Activities at Iddenshall Hall Care Home

We held an Australia Day in December to coincide with the new series of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

We had our very own Bushtucker Trials, which went down really well with residents. Obviously, we did not use real bugs, but we made our own concoctions for residents to try.

Christmas started early at Iddenshall this year; we spent the first week of December doing all the preparations, and residents helped us put up all the decorations around the home - it looked very festive!

Those residents who didn't want to join in were happy to sit and supervise, pointing out gaps in the trees that needed filling. We listened to Christmas music whilst we did the decorating and served wine and mince pies.

Iddenshall Hall threw a Halloween Party this year for residents.

Residents helped to decorate the lounge and conservatory at the home, using pumpkins, swedes, sweet potatoes and lots of creepy lights and seasonal decorations. We set up displays of the seasonal vegetables on the tables, along with a cauldron, some Halloween lamps and table decorations.

We were joined by residents from Beeston View for the afternoon; it was a lovely chance for the two homes to interact and for some of them to catch up with old friends too. All the residents enjoyed a Halloween buffet with themed foods prepared by our talented kitchen staff.

Staff enjoyed dressing up appropriately in costumes for the day - and with gory make-up too, much to the amusement of residents.

We had a Halloween-themed quiz, during which we learnt some interesting facts about the day. We then played backgroun

d music so everybody could socialise together.

We finished the day off with a screening of 'Premonition' - a thriller that wasn't too scary but had just the right amount of seasonal creepiness!

We have recently started a Walking Club for residents. We will be holding the club on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, from 11.30am - Noon.

Each time, we will be taking some residents around our grounds and gardens for some fresh air and exercise. We are including residents from both Iddenshall Hall and Beeston View each time, which gives them all a chance to socialise with each other as well.

Our first walk was a great success - there were 6 Residents who really enjoyed getting out and about. We have plenty of benches for them to stop and take a well-earned rest on if needed.

On the evening of Friday 28th October, we held our much-anticipated book launch for 'Pearls and Wisdom'. This is the book we have had published which is full of stories from residents' lives, past and present. It had been over a year in the making and we have been looking forward to celebrating our creation.

There was a great turn out for the event and we received a lot of support from residents and their families. We had a champagne toast and enjoyed canapés whilst we all looked at copies of the book.

Each resident who contributed to 'Pearls and Wisdom' received their own copy of the book and there are also extra copies available for those who would like to purchase one. Some residents read out excerpts from the book for everyone to listen to on the night. It was an evening full of celebration and conversation, which was enjoyed by all those who came along.

On 20th October, we held our USA Day here at Iddenshall Hall. Our talented kitchen staff created an American-themed menu for the day, which included bagels and cream cheese for breakfast, fried chicken with chips, followed by pancakes, ice-cream and maple syrup for lunch and hot dogs and burgers with key lime pie for tea. Afternoon snacks consisted of twinkies, pretzels, marshmallows and Hershey Kisses, which went down a treat with the residents.

We held a themed quiz in the afternoon and the home was decorated with flags from all the American states, as well as pictures from around the US. We also adorned the home with some interesting facts about the good old US of A, including a full list of all the American presidents - past and present - which was a talking point throughout.