Activities at Arbour Court Care Home

Everybody at Arbour Court celebrated with Shelia and Roy on their 49th Wedding Anniversary. Residents enjoyed a toasting the happy couple to many more years and of course eating some delicious cake made by a local bakery. 

Our staff decorated the home with balloons and banners and hosted a party with music to congratulate them both.       

Arbour Court friends and family came together to celebrate Mother’s Day. Our Activities team hosted a Mother’s Day afternoon tea with a variety of sweet and savoury treats, drinks and music for all to enjoy.     

Arbour Court held a pancake parlour where residents had a choice of traditional toppings, such as Lemon and Sugar, Golden Syrup, Chocolate topping and raspberries.

Afterwards, we played 2 games, a pancake-flipping competition as well as using our online platform Oomph to play the game ‘Flippin’ Pancakes’–a memory recall game in which the aim of the game is to match two numbered pancakes correctly.           

We celebrated pizza day in style. What a delight to see everyone rolling their sleeves up and crafting their own pizza and, of course, with Valentine’s Day coming up, we had to make it heart-shaped! 

After crafting their own pizzas and waiting patiently for them to cook. Residents enjoyed tucking into their marvellous creations.       

Staff and residents at Arbour Court celebrated National Activity Providers & Professionals Week, which took place from January 19th-25. Residents and staff wanted to thank the wonderful activities team at the home, whose hard work and dedication make a real difference to the lives of the residents living there. 
National Activity Providers & Professionals Week is an annual event to support activity professionals, and thank them for all the many different varied activities they provide for residents and patients. 

The activities team at Arbour Court consists of 3 wonderful ladies – Aimee, Annette and Khadija, who offer unique, tailored activities and entertainment to the residents every single day. They always go above and beyond their role and for this everyone at the home is truly grateful.

Residents came together to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in true Irish style. Residents listened to traditional Irish music, tried out some Irish dances and watched the parade virtually from Dublin. 

Everyone enjoyed a fantastic feast of delicious dishes, along with crackers and cheese, all washed down with Guinness. Our head chef also prepared an Irish Stew with braised beef, carrots and peas with a Guinness-infused sauce.    

Residents enjoyed joining Barchester live virtual make-along hosted by Holly and Rafin from the V&A as part of London Fashion Week. We explored the world of dessert-inspired fashion and learnt about Marie Antoinette’s favourite sweet treats, before putting our creativity to the test with our own sweet still life paintings.  

We had a fantastic time. A big thank you to everyone from the V&A!     

Residents enjoyed marking this Chinese New Year with crafts - colouring dragon face masks as well as learning their Chinese Zodiac animal, learning about this year’s animals of 2026 the Horse, known for its energetic and dynamic nature. 

It symbolises vitality, speed, and perseverance. Ending the day watching Chinese New Year parades and celebrations around the world.           

We celebrated Australia Day it in style with Australian-themed activities including a virtual tour down under of Sydney Opera House and went deep down exploring the Great Barrier Reef! But the biggest hit was the Australian themed I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of here!” 

The aim of the game was to find hidden starts within the box of soggy Weetabix! Of course, no celebration is complete without some Australian tunes and a quiz.          

Residents at Arbour Court have had a busy couple of days in January learning all there is about birds and wildlife as we took part in the big garden birdwatch. Residents went out on a trip to Etherow Country Park where they walked around the grounds bird spotting and feeding the ducks, geese and swans. After the trip, our residents took part in a bird and wildlife quiz.

Residents started the day with Barchester’s Live Event with Rob McGee, a nature conservationist from Gwent Wildlife Trust, where he spoke about all things birds. Everyone definitely learnt something new!

After our live event, we read and looked through our bird book to see if we could name or recognise any of the birds. To finish the day off, we took a nice relaxing stroll into our garden and patios to top up our bird baths and feeders. 

We celebrated Nutrition and Hydration Week by hosting our own smoothie bar as well as creating delicious mocktails and fruit salads. Residents enjoyed concocting their own signature mocktails as well as trying one another’s drinks to see. 

Residents also enjoyed a talk from the head chef about the importance of nutritious foods for our bodies and hydration.     

The residents enjoyed a dog day celebrating the infamous dog show Crufts. So many of our residents are dog lovers and enjoyed reminiscing about memories with their beloved canine companion. Residents started the day off by watching this year’s show, reading about the history of how it started and then chatting about our own dogs and the experiences as dog owners. 

Residents also enjoyed some animal therapy with Billy the Shih Tzu.  

Residents, staff and loved ones definitely felt the love in the air this Valentine’s Day as we celebrated Valentine’s crafting, writing and exchanging cards with our loved ones and then parting with the best love songs with singer, Sam Jones.      

In January, we celebrated Burns night by hosting a Scottish themed day. In the morning, we celebrated Hogmanay day by hosting a Scottish-themed party with the lovely singer Katy, who joined us for a sing-a-long which everyone loved and joined in with whilst tasting well-known favourites from across Scotland. 

We continued the themed day after lunch with an afternoon packed with activities, from reciting a Robbie Burns Poem, creative colour work, quiz questions as well as discussing if the Loch Ness Monster really exists. A great day ending with a rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne.        

On Thursday 8^th January we celebrated Elvis’ birthday by having a jam-packed Elvis-themed day.

Residents started their day listening to their favourite Elvis song whilst having breakfast, followed by a premier of the 2025 Elvis film. 

In the afternoon, we partied hard during our aerobics session to all the best Elvis hits! Throughout the day, residents tested their knowledge by guessing the song from Elvis' lyrics and learnt more about Elvis and what influenced him.