It’s not called ‘the most wonderful time of year’ for no reason. The festive period can bring out the best in everyone, and between the music, the movies, the parties, and of course, the food, there is enough to go around to make everyone jolly – and that’s before the Buck’s Fizz or sherry is opened! The holiday spirit fully took over Marchmont and Wilby House in 2021 as the staff, carers, and residents alike all took comfort in Christmas after another challenging but often rewarding year for care homes across the country. Find out all about how Marchmont celebrated the holidays below!
Now this might not be the most popular of opinions, but isn’t the build-up to Christmas the best part about Christmas? Why celebrate on just the one day when you can spend weeks getting into the spirit with a carousel of festive activities and events to provide plenty of warmth and holiday cheer! Of course, you can’t start the Christmas countdown without an advent calendar to keep you on track and waking up to a little treat every morning.
Just as big a requirement for Christmas as the chocolates is the singing, and whilst there’s plenty of both in our homes all year round, Christmas just takes it to a whole new level. Maybe it’s all the sugar from the extra chocolate that livens up our vocal chords… Or maybe it’s all the great musical guests we have? Local musician Pete stopped by to entertain our residents where he played a fantastic set of traditional Scottish, Irish, and country music that gets everyone up doing the jig!
Not quite as professional but just as entertaining, our staff choir returned again this year as they belted out some Christmas classics that got everyone in the party mood with their infectious enthusiasm and commitment. Maybe next year they’ll put in a bit of practice – sorry neighbours of Marchmont!
What’s Christmas without some gifts? To raise some money for our resident's funds so they can continue living the extravagant life they have grown accustomed to at Marchmont, a special Christmas raffle was held with some brilliant prizes. Opening up the raffle to visitors, guests, and staff, Marchmont managed to raise a wonderful £162 for the resident's funds with prizes including a food hamper, a bottle of Famous Grouse, a delicious sweet hamper, and a homemade Christmas cake, and it’s safe to say we are jealous of all the winners.
And finally, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without ample opportunities to party and eat. Thankfully our residents got many chances for both. Where we would usually head out for a Christmas bar lunch to paint the town red, this year we opted for a different change of pace. Instead, we had a chippy tea from the comfort of Marchmont. Dressing the dining area with Christmas decorations and rolling out the Christmas crackers – because you simply can’t eat without them – the residents had such a fantastic time. So much so that it is going to be a new Christmas tradition at Marchmont! But that wasn’t all.
What's better than a Christmas party? How about THREE Christmas parties?! With plenty of energetic and keen dancers among the residents, Marchmont found that just one Christmas party simply wouldn't suffice, only multiple would do the job. With local singer Gail stopping by on two occasions, we also had Beechwood regular, Dan, stop by as well to help bring the parties to life – not that the residents ever need much help doing that themselves. You can see the full gallery of pictures from Marchmont's three Christmas parties down below! We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas period, and a Happy New Year - all the best for 2022!
