nothing will work. Offering something specific, such as looking at photographs from a particular event, usually gets further than asking an open question about what they would like to do. Sitting together without an activity is still a good visit. When someone refuses care covers this in more depth.
Yes. A companionship carer's visit is built around conversation, hobbies, meals and trips out, matched to how your parent is feeling that day. Companion carers on PrimeCarers charge £15 to £20 an hour with our fee included. Activities to try with a companionship carer goes into what a visit looks like in practice.
A standing phone or video call at the same time each week, visits spread through the week rather than bunched together, and a local lunch club or place of worship all help. Age UK runs a free Telephone Friendship Service and the Silver Line helpline for anyone who wants regular contact from a volunteer. A regular companionship carer is another route to reliable company.