Talk about what you both have been up to since your last visit together Bring photos of family and friends or use Rakhma's albums Make a special scrapbook celebrating a resident's lifetime Write or tape a residents memoirs or autobiography...give copies to family Share your own favorite stories and memories Bring vacation photos, souvenirs, postcards, maps and stories of your travels Read aloud from newspapers and magazines Look at magazines that have a lot of large, colorful pictures together Read religious or inspirational articles, magazines or books Help a resident write/tape letters or send greeting cards out to people Find an old friend and help a resident correspond Create a poster or collage from pictures cut from magazines Use items related to the season or upcoming holiday and reminisce Enjoy a cup of coffee together Play an instrument for a private recital Teach a resident to play and instrument...or learn together Sing...hum...whistle...together Play "name that tune" with tapes or music on the radio Listen to music together Play charades Wind yarn together Use a bird book and see how many different types of birds drop by Brush, comb or style a resident's hair Give a manicure...put on makeup...use perfume to feel pampered Plan your summer garden...look through the seed catalog Plant and take care of indoor plants Create a terrarium to enjoy with very little care needed Play word, guessing and trivia games together Play card, table and board games together - lifelong favorites Keep a running tally of the scores in you own tournament Do crossword puzzles together Put together jigsaw puzzles Watch an old musical together and talk about music and dancing Rent a historical videotape from the library Go shopping from catalogs for clothes, household or frivolous necessities "Window shop" in fancy catalogs filled with things you'd never think to buy Explore a favorite recipe book together and plan a meal Make a treat made from the recipe book or do no-bake cooking Give resident a gentle massage with lotion to keep skin soft Stimulate the sense of smell (spices, perfume, pine, tobacco, roses) Have different textured fabrics to touch (silk, wool, denim, corduroy) Get a bifocal kit from library for a slide show Have a pet visit Do exercise together to keep in shape Read a chapter of a novel or several poems and discuss Write poetry or a short story together Look at and listen to an old-fashioned music box Watch the seasons change out the window together Take photos of the changing season window scenes Make a potpourri together and hang it up to keep the room sweet-smelling Tell jokes to one another...bring a joke book to look through Take a walk together outside when weather permits...sit on the porch Learn a new word each time you visit together Play along with the television game shows Dance or tap your toes to your older adult's favorite dance music Look a travel book or brochures to dream about your fantasy vacation Use some small rhythm instruments or kazoos to make your own music Read the Farmer's Almanac and keep track of which predictions come true this year Play tic-tac-toe or hangman Have resident share changing memories of the community over years Make a list of all your resident's favorites (foods, movie stars, songs, teachers)