Showing we care at Christmas
Christmas is a time of year for sharing food, drink, gifts and laughter with friends and family. The festive period represents the closing chapter for the year, a chance to spend some time away from school books, office commitments and standard daily chores before launching into the New Year with vigour. The closing days of December often form the framework by which we remember our childhoods, with family games, treasured toys and humorous anecdotes at Christmas creating memories to which we can fondly return year after year.
However, for some people, the festive season is a not a time which evokes love, friendship and happy memories, but, instead, summons up feelings of loneliness and despondency. Sadly, it is often older people who are subject to these feelings, an issue touched upon in this year's tear jerking John Lewis advert, featuring a lonely older man on the moon whose Christmas is made special by a little girl back on Earth.
At Anchor, we are committed to remedying this epidemic of loneliness. Each Christmas, we seek to create an atmosphere of excitement, hope and happiness at our Anchor care homes, ensuring that our residents continue to enjoy this time as much as they have done in previous years.
Below are some of our residents' favourite events, which hopefully will offer some inspiration for those looking to add some sparkle to the Christmas of an older friend, neighbour or relative.
Our Christmas Cake Competition has become an annual Anchor tradition, drawing in entries from across the county and culminating in a series of grand finales across the country. Since the launch of The Great British Bake Off, which has whipped up a baking frenzy for both the young and old, this event has snow-balled in popularity and we had over 200 entries last year. Festive baking is a great way of catalysing the formation of new friendships, formed over a common interest, with our annual theme (last year we chose "what Christmas means to me") encouraging residents to think creatively.
There are few who will not have a tear in their eye when listening to a small child warbling through Away in a Manger, with the excitement and enthusiasm of children at Christmas time always offering to inject life into a quiet day. All our care homes have close relationships with local primary schools, which means we are able to invite children to perform Christmas concerts for our residents each year. 2015's new openings Buckingham Lodge, Clayburn Court and Mayflower Court are already set to welcome in local choirs for songs and carols this year.
Our residents love to get dressed up for special occasions, with gala dinners at our care homes proving an eternally popular way to see in the New Year. This year Mayflower Court care home in Southampton, will host its inaugural New Year's Eve gala dinner, with residents encouraged to invite their family and friends to join them for a formal dinner in the dining room.
In addition to these events, we also host a number of other activities for festive fun in our care homes across the country, from Santa's grottos to craft fayres. Our communities are places of Christmas joy rather than sadness and we are eagerly anticipating this year's festive fun. We also have a wonderful corporate volunteer programme that is very popular over December. In fact one company are paying for a Christmas party at the British museum for residents for all our London homes.
Debbie Kirkbride MBE is a Service Delivery Consultant at Anchor, England's largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people.
Visit www.anchor.org.uk for more information
However, for some people, the festive season is a not a time which evokes love, friendship and happy memories, but, instead, summons up feelings of loneliness and despondency. Sadly, it is often older people who are subject to these feelings, an issue touched upon in this year's tear jerking John Lewis advert, featuring a lonely older man on the moon whose Christmas is made special by a little girl back on Earth.
At Anchor, we are committed to remedying this epidemic of loneliness. Each Christmas, we seek to create an atmosphere of excitement, hope and happiness at our Anchor care homes, ensuring that our residents continue to enjoy this time as much as they have done in previous years.
Below are some of our residents' favourite events, which hopefully will offer some inspiration for those looking to add some sparkle to the Christmas of an older friend, neighbour or relative.
Our Christmas Cake Competition has become an annual Anchor tradition, drawing in entries from across the county and culminating in a series of grand finales across the country. Since the launch of The Great British Bake Off, which has whipped up a baking frenzy for both the young and old, this event has snow-balled in popularity and we had over 200 entries last year. Festive baking is a great way of catalysing the formation of new friendships, formed over a common interest, with our annual theme (last year we chose "what Christmas means to me") encouraging residents to think creatively.
There are few who will not have a tear in their eye when listening to a small child warbling through Away in a Manger, with the excitement and enthusiasm of children at Christmas time always offering to inject life into a quiet day. All our care homes have close relationships with local primary schools, which means we are able to invite children to perform Christmas concerts for our residents each year. 2015's new openings Buckingham Lodge, Clayburn Court and Mayflower Court are already set to welcome in local choirs for songs and carols this year.
Our residents love to get dressed up for special occasions, with gala dinners at our care homes proving an eternally popular way to see in the New Year. This year Mayflower Court care home in Southampton, will host its inaugural New Year's Eve gala dinner, with residents encouraged to invite their family and friends to join them for a formal dinner in the dining room.
In addition to these events, we also host a number of other activities for festive fun in our care homes across the country, from Santa's grottos to craft fayres. Our communities are places of Christmas joy rather than sadness and we are eagerly anticipating this year's festive fun. We also have a wonderful corporate volunteer programme that is very popular over December. In fact one company are paying for a Christmas party at the British museum for residents for all our London homes.
Debbie Kirkbride MBE is a Service Delivery Consultant at Anchor, England's largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people.
Visit www.anchor.org.uk for more information