Have your community start their own March Madness Bracket! Here's all the how-to's and some great resources to help set-up the pool. For a quick tutorial, March Madness is the single-elimination NCAA Division 1 college basketball tournaments performed each spring by 64 teams. It starts with this time-table, of Selection Sunday, March 15, 2015, and has a posted run date thru Monday, April 6, 2015. Generally, the tournament is played over 3 weeks starting after the middle of March. Each team has their own rank, and then is separated into 4 region brackets of 16 teams each. Within each region bracket, the top (1) and bottom (16) teams play, and so forth, with the winners of each playing the next winner of the previous game. Each bracket of playoffs has corresponding names like Sweet Sixteen, Final Four, and so...

Think about helping your community encourage children to read by setting up a cute March Reading Madness Contest! Create a Bulletin Board with a Goal theme like a March Madness 'Book Bracket' board, showing the competing contenders as books in a certain age range. Color print outs of the book covers will help the competitors recognize their choices and make the board POP. Although this is a "March Madness" themed event, logistically it probably works better as a year-long event, with a "Book of the Month" each month. The first two months will feature the first two books that square off in your March Reading Madness bracket! So after two months, those who have read the books can submit their votes for their favorite of the two, and you can announce the winner of the first round for that contest. ...

Who isn't watching Downton Abbey?! Your residents are, and loving it! Offer your community the chance to watch it together with other like-minded groupies, and make a fun night of it! Either have them show up in normal wear, or liven things up by having a Pajama Party! Plan on using your community theatre or set up an outside viewing screen, depending on the weather in your area. Of course, we always want to immerse the residents in a full event experience, so make sure to add Downton-themed goodies, such as English Breakfast tea, scones, and lemon curd for a proper English "High Tea", although a few hours later than normal! Group together cute and simple theme props related to the must-see drama like easy printable...

February is best known for Valentines Day; so why not capitalize on that. Everyone will be doing events that are for couples; however there is not a lot to do for the single people out there. This Valentines Day host a Box Social event at your community. Have everyone bring a boxed lunch in a decorated box or basket and assign each box a number and have people choose the box they want, the person who made the box will have lunch with the person that chose that box. To make your event stand out it is all about presentation is everything! Have a nice picnic area set up with the necessary essentials: Blankets, silverware, napkins, cups and a delicious dessert. For great decorating ideas please see my Box Social Pinterest board. ...

A simple and fun activity for your residents! Have them come outdoors for some winter fun and build a Snowman! The theme can be up to you or the resident, but the more creative the better. You can go 'Plane Jane', 'Disney.', 'Sports Icons', 'Farmer Joe', 'The Unmain-Mainstream Hipster', whatever you can think of. Take lots of pictures with the residents and their snowmen/snowwomen! Make sure to have snowman criteria, you don't want any surprises!  Give a building timeframe, and date the winner will be announced.  We've added photos of several different types of snowmen!