If you’re caring for someone who has dementia and lives at home, creative activities and those that engage their senses, their memories, and their sense of accomplishment can be calming and support cognitive health. Home-based activities are also good ways to connect with your loved one in a comfortable space. Each of these activities can be tailored for any stage of dementia.
Let our care assessment guide you
Our free tool provides options, advice, and next steps based on your unique situation.
One way to keep seniors with dementia engaged is to delve into their past interests or talents. Niki Gewirtz, a Senior Living Advisor at A Place for Mom and former executive director of a memory care community, recommends gaining a deep understanding of your loved one’s hobbies and strengths so you can tailor activities to their interests and abilities. These activities are not only fun, but also can be therapeutic.
Painting and drawing are ways to express feelings safely and with creativity. Encourage the use of bold, bright colors on big surfaces. Rolls of butcher paper enable seniors with dementia to create without encountering the stress of defined spaces.
Activities involving different textures, such as playing with clay, offer tactile stimulation for dementia patients. Crafting with these materials or even exploring different shapes and sizes can be beneficial and enjoyable.
Your loved one may also enjoy gardening, cooking, or baking.
Cut out images from magazines or print old ads and articles. Choose subjects that fit your loved one’s interests, like cooking, cars, or fashion. Another idea is to scan and print old family pictures. Let your loved one with dementia arrange and rearrange the elements to create pictures or scrapbook pages.
Let our care assessment guide you
Our free tool provides options, advice, and next steps based on your unique situation.
Engaging in reminiscence therapy is a delightful way to help your loved one recall cherished memories and exercise their cognitive abilities. These activities use sensory and visual cues to access the past, making them both meaningful and comforting.
Arrange a nostalgic movie night. Whether your loved one was a fan of westerns like Gunsmoke or adored musicals like The King and I, watching these old favorites is entertaining and stimulates memories.
Music therapy improves understanding, mood, behavior, and communication for seniors who have dementia.[01] Stream classics or sing memorable songs such as holiday carols.
Read more: Music Therapy for Dementia
One of the most heartwarming activities for people who have dementia involves revisiting old photo albums. These albums, filled with images from their younger years, can reignite treasured memories. You could also digitize these pictures and create virtual memory books.
Looking at magazines or catalogs they once enjoyed, such as Life or Cosmopolitan, or even the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog, can be one of the most engaging things for your loved one to do.
Fulfilling activities can significantly contribute to your loved one’s quality of life, fostering feelings of achievement and self-worth.[02] These activities should be tailored to the senior’s cognitive level, ensuring they feel engaged and productive without being overwhelmed.
Folding laundry is a calming activity for some seniors who have dementia. The familiar process of folding soft fabrics and the scent of classic detergents can evoke comforting memories. Start with uncomplicated items like hand towels and T-shirts for this simple yet fulfilling task.
Cooking with another adult is another simple chore that can be both satisfying and productive.
For people who used to enjoy do-it-yourself projects, suggest activities that yield visible results. Painting wooden boards or assembling PVC pipes are ideal things to do, particularly for seniors who have good motor function. For people whose dementia is more advanced, wooden or plastic play tools may provide a similar sense of achievement.
Tie loose knots along a durable, comfortable rope. The act of untying can provide both cognitive and physical stimulation without causing frustration or discomfort.
Puzzles, such as large-piece, color, or shape puzzles with tactile pieces, can be both entertaining and cognitively beneficial for people who have dementia.
Simple board games like Guess Who? and Battleship are ideal because they stimulate memory and cognitive skills in a fun and engaging way without causing confusion or frustration. Guess Who? can help with facial recognition and memory, while Battleship encourages strategic thinking.
Even more playful options such as a remote-controlled pet can bring immense joy and engagement. These toys can stimulate a sense of caring and provide amusement as your loved one controls the pet’s movements.
Read more: 5 Best Puzzles for Dementia Patients
The following dementia activities can stimulate the senses and evoke fond memories, leading to a more fulfilled and engaged life for your loved one.[03]
Scents can trigger stronger emotional memories than visuals, as they’re processed in the brain’s memory control areas. Surrounding your loved one with familiar smells, like fresh-cut grass or the aroma of warm bread, could evoke joyful memories and emotions.
Short walks and gentle massages with a favorite lotion can also be calming and enjoyable. It’s important to avoid smells that could cause distress, such as diesel fuel or gunpowder, which can be triggers for older veterans.
Engaging in tactile activities for dementia patients can stimulate reminiscence. Even if they can’t recall specific events, touching familiar objects, such as keys or hand-embroidered beads, can trigger memories.
Like smells, tastes can elicit emotions and memories. Your grandmother’s famous chocolate cake may spark your mom’s memory of childhood birthdays; a sip of instant coffee may remind her of quiet, early mornings at home.
Experiencing different textures can be a fulfilling dementia activity that provides sensory stimulation and memory cues. Consider those that align with their interests: soft animal fur for pet lovers or damp soil and leaves for seniors who enjoy gardening. Create an activity around this by making a bag of varied textures to be sorted by touch. Squishing clay and handling soft fabrics are especially enjoyable for people whose dementia is at an advanced stage.
Talk with a Senior Living Advisor
Our advisors help 300,000 families each year find the right senior care for their loved ones.
Technology can offer stimulating, engaging, and mentally nourishing experiences for seniors who have dementia. Here are some innovative ways technology can keep seniors engaged at home.
A wealth of global attractions, from zoos and nature preserves to museums, offer live internet streams. Whether your loved one has a fondness for animals or an appreciation for art, they can experience ever-changing visual stimulation without leaving the comfort of home.
Google Earth offers a virtual exploration experience like no other through user-uploaded photos. Whether your loved one cherishes memories of their childhood hometown or dreams of the Sahara Desert, Google Earth offers a gateway to explore these places.
Video calls and chats can keep families connected, and technology can offer comfort even when a conversation isn’t possible. Creating a collection of videos featuring family members, beloved pets, and memorable moments on a tablet can be an ideal home activity. This personalized tablet can provide solace during restless times or assist with sleep. If a tablet is too complex, consider transferring these precious videos onto a videotape or DVD.
If it’s becoming difficult to care for your loved one with dementia at home, you may want to consider memory care.
If you’re not sure whether memory care communities will be able to fulfill and engage your loved one, A Place for Mom tracks dementia-specific activities, amenities, and services across our network. Below, we’ve highlighted proprietary data on how many communities within our network incorporate these dementia-specific features:[04]
If you’re not quite ready to move your loved one but still want help around the home, you may consider home care.
To help you learn more about your care options and which is right for your family, reach out to A Place for Mom’s Senior Living Advisors. They can offer advice and help you find local care options that meet your loved one’s unique needs and preferences, all at no cost to your family.
You can make an activity blanket to keep your parent stimulated by choosing fabric and attaching items of different textures, like buttons, zippers, or ribbons, to it.
You can buy activities for dementia patients online. Some vendors specialize in toys and games for senior with dementia. You can also make activities from items you have at home.
Yes, fidget blankets keep dementia patients stimulated and give them something to do with their hands. It can ease symptoms of restlessness and anxiety.
There’s not a one-size-fits-all amount of activity for people who have dementia. Experts recommend 15 to 30 minutes of cognitive activity each day, along with physical activity. Watch for signs of fatigue, agitation, or confusion. They may indicate that your loved one has had enough.
Yes.In the late stages of dementia, people often have significant memory loss and may have difficulty communicating or recognizing loved ones. However, they can still benefit from sensory and emotional experiences, such as looking at family photos or holding a soft blanket.
Key Takeaways
Bleibel M, Cheikh AE, Sadier NS, et al. (2023, March 7). The effect of music therapy on cognitive functions in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy.
Allison TA, Gubner JM, Oh A, et al. (2022, July). Meaningful activities and sources of meaning for community-dwelling people living with dementia. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.
Maneemai O, Alvarado MCC, Intriago LGC, et al. (2024, March 18). Sensory integration: a novel approach for healthy ageing and dementia management. Brain Sciences.
A Place for Mom. (2025). A Place for Mom proprietary data.
The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical, legal or financial advice or create a professional relationship between A Place for Mom and the reader. Always seek the advice of your health care provider, attorney or financial advisor with respect to any particular matter, and do not act or refrain from acting on the basis of anything you have read on this site. Links to third-party websites are only for the convenience of the reader; A Place for Mom does not endorse the contents of the third-party sites.
Make the best senior care decision