Through the CDPAP, your personal assistant is with you at certain points and moments throughout the week. These moments are to help you with basic care, such as administering certain medications or medical injections, or getting around as a whole. Your personal assistant is very helpful to you as a whole, but as a way to make the experience even more meaningful, you both should interact and spend time together for enjoyment as well.

Your personal assistant helps you with your health, but as many studies (including one from Mayo Clinic) indicate, friendship is a crucial part of having a healthy life. Human connection is very important to your emotional well-being, and this affects your physical well-being as well. When you’re able to strengthen your emotional connections with your personal assistant, this is beneficial for both of you. Take a look at some of the activities you can utilize and ideas you can implement to make the relationship with your personal assistant even stronger, and contact Life Care Advantage to get help with registering for the CDPAP!

Play a board game.

Board games are great for so many reasons. For one, they’re super fun and a great way to engage with someone. But in addition to this, board games can help you work on your concentration and mental stamina, as well as motor skills. There are some classics you can bring back from when you were younger, such as Scrabble, chess, or mancala. Or take a trip with your personal assistant to find a new game, one that you learn together. Bananagrams or an updated version of Monopoly might be just the ticket! Regardless of the game you choose, this is an excellent way to spend time together and to continue strengthening your relationship.

Make a scrapbook.

Scrapbooking is the perfect craft to bring people together. You can use photos of any time period or event, and memorialize the day in a form that’s easy to pull out and look at again and again. This is a great way to bring out some old photos from the past, and talk about your experiences when you were younger. Take a trip to a crafting store to get all the supplies you need, and then both of you can work on creating a great scrapbook. The finished product can either be for a gift, or just something you keep yourself. Make everything even more special by picking a day each year to get out all the scrapbooks and looking through everything.

Try a puzzle.

Just like board games are great for encouraging mental processing and memory, puzzles are awesome for the same reasons. You can invest in a brand new puzzle, or for a more affordable option, stop by a thrift store and pick one up for just a few dollars. This is an optimal project for you and your personal assistant to work on together, as it’s one that requires collaboration. Plus, you don’t need to focus super hard on a puzzle to complete it, meaning you can listen to music or put on a movie in the background. Speaking of movies…

Start a movie club.

Everyone loves movies, which makes movie watching an ideal activity for you and your personal assistant. This could also be a great opportunity for you both to learn from each other, through creating movie lists. Both of you should write down 10 movies—five that you have seen, and five that you haven’t. Pick a day of the week and turn it into a movie event, like “Movie Mondays.” For a bonus, you could try to do a different healthy snack each time as well. You could also get creative with snacks by making them fit the theme of the movie! If you’re watching “The Lord of the Rings,” make tiny sandwiches on lembas bread. Screening “The Godfather?” Turn it into a dinner and cook some delicious pasta. Especially in the colder months, Movie Mondays will be an amazing way to bond (while staying warm), and learn about other movies in the process.

Have a jam session.

As the saying goes, “When words fail, music speaks.” Storyteller Hans Christian Andersen said that long ago, and its relevance still applies. Music is something that absolutely brings people together, and it can be an excellent way to interact with the ones you love.

A classic jam session can go one of two ways. If you play an instrument and are still able to, practice with your personal assistant! They can either bring over an instrument that they play, or you can teach them how to play. Once you’ve got the basics down, pick some songs to try together.

If playing an instrument isn’t in your repertoire, download Spotify, and work together to make some amazing playlists. Share songs that you used to love or have been missing, and listen to some of the newest hits with your personal assistant. Either way, sharing music together makes for a wonderful activity—and one where you pick up on some new tunes, too.

Cook together.

Whether you’re a seasoned chef or a microwave master, cooking is one of the best pastimes.to partake in. This is one of the most fun skills to learn, because the end result is a delicious meal (and if it’s not delicious, cooking is an activity where you learn and improve very quickly). You can pick a new meal each week to try, or switch off between cooking for each other. Look into making some of your favorites, and also try making healthy alternatives of each recipe. Once a month, spruce up your home and invite people over for a dinner party, if you’re feeling up for it! No matter how you try cooking, this is an activity where there’s always something to learn.

Start a food club.

Similar to having a movie club, treat yourselves once a month to trying a new restaurant. In New York, there’s obviously no shortcomings when it comes to restaurants, and this will give you an opportunity to try some new places. You can check out a new diner or try that brand new Ethiopian place around the corner, or hit up an old favorite as well. Or, continue hitting up your favorite restaurant, but try something new every time you go. Take pictures, write about it in a journal, or find some way to document your time together. It seems simple, but even just getting dinner with your personal assistant is another fantastic way to spend time with each other.

Share in books and reading.

Books are one of the most amazing things on the planet, sheerly for their ability to take you to new places and different times. You and your personal assistant could pick the same book to read, then chat about it weekly. Or if reading has become more difficult as you’ve gotten older, your personal assistant can read aloud to you as well. Take trips to the library, reread some classics, or even just go through the paper together. Reading is something that benefits everyone!

Start a garden.

Even though it’s cold outside, you can still start up a garden inside with your personal assistant! Make an herb garden to provide fresh spices (an excellent addition to when you cook together). Or, start up some bigger plants once the season approaches, and then transfer them over to an outdoor garden or patio space.

Your personal assistant, LifeCare Advantage. and the CDPAP in New York do a lot to make sure you’re getting the care you need. However, physical care can only go so far. When you create memories and experiences with the people you love, this enhances the experience for both of you. It’s so important to create laughter and joy in day-to-day life, especially when you’re in need of additional care. Try out these activities today, and call LifeCare Advantage to get the help you need with the CDPAP!