Winter Activities for Seniors: 30 Ideas and a Free Printable Pack

All four files have the same 13 pages. Pick the paper size you use: US Letter in the US and Canada, A4 almost everywhere else.

• Winter Activity Pack, color, US Letter (PDF, 13 pages)
• Winter Activity Pack, black and white, US Letter (PDF, 13 pages)
• Winter Activity Pack, color, A4 (PDF, 13 pages)
• Winter Activity Pack, black and white, A4 (PDF, 13 pages)

Inside: 30 activity ideas to tick, a winter week planner, two large-print word searches (Snowy Day and Warm and Cozy), 12 winter trivia questions, a winter unscramble page, 12 winter memory cards to cut out, a snowflake pattern and a hat-and-mittens picture to color, a warm and safe checklist, and the answers.

Table activities suit the darkest afternoons. Choose ones that can be picked up and put down again:

• Puzzles: the two word searches and the unscramble page in the pack, or our large print word searches, including the Weather Watch puzzle.
• Sort and label old photos. It turns into a conversation almost every time.
• Write a card or letter to a friend or grandchild. A letter often means more than a message.
• A jigsaw puzzle left out on a side table for a few days.
• Cards or dominoes, alone or with a visitor.
• Cook something warm together, such as a new soup recipe.
• Grow herbs on a sunny windowsill. Something green to care for helps on gray days.

When it is icy outside, many older adults move far less without noticing. A little movement spread through the day helps:

• A 10-minute chair exercise routine in the morning. Our printable chair exercises and chair yoga chart are both free.
• Walk laps of a hallway, or walk in an indoor mall early in the day when it is quiet.
• Gentle stretches after breakfast.
• Seated balloon volleyball or indoor bowling with plastic bottles: good fun with grandchildren.
• March in place during TV breaks.

If you have a health condition, or have not exercised for a while, ask your doctor which kinds of activity are right for you.

Bad weather cancels plans, and a week can pass without much company. A few fixed habits help:

• Phone a friend at the same time each week, so neither of you has to remember to arrange it.
• Video call grandchildren. Ask them to show you something they made.
• Invite a neighbor over for tea.
• Join a class at the library or senior center while the weather is mild enough to get there.
• Start a recipe swap by mail with friends or family.

The 12 winter memory cards in the pack are ready-made conversation starters for visits and calls. See our guide to social activities for seniors for more ideas.

• Knit or crochet a scarf or a blanket square.
• Keep a winter journal: the weather, the birds at the feeder, who called.
• Read a large-print book, or listen to an audiobook or podcast in the evening.
• Learn the birds that come to the feeder in winter.
• Color the snowflake or hat-and-mittens page in the pack.

For more ideas to keep the mind busy, see our list of mental activities for seniors.

Daylight and fresh air help, but ice is a real fall risk. Pick a mild, dry day and go out around midday:

• Fill a bird feeder and watch who comes.
• Take a short walk in non-slip shoes or boots, ideally with someone.
• Sit by a sunny window with a warm drink when going out is not possible.
• Photograph frost or snow from the porch.
• Salt or sand the front step together before anyone goes out.

The CDC advises older adults to dress in several loose layers with a water-resistant coat and boots, to cover the face, ears, fingers and toes when going out, and to stay indoors in extremely cold weather if possible. It also notes that older adults without enough food, clothing or heating are at higher risk of hypothermia.

The checklist in the pack covers the basics at home: have the heating checked, test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, keep space heaters well away from anything that can burn, and keep extra blankets, a flashlight and a few days of food, water and medicines in the house. For safer ways to stay warm, see our reviews of heated blankets for seniors and the safest space heaters.