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Have you ever given your residents an opportunity to play detective? One way to do this is by celebrating Sherlock Holmes Day on May 22. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes character, was born on this day in 1859.
These are my favorite activities for Sherlock Holmes Day. Please add your suggestions in the comment section!
Learn something new
Your residents will enjoy learning these fun facts about the author and main characters of the Sherlock Holmes books:
Dress for the occasion
In one of Doyle’s stories, Sherlock revealed his favorite color while playing Truth or Dare. Can you guess what it is? Pink! Encourage staff and residents to wear pink on May 22 in Sherlock’s honor.
Watch a movie
Over 250 films featuring Sherlock Holmes have been created during the past 100-plus years. So, you’ll have a lot to choose from!
I prefer to watch the older versions from the 1930s. If you have a favorite Sherlock movie you believe residents would enjoy, please share it in the comment section.
Your residents can also get together to read one of over 50 short stories about Sherlock Holmes. The Amazon Kindle store offers several collections.
In addition, Sherlock’s fans will enjoy a virtual tour of the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London. You can find one on YouTube.
Enjoy a snack
Since Sherlock Holmes lived in Scotland, I hope you’ll treat your residents to a traditional Scottish dessert. You’ll find favorites like cranachan, clootie dumplings, and petticoat tails on InsanelyGoodRecipes.com.
For those of you who want to dig even deeper into the recipes of the day, there are at least five cookbooks dedicated to Sherlock Holmes. Here’s the most popular one:
Dining With Sherlock Holmes: A Baker Street Cookbook
Do an experiment
One of Sherlock’s hobbies was doing science experiments—often to the dismay of Dr. Watson! You can find lots of interesting experiments for your residents to perform on the Science For Seniors blog.
Solve a crime
It’s always fun to get together to solve a good whodunit. Gather a few residents and play a murder mystery game. Or go all out and host a mystery theater dinner.
You can start from scratch and write your own story. Or, check out these intriguing scenarios from The Spruce.
Amazon also offers lots of fun mystery theater kits. They contain pretty much everything you need to host a murder mystery for your residents. (Just be sure to read the reviews to avoid stories that are too scandalous or scary.)
Host a guest speaker
Invite a police detective to come to your nursing home. I’m sure they’ll have lots of stories to tell about modern crime-solving methods as well as a few of their favorite cases.
Are you looking for other little-known holidays to share with your residents? You’ll find lots of fun ideas in my holiday archives.
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