Christmas festivities at Barchester
Christmas is always a big event for everyone at Barchester, giving residents and staff the chance to share a meal together along with family and friends.
Christmas is a fantastic opportunity to gather with friends and family. It's an occasion that people all over the world mark in one way or another and we believe being in a care home shouldn't hold you back when it comes to celebrating the big day.
Our Hospitality Operations Managers are at the heart of organising such big celebrations and help to ensure that everyone enjoys it. Many of our care homes will open up their doors on Christmas Day, inviting friends, family and members of the community to come and join them for a meal.
At every Barchester home, our care team will work together with residents to ensure that everyone's favourite dishes are on the menu. At Barchester, we understand that the festive period can be twinged with sadness of missing loved ones or missing home, so our teams do our very best to create that home-away-from-home experience. The festive magic happens from recreating resident's favourite Christmas memories, and building some new ones with their Barchester family. This includes watching classic Christmas movies, enjoying festive activities throughout the day, such as decorating the tree or a visit from Santa, and of course, serving all of the Christmas favourites we love to eat.
Our Barchester teams start planning Christmas as early as the autumn so that everything can come together in time. Our Barchester chefs start planning Christmas dinner in September, getting ideas from each of the residents. Our hospitality team then fine tune the menus, making sure everyone gets something suitable and delicious.
In the build up to Christmas, homes will enjoy a variety of entertainment including traditional Church services, Christmas Carolling, and even visits from Santa and his elves. Our creative residents also enjoy decorating the home with the Barchester teams, dressing up in Christmas costumes, and designing gingerbread houses. Barchester even have a very serious Christmas cake decorating competition!
Children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are welcome to join in at many of our Barchester festivities as we all share in the Christmas cheer with family and friends. The invitation is also open to key people in the community around our homes, such as firefighters, police and paramedics, and many will come to share Christmas lunch with our residents.
Irene Lewis, one of our Hospitality Operations Managers, noted Christmas is a special time of year for many people for different reasons, saying "I feel that a traditional Christmas menu can evoke so many memories of past happy times, which are naturally associated with the Christmas period."
To find out what your local Barchester home is up to this Christmas, do get in touch through their webpage here
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