Activities at Wood Grange Care Home

Across our homes we got into the Christmas spirit of things by joining a festive live virtual experience, led by Des and Kelly from Performing Pets.

Our residents were thrilled to meet the charming furry friends and get up close and personal with the reindeers.  We certainly learnt some interesting facts about the animals and had a fantastic time.

There was huge excitement at the home as Darwin the miniature horse came by to visit the residents. Brenda, Darwin’s owner came along dressed as an elf and Darwin was dressed in a festive Santa outfit. Darwin is a trained therapy horse, his temperament is calm and warming and he comforted the residents by kissing them on the nose and enjoying their affection. The resident’s faces lit up with pure happiness when they saw Darwin. Staff and residents had a wonderful time learning about the very friendly Horse by Brenda the handler, finding out about his habits and what he likes to eat. Due to Darwin’s dietary requirements we were unable to feed Darwin any treats however the residents got to fuss him and Darwin loved the attention. General Manager, Katya Petrova said: “We had the best time with Darwin, he is such gorgeous animal.  Our residents loved spending time with him and Brenda, I do hope they come back to visit us soon. ”Gwen, a resident at Wood Grange said: “It was so lovely to see Darwin and get to stroke him, he was absolutely beautiful. I would love to see Brenda and Darwin again!” It truly was a lovely visit and we are privileged to have met Darwin and Brenda.

Barchester’s Wood Grange care home, in Bourne, got in the Christmas spirit by hosting a Christmas concert of a staff mini talent show for the residents. Wood Grange’s Christmas staff talent show was in full swing with music, singing,
dancing, dog tricks and poems.

Everyone enjoyed festive foods and refreshments and everyone got the chance to vote for their first, second and third winners. Our third place act was Iain our maintenance manager with a solo performance by Robbie Williams, our second place act was Amanda one of our nurses who acted out one of the poem’s she has wrote, which was about a drunken fairy at Christmas looking for a job and the residents found this hilarious.

The Halloween party at Wood grange was a fantastic experience. The fabulous Nicky Downs performed to our residents and got everyone smiling and moving. The residents were also entertained by the staff’s Halloween costumes and they found a lot of humour in this. Everyone enjoyed some spooky sweet treats including spider muffins made by the kitchen.  The residents and staff were dancing together and it was lovely to see such happiness beaming from the residents faces. We all look forward to next year’s Halloween celebrations.

Bonfire Night of 2023 at Wood Grange was a blast for everyone. The residents were able to sit outside and watch the firework display picked out by Ruby-Mae, activities coordinator and Martin maintenance assistant. Martin did a great job providing us with a safe fireworks display.  We were joined by members of the community and relatives for this special occasion. We enjoyed some delicious chilli con carne made by our chef, chocolate coated apples and toasted marshmallows followed by seasonal refreshments. The residents were given glow sticks for sparklers and they waved them around all evening. It was wonderful to see families together and the residents smiles and amusement as they watched the bursts of colours.

Wood Grange’s Christmas Market was in full swing with John Dalton playing the harp by the Christmas Tree, local businesses Sue’s Paper Boutique, Carole Ellis, Ann Wakeford’s paintings, Spruce & Drey homewares selling their goods for the perfect Christmas gift, giant soft toy tombola, bric-a-brac, tombola and a resident’s stall which had products made by residents, relatives and friends.

Everyone enjoyed a feast of festive foods prepared by the home’s chef, Radovan & Gee. It couldn’t be a Christmas Market without a choir, a huge thanks to the ladies from South Lincs Ladies Choir who created the most wonderful festive atmosphere. Residents loved having you at Wood Grange.