Care staff create personalised advent calendar to celebrate residents and make the festive period extra special

A DEDICATED care home team have created a bespoke advent calendar to celebrate their residents and spread some festive cheer in the lead up to Christmas.

Galahill House in the Scottish borders have made the festive period extra special after a tough year by assigning every resident to a date of the advent calendar and planning a full day of personalised gifts and activities.

The calendar included resident’s favourite foods, activities, messages from loved ones and one day even included a staff appreciation, where chocolates and buns were laid on, with a gift and card from management for their dedication and hard work.

Tracy McGeown, Activities Coordinator at Galahill House which is operated by Mansfield Care, said: “During lockdown we made personalised activity boxes which the residents really appreciated, so we thought it would be a good idea to replicate it.

“The residents have loved the personalised advent calendar, we’ve celebrated and enjoyed many emotional moments, which goes to show just how much this means to everyone.

“One of our residents celebrated her 90^th birthday on her advent day, we got her a cake with a photo on it saying ’90 years young today’, some gifts and arranged a WhatsApp call with her 18-month-old great grandson – it was a really lovely and special day for everyone at Galahill.”

Residents have virtually travelled around the world with one resident spending her day on WhatsApp chatting to a school friend 2,000 miles away in Spain, while another spent their day on a Zoom call with their grandson in Hong Kong. Another resident spoke with her sister who lives in America, with staff facilitating through the window visits for families and loved ones who live nearby.

The home also had a resident who was brought to tears with the kind gestures from children at local St Peter’s Primary School who wrote personalised letters and made individual bars of soaps for each resident.

Tracy added said: “The advent calendar has given every resident a really special day and the home has made memories to last a lifetime, leaving what has been a tough year for many on a positive note.

“One of our residents received flowers from her daughter who now lives in Wales – the pair haven’t seen each other since before the pandemic began in March.

“We would normally welcome the local primary school for a carol concert at this time, as well a variety of other festive activities but with this year we had to think outside the box – we’re so happy we managed to do something special which celebrates each of our lovely residents.”

The personalised lockdown boxes and advent calendar was the brainchild of Tracey, who has spent the last month planning unique activities and gifts for each resident.

Mansfield Care specialises in small, friendly residential care homes in Edinburgh, Borders and west of Scotland; each designed to an exceptional standard with state-of-the-art facilities.

The Mansfield Care ethos is inspired by the kind of care we would wish for ourselves in later life – supportive, friendly, bright, positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.

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