Celebrating life at Barchester

Thistle Hill got in the Christmas spirit by throwing a festive party for residents.  The homes Christmas party was in full swing with festive foods, music and games. Residents enjoyed a feast of festive foods prepared by the home’s chef, Ewelina.

Operations Manager, Nikki Mould said: “Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year and our fantastic residents love to get festive so we’ve pulled out all the stops.  It is so lovely to see them all getting into the Christmas spirit, it’s definitely my favourite time of year.”

We had a fabulous Traditional Christmas lunch prepared by our wonderful chef and served by all the team her at Parley Place to make sure our residents had the most magical day. 

A full house & full hearts in our home throughout the Christmas period. We were delighted to extend the invite to our residents' loved ones for a Christmas meal to remember at Farley Gardens, followed by games & karaoke. 

Each year hospitality teams from Barchester homes and hospitals up and down the country compete for the coveted Christmas Cake of the Year title.  The competition is run by the central hospitality team and the bar is set very high. Many of Barchester’s chefs are trained in patisserie and the Christmas cake designs are very elaborate and highly technical.  Competition is fierce and only the very best recipes and designs will prevail.

The hospitality team at North Park put their heads together and donned their aprons to come up with the most amazing Christmas cake decorated to perfection.  Their fabulous cake is designed as a Christmas fire place and consists of a delicious homemade Fruit Christmas Cake. Annie came up with the idea as she felt that it embodied a cosy warm evening around the fire place. 

We were delighted to welcome the 3rd Poole Sea Scouts and Leaders Alex, Charlotte, and Jill for a wonderful evening .Residents enjoyed Christmas carols, received handmade cards, and shared festive cheer. Karen, our Activities Lead, thanked the Scouts with a gift. Everyone’s excited for more visits in the New Year.

Staff, residents, relatives and the local community came together at Leeming Bar to enjoy a wonderful Christmas Fete.

The wonderful Carole from ‘Cats Pyjamas Theatre Productions’ got the festive frolics well underway as she sang her heart out to everyone’s favourite Christmas hits of the decades, complete with many a costume change!

As Carole's sweet melodies filled the home there was opportunity to browse all that the wonderful stall holders had in store. There were delicious cakes and bakes, an indulgent hot chocolate station, along with beautiful homemade craft and gift items.

The residents at South Grange put their heads together and donned their aprons to come up with the most amazing Christmas cake decorated to perfection. Their fabulous cake has 3 separate tiers- one designed as Santa, the other two tiers are decorated with different types of holly and icing. It took weeks of planning and preparation; residents couldn’t agree on just one design so that’s when they came up with the idea of making a separate 3 tier cake and having everyone’s ideas combined. The cakes were traditional Christmas cake packed with dried fruits and some festive spices like cinnamon and nutmeg and covered in a delicious royal icing.