HC-One’s residents and colleagues have enjoyed taking part in a variety of exciting activities ahead of Christmas and the festive period.
Activities have included attending homes’ local Christmas light switch on, pantomimes, Christmas jumper days, Christmas crafts, fayres, attending choir and church services, and festive parties.
At
Market Lavington Care Home near Devizes in Wiltshire, residents and colleagues welcomed a very special Christmas visit from Charlie the donkey along with his handler, Marcus, who came to the home to wish residents and colleagues a 'Merry Christmas'. Charlie the donkey is a 23-year-old superstar who has been seen on shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, This Morning and CBeebies. He was well-behaved when visiting and even managed to climb two flights of stairs much to the residents’ amazement.
Natasha Howard, Home Manager at Market Lavington Care Home said:
“We thoroughly enjoyed Charlie’s visit to Market Lavington Care Home in the run up to Christmas. Residents loved interacting with Charlie and he certainly put a smile on everyone’s faces. Animal therapy plays a big part of life at Market Lavington and provides a number of wellbeing benefits for residents living at the home.”
Falstone Manor and Falstone Court Care Homes in Roker, Sunderland have been busy collecting donations of toys and gifts for under-privileged children in the home’s local area. Sunderland Area Parent Support (SAPS) is a charitable organisation that supports individuals caring for loved ones who have a substance misuse problem and provides several services including one to one support, counselling, support groups, informal education courses, relaxation therapies, advice and information.
The homes approached SAPs to provide support and aid to the local charity group and the charity asked the homes if they’d be able to assist by providing a gift box for the children whose families use their services. The care homes collected gifts for ten young people, with the gifts including hot chocolate, sweets, crafts and games. Colleagues, residents and their families at the homes were more than happy to help. SAPS were overwhelmed by the generosity and support from the care home teams and said that the children will be very grateful.
Annie Avery, a resident at Falstone Manor Care Home commented:
“It’s amazing that we’ve all worked together as a team for such a worthy cause to be able to help provide gifts for those in need this Christmas.”
Susan Leigh, Project Manager at Sunderland Area Parent Support (SAPS) said:
“As a small local charity, we have been very fortunate to work with Falstone Court and Manner. Having the opportunity to meet staff and residents has been fantastic and we would like to thank everyone for their kindness and support.”
At
Silverwood Care Home in Nottingham, residents and colleagues welcomed local performers, Razzle Dazzle, into the home to surprise everyone with a spectacular pantomime performance of Mother Goose. Residents gathered in the lounge with a selection of biscuits and a cup of tea joining in with the singing and dancing along to the music. Residents thoroughly enjoyed the performance, clapping along and cheering to encourage the performers. The home also welcomed in family members of residents to watch the pantomime performance. Everyone had a wonderful time with even colleagues getting involved by dancing with the residents and making them laugh.
Debra Meynell, Home Manager at Silverwood Care Home stated:
“It was lovely to see residents and their loved ones enjoy the pantomime performance. Everybody participated and got involved with the festivities by smiling, laughing, singing and dancing along with the performers.”