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Did you know that December 4 is National Wear Brown Shoes Day? Neither did I until I started researching little-known holidays.
I’m not sure why the holiday focuses on the color brown. But, as far as I’m concerned, this day is a good excuse for us to celebrate all things related to shoes.
That’s why I hope you’ll add these fun activities to your December calendar. If you have other suggestions, I would love to have you share them with my readers in the comment section!
Study the history of shoes
Since shoes of one form or another have been around since prehistoric days, you can find a wealth of fascinating shoe history to share with your residents. For example, did you know that it wasn’t until the 19th century that they started making different shoes for the left and the right foot?
For a more hands-on history lesson, this may be an excellent time to invite a museum curator to come in and show actual examples of shoes from the past. Or perhaps a librarian can bring picture books with images of unusual shoes.
Come up with idioms
Challenge your residents to come up with as many idioms as possible on the topic of shoes. These are a few examples:
- Now the shoe is on the other foot.
- She’s a goody-two-shoes.
- Those are big shoes to fill.
- Here’s what I would do if I were in your shoes.
- Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
- If the shoe fits, wear it.
- It feels as comfortable as an old shoe.
- I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Sing about shoes
It’s also fun to see how many songs you can find that mention shoes. Play these classics and see how many of your residents remember them:
- Chatanooga Shoe Shine Boy (Bing Crosby)
- Blue Suede Shoes (Elvis Presley)
- The Christmas Shoes (NewSong)
- Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes (George Jones)
- New Shoes (Paolo Nutini)
Dance up a storm
Did you know that your residents can tap dance while they’re seated? You can find several examples on YouTube, including this one.
This is also the perfect day to invite a group of tap dancers to visit with your residents. Besides providing entertainment, perhaps they’ll also explain the finer points of tap shoes.
Enjoy a gym shoe sandwich
Your residents will be hungry after all of these activities. Now it’s time to take a break and savor a gym shoe sandwich.
Especially popular in Chicago, this submarine-type sandwich is loaded with all sorts of interesting toppings. It’s fun to set up a submarine bar with a variety of ingredients so each resident can create their own version of the gym shoe sandwich.
Host a donation drive
We are so blessed to live in a place where we have easy access to a wide variety of attractive and comfortable shoes. Not everyone is so fortunate. This is an excellent opportunity to host a donation drive to support a charity that provides shoes to those who cannot afford them.
These are links to a few organizations that I’m aware of. If you know of others, please add them in the comment section.
Clean their shoes
When I worked in nursing homes, one of my pet peeves was seeing residents wearing dirty shoes. Many residents can’t care for their shoes on their own, and I think it’s a significant dignity issue when residents end up wearing dirty shoes.
This is a good day to gently remind staff of the importance of keeping residents’ shoes clean and in good repair. You could also set up a shoeshine kiosk operated by volunteers. Then invite residents to enjoy an old-fashioned shoeshine along with good conversation.
For a list of other fun holidays to celebrate with your residents throughout the year, be sure to check out my little-known holiday page.
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