Activities at Ottley House Care Home

Our residents love it when they can go out and go shopping. We try to make sure there are a couple of trips a month. They love going to Tesco and grabbing all the bargains they can find. 

They also love the feel of being able to go out and feel like they used to when they were at home. They love being able to go out and choose what they would like to buy. 

The trips out always end with having a nice cup of tea or coffee in the café, and sometimes we enjoy a cake or two. 

Once a week, we’ve been holding a weekly art club where the residents get to express themselves however they would like through art. We get lots of different art supplies, from pens, pencils, paints and even pipe cleaners, so they can make what they would like. 

For some of our residents, it’s a nice way to relax and learn a new skill they may not have ever known they’ve had. They are really pleased with their artwork when they’ve finished. It always goes down well when they enjoy a hot drink and biscuit whilst getting creative.

We enjoyed celebrating Burns night with the amazing Katriona and Grant. They enjoyed coming in and singing and playing some classical Scottish music, they even did a dance for us. 

The residents really enjoyed it as Burns night is something they really enjoy celebrating. Burns night is a celebration celebrated on January 25th. It is a very important national cultural day in Scotland to celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns, who is a famous poet all around the world. 

On Burns night people usually celebrate by eating haggis, neeps and tatties.

Over the month of December our residents received so many cards from schools, colleges and even nationwide bank. 

Our residents were really surprised with how many cards they received. 

They were so grateful for the kindness of others to spend the time to write, make and send the cards to the home. 

Some of our residents don’t have many family members that visit them so it really does make a difference to them at this time of year receiving something as simple as a card. We are so grateful to all the places that have sent cards in.

On Tuesday 17th December our residents and staff got into the Christmas spirit as we had our Christmas party. 

We started our party with a fantastic buffet lunch made by our amazing kitchen team. The residents love a buffet as it brings them back to when they were younger at birthday parties. 

There were plenty of drinks from beers to J2O’s. We had Christmas music blasting and everyone sang along whilst having lunch. 

After our buffet lunch we played Christmas pass the parcel where everyone won a prize from ted’s to chocolate. We finished our party off with some carol singing.

Throughout November we’ve been doing many activities to get ready for the festive season. 

One of the first activities we did was decorating wooden Christmas ornaments for the trees so each resident could have one with their names on. One resident commented they hadn’t done painting since they were in school and forgot how fun it was. 

We’ve also had a demonstration from one of our chefs, Milen, who showed our residents how to make a Christmas cake. They all enjoyed tasting the ingredients. 

Our dementia residents have enjoyed making Santa countdown to Christmas clock faces and helping with making centre pieces for the dining room tables for Christmas day. We’ve had a busy month and our residents are so excited to see what December brings.

On the second Sunday of every month, we have a Holy communion service. 

The residents look forward to this service every month where they receive communion. We have a priest come in who is a family member to one of our residents. 

Communion means togetherness, and it’s a ritual to show peoples togetherness of Christians and God. At communion the priest gives individuals bread, which is a symbol for Jesus body being broken and wine, which is a symbol of Jesus' blood being spilled. They do this because it's the two signs Jesus shared at the last supper before he was crucified. 

Our residents cherish the moment every time they have communion. The priest always has a nice message for our residents to think about too. 

When the service is getting close to an important celebration, such a Christmas or Easter, the priest themes the communion around that time, and the residents say it makes that service even better. 

The residents really enjoy having the communion as it make them feel together and that they all have something in common.

On Tuesday the 5th November, our residents wanted to have fun and celebrate bonfire night. 

We spent the day learning about the history of Bonfire night. Learning the history of things is one of our residents' favourite things to do. 

As the day went on the residents were getting all excited as they were chatting to each other about it. 

One resident said its been years since they’ve done any sparklers. At around 5.30pm the residents that wanted to have a go with sparklers came to the lounge. We went out the back of the home and they all lit up with joy as each sparkler was lit. Even the staff got involved. 

Everyone tried to spell their names but it was harder than we all thought. It was a great day and everyone enjoyed themselves.

In our home we have a cockatiel called Poppy who's been in our home for around 10 years and our residents love her, we got her when she was only a baby. 

They love to sit and have chats about their lives and days to her. They see Poppy as part of their family and their friend. 

They look forward to when we have her out flying around the lounge, but we have to make sure the doors and windows are shut or she might get out. 

One of the residents' favourite visits is when Poppy comes around to their rooms and they get to see her on a 1-1 basis. 

Poppy makes them smile and helps to make their days brighter when they can hear her singing down the corridors.