Activities at Oaklands Care Home

The Residents at Oaklands enjoy at least three activities planned by our Lifestyle enrichment team.

They had asked if they could make some bird seed balls as it had been very cold and they all enjoy watching the birds from lounge at Oaklands. The Activities Team got the materials and voila their feathery friends have been well fed.

At Oaklands we support and encourage our residents to continue doing the things they love whilst also making new friends and exploring new adventures.

Supporting residents to enjoy outings, shopping, meals out and other trips is a key aspect of the weekly activities calendar. 

Our Residents requested a trip to a Local House that raises money for charity every Christmas and it was a trip to the movie "Deck the Halls". One Resident claimed it was good as the Blackpool illuminations and from the smiles the other Residents agreed.

Our Lifestyle enrichment team are dedicated to ensuring listening to Residents wishes and making them happen.

We launched the start of our Men’s DIY group with the expert help of Scott, our maintenance assistant.

Some of our men felt that a lot of the activities were aimed at our ladies, and they wanted to get a bit more stuck in, so through a few conversations between Anna (activities lead) and Scott, they came up with the first project of the two wooden Christmas trees made from pallets we had left over. 

The men had a great time. Ray decided he was taking on the role of the foreman and giving the instructions, while Robert and Keith were actively painting, and the conversations flowed along with the focus on the detail of not missing any sections. This activity gave our men the chance to be proud of making something whilst being familiar to them. Look out next year. We will start them earlier and sell them!      

Dave and his wife Jude wished to go to the river for a picnic. This trip was originally planned for the summer but, for various reasons, we were unable to go, but we chose this day with the hope in our hearts it would be OK. The two previous days had been dull and grey but the sun shone for us, still chilly but nice to sit and enjoy our sarnies watching the ducks and boats go by.

Dave and Jude were extremely happy to have spent some time together walking along the river taking in some of their old stomping group. 

We recently celebrated Indian culture with a special afternoon of fun with Indian dancing and Indian food, all provided by our head chef, John, and all his family and friends who joined us. We were excited by all the bright colours and jewellery that the ladies were wearing. 

The curry and other nibbles were delicious.

The methods and mediums may change but the heart of live music - the communal joy, the shared emotions, the collective energy - remains untouched. As we look to the future, one thing is clear: live music will continue to be a cherished experience at Oaklands, even as its form and format evolve.

We Celebrated the birth of Elvis with a tribute act. The Residents clapped and had a good old sing along to all of his classics.

We have enjoyed a variety of trips so far this month linking with residents' interests, including a visit to a craft shop and a Christmas shop with the opportunity to enjoy refreshments. Trips out are vital to our residents to keep them connected to the community, and they are great for a person’s well-being, even just a ride around on the minibus looking at the world around us, a great change of scenery.

Here Sarah and Margaret were choosing craft items for us to create Christmas crafts back in the home.   

Staff and residents enjoyed watching and supporting our manager, Oana, in the 2025 Barchester care awards. 

We watched the live ceremony via zoom link and carried the celebrations on to the next day, when Oana returned to the home with a staff party to say how proud we were of her achievement.     

Our second Dementia disco and what a blast it was. Following on from the success of the first one, we had another fabulous evening dancing and singing away to the songs. 

We had 4 generations of one family participating, and it was so wonderful to see them sharing the experience together. We had glowsticks and wheelchair dancing a plenty.

Martin recently enjoyed his wish trip, which was to visit his old school that he was the former principal of many years ago. He was met by the current principal, who gave him a wonderful detailed tour, showing him the new library and staff room along with his old office and desk, which are still very much in use. 

Martin played a very important role in setting up the World Tree statue, which is located in the grounds of the school, and he was overwhelmed to see this again and took time to sit next to it and enjoy the peace, although Martin added, ”the children are the blood that runs through the school, and they should be here”. Martin was taken to bake a few times because of how wonderful it all was, but felt strongly that he would like to visit again when the children return in September.  

National celebrations and family-friendly events are just some of the ways that we ensure the residents at Oaklands remain connected with their loved ones and the wider community. 

Our Residents enjoyed a busy Christmas season with parties, entertainments, singing and dancing. It was fun filled jam packed Christmas and here's to happy New Year.

Reception area games are great as it’s the hub of the home, connecting residents from all three of our communities, and it engages the residents with visitors and office staff too. 

The game is fun, especially with the added banter.  

Unplanned activities are sometimes more fun than the planned activities and here you can see a group of us going walking around the gardens and enjoying a singsong and a dance.

Whilst enjoying looking for the cats and smelling the honeysuckle, we also took time to admire the vintage car that was visiting the site.  

Creative sessions with our residents can involve cutting and sticking, water paints to simple drawing using an etch a sketch.

Residents love the freedom to be creative with different materials and we celebrate the process more than the end result.  

This week some of our plans have changed to allow us to enjoy and adapt to this wonderful weather we have, time spent relaxing in the shade enjoying our courtyards and a mobile ice-cream trolley giving out refreshing strawberries and ice cream from our activity staff. 

This allows residents to keep hydrated in a delicious way.