Senior services for Newtown seniors are available at the Multipurpose Building on Riverside Road in Sandy Hook. The Senior Center is under the auspices of the Commission on Aging. The center is run by Senior Services Director Marilyn Place. For information about programs offered, call 203-270-4310.

You may drop in at the Senior Center weekdays between 9 am and 4 pm. A hot meal is served at noon, for which you must reserve three days in advance.

Newtown has daily door-to-door minibus service Monday through Friday. Buses also run all day from the Senior Center to Sand Hill Plaza. On Fridays, the bus alternates between rides to Danbury Fair Mall and Berkshire Plaza in Danbury (to Walmart Route 6). Cost is $1 each way for the Sand Hill Plaza trip. Call 203-748-2511 TWO DAYS IN ADVANCE to book a ride and get the out-of-town Friday schedule.

 

This Week’s Programs

*Interested in joining the chorus? Chorus is every Monday at 1 pm

*Christmas Bingo Party with caroling will be Wed, December 21.

*Holiday crafts on Thursdays at 1:30 pm.

*The center will be closed half day on December 23 and all day December 26 in observance of Christmas and will also be closed a half day December 30 and the full day on Jan 2 for New Year’s Day.

*Holidays and grief. A six-week Bereavement Support Group through Regional Hospice with Jenny Casey, MSW, will meet Tuesdays from 3:45 to 5 pm through December 27 in the sunroom.

Day Trips

*Chocolate Fest at Hunt’s Landing on Tuesday, February 14, includes hot breakfast buffet on the patio by the pool, play bingo or watch a movie. A three-hour open bar, music, dancing, activities and entertainment, along with a buffet dinner, which includes chocolate dishes and all the trimmings. Cost is $80; depart at 9 am.

*Ace in the Hole presents a Great Day for the Irish on Tuesday, March 13, at the Royal Manor in Garfield, N.J., which includes a family-style lunch of corned beef and cabbage and roasted chicken with all the trimmings, two complimentary drinks during Happy Hour. The St Patrick’s Day party stars Irish tenor Jimmy Walsh, comic Dale Grand, and the Black Velvet Band. Cost is $86; depart at 9 am.

Overnight Trips

*Overnight trip to Mohegan Sun includes food coupons or two buffets, free bet, enjoy the swimming pool or sit in the hot tub. Wednesday and Thursday, January 18 and 19, prices are $116 pp double, $176 pp single and $111 pp triple. The same trip is available on Thursday and Friday, February 23 and 24, but the prices are $121 pp double, $181 pp single, and $116 pp triple.

*Watch a UConn Women’s Basketball vs Syracuse game and spend a night at the Turning Stone Casino on Wednesday and Thursday, January 25 and 26. Receive $40 free play coupon each day, $15 meal credit, full breakfast buffet, health spa and pool and entertainment; $188 pp double, $253 pp single and $183 pp trip.

 

Recurring Activities

Monday: 10:30 am, exercise; noon, lunch: 1 pm, chorus/sing-along and yoga; 1:30 pm: art class.

Tuesday: 10 am, Cards for Troops; noon, lunch; 2 pm, tai chi; 3 pm, chair yoga.

Wednesday: 10:30 am, exercise; noon, lunch; 2:15 pm: Bridges.

Thurs: noon, lunch; 1 pm, Scrabble and yoga; 1:30 pm, holiday crafts.

Friday: 9 am, Mah Jongg; 10:30 am, quilting; 10:30 am, exercise; noon: knit or crochet; 2 pm, Zumba Gold; 3 pm, chair yoga.

Other items available at any time are: Wii (bowling, tennis, baseball, golf), pool table, ping pong table, card table, and various board games.

 

Menu For Week Of December 19–23

Monday: Roast pork with gravy, applesauce garnish, mashed sweet potato, bean blend, seedless rye bread, seasonal fresh fruit.

Tuesday: Shrimp bisque, quiche Lorraine, stewed tomato and zucchini, wheat dinner rolls, peaches.

Wednesday: Hanukkah Special: Pot Roast with gravy, potato latkes and applesauce, diced carrots, seedless rye bread, jelly donut.

Thursday: Sliced turkey with gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, summer spring vegetables, potato bread, margarine, birthday cake.

And for planning ahead—

Monday, December 26: Closed for the Christmas holiday

Tuesday, December 27: Fish with lemon sauce Or grilled chicken patty, O’Brien potatoes, fresh acorn squash, wheat bread, mandarin oranges.