Activities at Wilton Place Care Home

During December we have focused on all things fun with a 25 days of Christmas calendar , today our lovely residents and teams made ginger bread houses and decorated them with lots of sweet goodies!

Last week our residents enjoyed the energy and enthusiasm that intergenerational visits always bring to Wilton Place.

We were treated to some Christmas songs and traditional carols which everyone enjoyed and the children were treated to  candy canes and festive treats. Lots of chitter chatter between residents and the children made for an interesting morning with tales of Christmas wishes and Christmases gone by. Reminiscing is a big part of the festive season in our home and the children delighted in the resident's stories.

Chief Elf Antoinette (General Manager)and her team dressed as Christmas Elves to support the Alzheimer's Society.
A fun day for residents and staff alike.
That is what Wilton Place is all about enriching the lives of our residents through compassion, care and laughter!

ARMISTICE 

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - Wilton Place remembered the fallen...

During this thoughtful time of the year conversations in our home focus around memories and what remembrance means to staff and residents on a personal level.

Gary, one of our Senior Carers came up with the idea of preserving these precious memories on individual poppies for residents to have as a keepsake.

He and Nicky, one of our carers and also our Dementia Champion, created this wonderful display.

On Sunday the whole home came together in our Cinema Room to watch the BBC coverage at the Cenotaph.

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

The opening of the new Bradbeers store in Salisbury prompted a shopping trip out in the minibus this week. Our residents were keen to see what was on offer.

 The ladies were driven and accompanied by Colin and Angela.

It was felt it was a little too early to visit the Champagne bar! 

Coffee, Cake and Tea were the order of the day.

Have you been out and about this week?

Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

We were delighted to welcome Paddington Class from Wilton Primary today. The children visit our residents every other week and enjoy intergenerational chats. It was no surprise this week when the topic turned to Christmas. 

Joyce, one of our very talented Wilton Place residents showcased her Christmas crafts to the children whilst they enjoyed cake, biscuits and squash. 

Joyce said: “I have always spent time making things. I came up with the idea for the Teasel Family myself. For each character I removed the stalk and the prickles at the base of the head of the teasel to create a perfect shaped head and a little snout. I created personality by spacing the eyes either closer together or further apart. I think you’ll agree each character has their own expression. During Christmastime at home I would display the whole family on the mantelpiece.”

Joyce also showed her Dickensian Mice Family and her knitted Nativity. Joyce’s crafts will be on display at Wilton Place over the Festive season. Why not pop in and see them for yourself and visit our Christmas Fayre at the same time?

Another resident, Andrew, captured the children’s undivided attention when he told thm of his rock climbing escapades. He shared photographs of himself and his brother rock climbing. In his younger days Andrew was a climbing instructor and was very happy to answer the children’s questions. 

When asked what their favourite part of Christmas was, the children's unanimous answer was ‘putting out the mince pies and carrots for Father Christmas and his reindeers’. 

We all finished the visit off with a rendition of ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’.

Antoinette Roberts, our Manager said: “Christmas is such a magical time and our residents love nothing better than to spend time chatting to the children on the run up to the festive period. We are grateful for their visits, they are so beautifully behaved and are so engaging with their curiosity and openness.

Our residents will be creating decorations for the home and then we all help to put them up together. It is so special to be able to share these rituals and we all love to see the home decorated and filled with twinkly lights. We are particularly lucky to have Joyce’s decorations as part of our displays.”