Activities at Strachan House Care Home

Our activities team are great at building the activities programme around the likes and interests of the people we care for. Ensuring that our social events offer fun and adventure is part of the ethos of our home; it’s important that those we support can enjoy an active and social lifestyle. Of course, there will always be those who prefer peace and quiet, and in these instances, a cup of tea and a chat are always welcomed.

Enriching life
Watch our video on life enrichment in our homes.

Natasha Rubin

Activities Coordinator

G’day! My name is Natasha and I am the activities lead here at Strachan House. I am Australian born and bred, braving the dark and the cold here in Edinburgh to enjoy the beautiful nature and wonderful people! I have a background in team management and design. I have always loved working with people and have a strong interest in mental health and well-being, recently embarking on a psychology degree with an interest in specialising in Art Therapy. I am working with the team to create a vibrant, engaging and person-centred home.

Life-encriching activities booklet

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 Strachan House Care Home

National Housekeeping Week

To say thanks to the amazing Housekeeping team at Strachan House, Residents  and colleagues were delighted to show their appreciation for all the hard work they do every week, especially throughout the last few months. 

The life enrichment team organised an afternoon tea so they could relax with a cup of  tea and some cake before they were presented with their cards and boxes of  chocolates.  Strachan House has a great housekeeping team who between the staff on shift that day managed to racked up an impressive 128 years of service.

The housekeeping team were the nominated team from Strachan in Barchester’s annual care awards and whilst may not have won the regional team of the year award, they are Strachan’s top team..

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Residents enjoy butterfly release

Residents of Strachan House recently enjoyed chartering the growth journey of eggs to butterflies before their release.  For one Resident, Thom he reminisced about his childhood when he used to keep caterpillars in a jar until they turned to crystallise then to the most glamorous butterflies.

The activities team produced a daily chart for the butterflies growth along with quizzes, themed arts and crafts before their release when they held a butterfly tea party with napkins folded into butterflies, delicious mouth-watering butterfly cakes. It was a glorious sunny day as their beautiful creations gave an almighty show on their release.

Fiesta balloon race

After seeing beautiful pictures of the wonderful balloon fiesta celebrated each year in Bristol, Residents of Strachan House showed their creative sides as they created their own version of the hot air balloons by creating their own mini festival.  Residents also filled the sky above the home with colour as they released a number of bio gradable balloons into the air.

Garden family reunions

For some residents at Strachan House care home in Edinburgh, the long awaited reunion with family and friends became a reality recently, as garden visits have now been allowed to commence at the home.

It was welcome news to so many residents, family, and friends, who were kept apart for so long following strict government guidance. Residents and their loved ones got together in the home garden for and the garden was full of joy and chatter.

 
Eileen Crawford, General Manager at the home, said: “This has been a much welcomed development in what have been very strange times. The visits are safe and organised, and it was wonderful to see how happy it made the residents. We will of course endeavour to keep up the high standards of care, and continue with our ever evolving life enrichment programme, to keep residents engaged. But this was a lovely day.”

Big Hearts All the Way

Clive loves getting his Hearts Gazette delivered through the post from the Big Hearts Association each month. Clive has great memories from being a child going to the local football stadium to watch his beloved Hearts Football Club compete. The Gazette brings so much joy to Clive, and he always likes to share his stories as he reminiscences about his favourite team.  

Books donated to the home

Residents and staff at Strachan House were recently overjoyed to receive dementia friendly painting books from a local lady called Hannah who works for a company called Usborne books. Hannah used her commission and her bonus to buy these books for the residents.

The gift of dementia friendly painting books and story books were fabulous and a gesture which Residents will enjoy as part of their regular arts and craft sessions.  Colleagues also received personal discount cards for the store.

Upcoming events

May

Join us in May and take a look at our upcoming Life Enrichment and Community Events.

Professional Open Evening

Calling all professional's. Join us on Tuesday 18th June for our homes open evening event.

Knit and Natter

Join us for our weekly Knit and Natter group and make new friends over a selection of tasty snacks and refreshments.

Afternoon tea - Memory Lane

Join us for Afternoon Tea, 2nd Saturday of each month from 2.30-4.30pm in our Memory Lane communtiy

Community Cafe

Join us for our monthly Community Cafe - Last Friday of the month from 2.30 pm. All welcome.

Respite - Are you looking for a little care break?

If you are looking for a little care break for yourself or a little care break pop in and see what we have to offer.

Volunteers - Could you make a difference?

We recognise the special impact that volunteers can make on the day to day lives of our residents. If you would like more information we'd love to hear from you.

Emergency Services - Take a break on us!

We offer a warm welcome and a hot drink any time you need one - to all emergency services personnel, police, ambulance, district nurses - pop in any time!

Gentleman's Club

Join us every Wednesday from 2-4pm for our Gentlemen's Club.