Activities at Upton Bay Care Home
Activities are an integral part of life at our care home. We want to ensure that the people we support have as much fun as possible during their time with us, so it’s important that our activities programme is created with the interests of residents in mind. Our skilled Activities Coordinators bring a certain uniqueness to the home that can’t be found anywhere else, and which is reflected in the activities they organise.
Karen Grant
I first worked in the care sector in 2010, starting in domiciliary care and progressing to Care Coordinator. I have since gained a wealth of experience in dedicated dementia and residential activities, working as a peripatetic activities coordinator in 16 out of 20 homes within a group, and then in 2018, I was part of a team that commissioned a new luxury care home, where I was an Activities Team Leader.
I enjoy making wishes come true for residents: in February 2015, I organised my first wedding in a care home. The lady resident who was living with dementia was unable to travel to Hertfordshire for her granddaughters wedding, so I brought the wedding to her. I organised a wedding blessing at the home; we had a vicar, a choir, all of the bridal party, the flowers, a buffet, a wedding cake, champagne—the full works.
In 2017, I organised a smaller wedding in the garden, and this was a special wish for a gentleman resident to see his granddaughter married. Organising these special moments gives me a lot of pleasure, knowing I have made them feel special and to give families that happiness and see them smile.
I cannot wait to welcome our residents into their wonderful new home and help to bring smiles, joy and laughter to each day.
Karen is also one of our dementia champions
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Upton Bay Care Home
Christmas Card Competition with Little Angels Nursery
This week, Residents at Upton Bay received a cracker full of entries for the Christmas Card Competition, as part of a fun intergenerational project with Little Angels Nursery. Aged between 2 and 4, little boys and girls got creative over paints, glitter, and sequins, to produce a selection of ‘one of a kind’ handmade Christmas cards for our residents.
Residents chose Orla’s card, as their favourite! Inspired by Russian artists Kandinsky, Orla, aged 2, produced a contemporary art piece to grace her card, which we will be making a few copies of to gift to her family!
Honourable mentions included:
Alfie, Aged 4, whose glitzy take on a Christmas turkey simply wowed
Lucy, Aged 2, decided on an unconventional use of Easter Yellow that stood out from the crowd
Albie, Aged 3, Residents titled this piece, “Festive Carnage”, symbolising the stress and chaos we all feel this time of year
A Visit from the Christmas Canines!
Residents at Upton Bay love mothing more than a cuddle with a furry friend. And last weekend, they had 5 to choose from!
Caring Canines brought a gorgeous group of pooches to spend the morning with residents, and to our delight, each doggie dressed up in their finest festive outfits!
Smiles all round as the four legged friends performed tricks for treats and strutted about the terrace showcasing their glitzy accessories and costumes.
A very big Thank You to Caring Canines for bringing so much joy to our residents this Christmas, and of course our regular family guest, Basil the Golden Doodle!
Santa Claus is Coming to… Upton Bay!
We were so excited to welcome Father Christmas to our Garden Grotto this weekend!
With the reindeer not wanting to get their hooves wet, Santa arrived in style on his Harley Davidson, decked out with tinsel, flashing lights, and a train of bright balloons for the kids!
Over 30 children came along to sit on Santa’s knee, and tell him what they’re wishing for this Christmas! And with British drizzle instead of snow, we kept warm with Christmas songs blaring and hot chocolates all round.
Thank you to VB Garage Doors and Son for getting together with Santa’s elves to make all those lovely presents! That’ll get you off the naughty list this year!
Christmas Jumper Day
The Upton Bay Family couldn’t have looked anymore festive this Friday, as we all dressed up in our finest festive knitwear for Christmas Jumper Day, to raise money for Save the Children!
Every team member and resident alike paraded around the home in their most colourful jumpers, some with lights, tinsel, and bobbly bits galore! And our ladies have all been to the salon for their festive manicures too!
We are well and truly into the swing of Christmas at Upton Bay!
Winter Wonderland at Blenheim Palace!
Upton Bay residents experienced a truly palatial Christmas extravaganza this week, via a virtual tour of Blenheim Palace’s world famous light display.
We discovered the story of The Nutcracker, reimagined within the palace rooms- from the toymaker’s workshop on a frosty Christmas Eve; through the glistening Land of Snow and onto the candy-cane Kingdom of Sweets adorned with the sweetest of treats and larger-than-life gingerbread men.
Into the grounds and gardens, over a million lights, lasers and seasonal sounds filled the air with festive fun in this Winter Wonderland. Our favourite display by far was the enormous Cathedral of Light!
Just a little off the top..!
Gents at Upton Bay were treated to a visit from the Grade 92 mobile barbershop, as the van made its inaugural trip to our home!
A huge Thank You to experienced barber George Hatch, who was so kind and accommodating to our gents, and made sure each resident came out looking and feeling their best!
Complete with step-free access and a traditional, adjustable barber chair, George’s van was fully equipped to make a simple haircut accessible to all, no matter their mobility, and only metres from the front door!
One of our lovely residents, David, said, “It was fantastic, I’ve never seen a whole barbershop on wheels before!”
Upcoming events
Knit and Knatter - weekly group
Open to the community. This fun, social group meet every Thursday 10.30-12.00 to knit and chat. Refreshments included
Christmas Fair - Saturday 7th December
Join us for a fun, Christmas event with a variety of stalls including candles, cards, gifts for all your family and friends. Join santa in his grotto
