How Senior Crafts Support Wellness at LakeHouse Cedarburg

• Crafts and crafters at LakeHouse Cedarburg focus on the joy and enrichment that such activities bring, while any wellness benefits are welcome bonuses to the creativity.
• We encourage and recommend senior crafts within our community, pacing and adapting them so residents can participate with confidence and safety.
• We supply equipment for many such projects unless a resident wants to do something unique, and we schedule the events to include as many excited residents as possible.

Here at the LakeHouse Cedarburg senior community in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, we offer Assisted Living to residents and also encourage personal projects and successes to help people engage in creative aging. As crafts can also help with cognition and mood, promoting social connections and healthy interactions, the more we see residents engage with such activities, the better.

We would recommend that you speak with us about the hobbies and creative outlets you or your loved one has before they move in. As we consider arts and aging to go hand in hand with creative seniors, we can then speak to them during onboarding to see if they need help engaging in these activities and whether our Assisted Living team may need to be aware of them.

What Are the Benefits of Crafts for Seniors?

Among other Assisted Living activities, creativity can help to support many beneficial traits that may start to become more challenging during retirement, including:

• Attention
• Memory
• Problem-solving
• Planning and organizing

As such, even a simple activity, like carving a pumpkin at Halloween or creating cards for family members, can boost mental wellness.

At the same time, making art together in a community like ours can foster camaraderie, reduce feelings of loneliness, and help residents connect with support networks.

When seniors complete projects, they can display them in their own apartments, boosting their motivation and self-image as they have proof of achieving their goals. It can thus have a significant impact on one's mood.

How Do Arts and Crafts Help People With Dementia?

A great many arts or crafts projects are incredibly tactile or otherwise offer a sense-rich experience. When these are more familiar, they often cue pleasant memories and evoke a sense of comfort or happiness. As such, it can be a key part of a larger memory care enrichment effort.

While crafting, our team can also play gentle background music to create a more holistic sense of engagement and help someone stay focused on their task. However, our staff understands how to prevent people from feeling overwhelmed by choices. Simple options and small steps enable those with dementia engaged with creative tasks like this to finish their activity, receiving validation and encouragement after every step.

How Senior Crafts Support Wellness in General

While crafting, residents can either socialize or, if they are quieter, take the opportunity to reflect. For example, studies such as those by Bukhave et al. (2025) have shown that crafts may support mood and well-being in older adults.

Social crafting offers an opportunity to build stronger ties with one's community when someone needs a distraction and wants to engage with others. Whereas a chance to simply think can help with one's mental health when used appropriately to allow them to reflect and regulate their thoughts.

Craft Sessions We Offer at Lakehouse Cedarburg

Our activity calendar includes details on many of the options available to residents throughout the month. While this may change each month, examples of things we have encouraged our residents to create in the past include:

• Holiday-themed crafts and cards
• Unique clothing
• Artistic coloring
• Storytelling with peers

Lifelong enjoyment of hobbies and endeavors like these can enrich one's retirement years. So, get in contact if you want to know a few extra details about what we can do for you or a loved one, and see if we can accommodate any specific needs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How Can My Family Join a Craft Session During a Visit?

After checking the calendar for sessions and times that might be family-friendly, please contact our staff. While we cannot guarantee your presence during a dedicated arts or crafts session, we may be able to advise you on when you can include such creativity during a regular visit.

If circumstances allow you to visit during a craft session, we will let your family member know in advance so they can avoid surprises.

If you choose to do this, make sure to bring supplies and clothing suitable for creative projects. Doing something like this may even help by allowing you to create projects that help with creating or maintaining family memories, such as:

• Customizing a photo album
• Penning a new song together
• Writing letters to loved ones
• Creating new games and activities to share

The specifics depend on what your family tends to enjoy. However, the list is almost limitless.

Does My Loved One Need Their Own Supplies or Tools?

During our Cedarburg senior programs, including crafting, we provide craft supplies for scheduled sessions. However, of course, if your loved one has specialized equipment, they are free to use it, provided they know how to use it safely.

If you want to supply extra, we recommend including items with high-contrast colors and larger sizes, or with adaptive grips for equipment. These are often more appealing to those whose senses and motor functions are starting to face challenges. We would also recommend plenty of breaks for your loved one to help them feel comfortable.

Leverage Your Creativity in Retirement

Hands-on senior crafts can support community connection, resident pride and confidence, and build a sense of belonging. For this reason, we prioritize them so that those in our care can enjoy and be proud of them, regardless of their skill level.

Our range of creative efforts in our dedicated activity spaces and beyond includes crafting events that give seniors an ongoing sense of personal growth and help them thrive. At the same time, the themes we choose can assist with resident participation and excitement.

To learn more, contact us today and schedule a tour of our community. We can show you what our craft spaces look like and, if you like, some of the items people have made over time, to give you a sense of what we do.