Submitted photo This month, residents at Hill Street Place went on an indoor scavenger hunt, collecting hidden pieces that could be put together to make cut-out snowman decorations. Residents brought the parts to the Hill Street Place dining room to put them together. To go with the snowman decorations, Hill Street Place staff cut out snowflakes using residents’ names to make unique patterns.

MARSHALL — January can sometimes be a time for the winter blues, but staff and residents at Hill Street place have still found ways to have fun this month.

“We really tried to make January uplifting,” said Susie Sammons, housing director at Hill Street Place in Marshall. Residents have been taking part in winter-themed activities like making snowflake decorations for the dining room, and going on a hunt for parts to “build” snowmen decorations.

This year, one of the challenges of planning seasonal activities at congregate facilities like Hill Street Place has been adapting to COVID-19 precautions. The solution Hill Street Place staff found was games like the snowman hunt. Pieces to make paper cut-outs of a snowmen were hidden around the facility, and residents could find them and bring them to the dining room to put together, Sammons said.

To complete the snowy picture, Hill Street staff cut out paper snowflakes using residents’ names as a design pattern. “Every tenant’s name is up there in a snowflake,” Sammons said. There was also a display where residents could bring in their own snowman memorabilia to show.

She said other fun activities for this month, like a program about frozen places around the world, have also been adapted for social distancing.

“Everyone’s been physically distancing, but we’ve been able to be socially active,” Sammons said. It’s been a positive thing for Hill Street residents, she said.