It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We understand that the festive season may be a little different this year. That’s why our teams are going above and beyond to ensure that the people we support still have the most fantastic Christmas. And so, the Christmas festivities are well underway for the staff and people we support at Five Penny House, one of our residential care homes in County Durham.

After careful planning and consideration, plus adhering to current restrictions and guidelines, the team at Five Penny House have created a jam-packed schedule to keep everyone busy and in the festive spirit this year.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly!

Decorating the house is in full swing! The people we support and our staff have been doing lots of arts and crafts to make Christmas decorations for around the service. Residents have loved getting involved with decorating and putting up the Christmas tree, making Five Penny House look as festive as possible. Adjustments have been made to comply with the COVID-19 safety guidelines and to ensure the household stays safe whilst also, of course, magical!

With current restrictions in place across the country, it may seem tough to find anything to look forward to. But, after lots of careful party planning, the date for the Five Penny House Christmas party is now in the diary! The night will consist of lots of dancing, music and festive treats and rumor has it, maybe even a visit from Santa! While the excitement of the party is building, the safety of our staff and the people we support remains the number one priority. Therefore, strict measures have been put in place to be followed by all the staff and everybody at the service for the celebrations to go ahead. Some of these measures included, social distancing, individual packed lunches instead of a buffet and only using staff already on duty.

Getting creative this Christmas

What’s next? Christmas came early! Five Penny House have created their very own advent calendar, filled with lots of treats and goodies for each resident. Small gifts such as nail varnish, lip balms and other mini toiletries were just a few of the presents sat behind each door waiting to be opened each day.

And the festivities don’t stop there. Five Penny House are doing ‘12 days of Christmas traditions’, running from 13 – 24 December. Staff have lots of fantastic activities lined up for the people we support to keep them smiling this Christmas. Some of which include cupcake making, bauble decorating, jingle bells and carols, festive lunches and pub quizzes!

Lynsey Thurlow, the registered manager at Five Penny House commented “We are all keeping well and continue to follow the guidelines in order to remain safe and well in this crazy world we are currently living in. The people we support are all in good spirits and are enjoying in-house activities. We have done lots of baking, arts and crafts, movie nights, music and movement – to name a few things during lockdown and continue to have smiles on our faces.”

Please note: This article is about events that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and reflects the safety measures based on government advice during that specific time period. Please be assured that at all times, Voyage Care follows the appropriate COVID-19 safety measures to keep our staff and the people we support safe. To find out more about our COVID-19 safety precautions, please visit our COVID-19 resource area.

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