Activities at Orchard House Care Home
Our home is always full of life, and we can thank our wonderful Activities Coordinators for this. Dedication to creating a unique and interesting activities programme is what sets us apart from other homes. We always take into consideration that some people would prefer to pursue their own interests, which is why our team strive to incorporative activities that cater to a wide range of tastes and hobbies. Our trips out are always fun and exciting as well, and residents are guaranteed to return with stories to tell their loved ones!
Katalin Schlepp
Hello, I’m Katie Schlepp, and my job as the Head of Lifestyle is more than a career; it’s my passion. Every day, I have the pleasure of enhancing lives and creating moments of joy for our residents. It’s a privilege to be a part of this community where we celebrate life in all its richness, from organizing engaging activities to fostering connections and ensuring our residents well-being, I’m dedicated to making every day extraordinary. Our residents happiness and comfort are what drive me, and I’m committed to ensuring that your time at Orchard House is nothing short of wonderful.
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Orchard House Care Home
Ukraine Crisis
Residents and staff have been shocked by the events between Russia and the Ukraine and wanted to help. Orchard House set themselves up as a donation station for aid for the Ukraine. We have been collecting food, medicine, toys, blankets, nappies and baby clothes. We were inundated with so many donations that it was hard to keep on top of, we have all been amazed and overwhelmed with the amount of support for this crisis.
National Bread Week
Residents had a fantastic time celebrating National Bread Week. They sampled a wide variety of speciality breads to see which ones were the favorites, good old crusty bloomer won the day! Resident Wilf’s eyes lit up when he saw our bread selection! Another of our residents enjoyed every single style he tried and ate so much that he didn’t want his afternoon cake!
St Patrick's and St David's day
Orchard House care home, marked St. David’s Day and St Patrick’s Day with some lovely arts and crafts. For St David’s Day residents created some beautiful daffodils, which they said resembled a ray of sunshine as we head into spring. For St Patrick's Day residents decorated some lovely shamrocks with all sorts of collage materials. Their stunning efforts have been displayed on our tree in the Lounge which changes each month to reflect what is going on in the Home. Our spring tree is decked in yellows and greens and really cheers everyone up.
Love is in the Air
Orchard House was filled with happiness and love in celebration of Valentine’s Day. This special day was celebrated with residents spending the morning creating some beautiful things in a Heart and Craft session. The home even had a tree celebrating the occasion and displaying all the wonderful things that have been created.
Each resident received a chocolate gift and a red rose in recognition of the day, and it put a smile on every face. Staff were not forgotten either with all of them receiving a chocolate gift too.
In the afternoon a delicious Valentine's cream tea was had, complete with pink wine and homemade scones. Whilst enjoying the food, everyone had the change to take part in quizzes and themed games.
There was time for reminiscing and marriage stories were shared, Bill - a resident at the home said:
“I was rowing my girl in a boat on the river proudly showing off my muscles. When we got back to the jetty she climbed out of the boat, and as I went to do the same, the boat moved and I fell into 6 feet of water! I was very embarrassed, but my girl found it funny and she is now my wife and we have been together 70 years!”
Second Christmas
Here at Orchard House, we had a fantastic time celebrating a second “Christmas” recently. Sadly, during December the home was in lockdown, so the Activities Team swung into action to replace what was lost. With the help of the wonderful Kitchen Team, a “Christmas” party was organised, complete with a delicious homemade buffet.
The home hosted two “Christmas” parties, one for each floor of the home, a Christmas tree was set up in the dining room, Christmas music was played, and the tables were laden with themed crackers, delicious food, and a plentiful supply of alcohol to get the party going.
After the meal, there were party games which made everyone laugh and a good old fashioned sing song to traditional carols. Fun was had by all.
International Chocolate Cake Day
Staff and residents at Orchard House had a fantastic time celebrating International Chocolate Cake Day on January 27th, surely one of the best days of the year!
There was a chocolate themed quiz, and residents enjoyed whipping up delicious chocolate cupcakes.
Head Chef Claire Daffern was most certainly the star of the day making the most amazing chocolate cakes for residents to enjoy. They were a sight to behold, got all our taste buds tingling and they were absolutely delicious.
Hardworking staff weren’t forgotten either and a lovely range of chocolate cakes was provided for them to enjoy, which brought a smile to their faces.
General Manager, Kim Fleming said: “International Chocolate Cake Day has to be one of the best days of the year, who doesn’t love a good chocolate cake? Everyone’s eyes lit up when they saw all the cakes, especially the ones that Claire made, she is a diamond cake maker.”
