 It's pretty incredible what a big difference a little color can make. There really is no other difference except color and enthusiasm on purple day. That's why it's important to get the word out a few days ahead of time for the staff and the residents to wear purple. After all, it’s not purple day if you don't get hit with a sea of purple when you walk into the recreation room. I love taking "family portraits" of myself and groups of residents all wearing the color. I blow up the pictures and display them in the lobby so that they can remember the great day! Make sure signs are everywhere a few days before. In my facility, we have a log book to let the caregivers know to make sure to dress their residents in the color if they have it. If not, I still make sure everyone has some kind of purple on. I cut ribbon to make headbands, I give out little purple stickers on their faces and of course, purple balloons. I do recommend having a helium tank to blow up the balloons. They do make such a difference. You can get a package of 15 of them for $1 so for a few dollars, you can make a major difference to an ordinary day. I tie them to all the walkers so that up and down the hall all day long, the royal color purple is king!
There are so many things you can do on purple day. You can make basic cupcakes and use food coloring in the cupcakes and the icing. You can play "Wheel of Fortune" on the board and have all the answers be things related to purple such as eggplant, lilacs and lavender. I do that on the dry erase board and put dashes for the letters and the residents call out letters for me to fill in. The winner of each round gets a purple flower. Again, the dollar store is great for pretty artificial, colorful flowers. You can get a dozen for a dollar. Of course, have a session on purple trivia. A lot of facts can be found here www.fortheloveofpurple.com.
There's really a lot of history to the color. Many years ago, only the rich could afford anything purple so it is therefore associated with power, wealth and royalty. That's where the phrase "born into purple" comes from. I have always loved the color. It is a creative, passionate color. As a matter of fact, my license plate used to be "elprup", purple spelled backwards!
I celebrate purple day in the springtime when the color is starting to appear. There is a line in the movie "The Color Purple" where there is an older woman saying to the younger woman in other words that God gets mad if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't stop to notice it. The message I try to get across on purple day is to appreciate all the little things that God has given us, like the color purple!
|
GINGER'S CREATIVE COSTUMES AND ACTIVITIES