Connecting with community at Christmas: Hastings care home hosts array of festive visits from the local community

Mountside Care Home, a branch of ACI Care that specialises in residential, respite and dementia care, organised a full schedule of festive entertainment for its residents and families, courtesy of local community groups.

Firstly, residents were treated to children from Blacklands Academy attending to put on a small concert of festive songs that some residents recognised and could sing along to.

The local Rainbows, Brownies and Girl Guides groups also paid a visit to the Laton Road home to sing more Christmas songs for the residents. A brave four-year-old girl sang Twinkle Twinkle, a duet from the Brownies sang In The Bleak Midwinter, whilst the whole group joined in for a rendition of Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.

With an action packed few weeks leading up to the big day, one resident said: “It’s been great having so many visitors, especially as I can’t get out and about to attend festive events myself, so I’m grateful they were willing to come to us.”

To help fund such activities, the home has hosted a Christmas Fayre, a raffle, and has a collection box for donations to help raise money for its ‘Residents’ Fund’.

Internal activities have also helped to get residents into the festive spirit, as they offered their hand at making mince pies, decorating the home and creating Christmas cards.

Shelagh Hazleton, Activities Coordinator at Mountside, said: “It’s been lovely to welcome so many of the local community into our home and to help bring the Christmas spirit to our residents. We extend our thanks to all our visitors throughout the past few weeks, we have thoroughly enjoyed the time you’ve spent with us.

“It's also been great to see the residents share some of these festive activities with their loved ones. Unfortunately, not all residents get to see their families on Christmas Day, so we ensure there are still plenty of opportunities to create festive memories this year.”

For more information on Mountside and ACI Care, please visit https://aci.care/mountside/.