You are here: / / / December

Our Christmas Fair and Tree of Lights

We held TWO Christmassy events yesterday!
The first was a mini Christmas Fair in our dining room, for our residents and families. We had a busy raffle and tombola, cake stall and stalls selling some gorgeous Christmas gifts. Mrs Claus and her helper elf visited and it was a chance for our residents to do a little Christmas shopping. Thank you VERY MUCH to all those local businesses that gave prizes for our raffle – we very much appreciate it!
Later on we held a touching service at our annual Tree of Lights ceremony. At 4pm, we gathered around our Christmas Tree (kindly donated by Viscount Allendale from the Bywell Estate) and listened to the Rev. Linda Hunter from Corbridge Church lead a short service with carols, readings and a tree blessing. Our Chair of the Trustees, Berenice Groves, read out the names of those who passed away in the last twelve months, giving us all time for reflection and remembrance. After that we all warmed up with mulled wine, hot chocolate and mince pies.
Thank you to St Andrew’s Church for leading the service, Bywell Estates for donating our tree, Ali Bardon and Lesley Kerr for leading the singing, and all those who gave their time to make it a special and atmospheric event.

Christmas at the Corbridge Hub

Thank you to all those who came along and supported our joint fundraising event at the Corbridge Hub!
Together with Tynedale Hospice at Home and the Corbridge Community Partnership we turned the Corbridge Hub into a beautifully decorated Santa’s Grotto and a pop-up shop. Visitors enjoyed browsing the preloved fashions whilst sampling home-made items from our tea stall.
It was great fun to see all the children visiting Santa, telling him what they wanted for Christmas and getting a present in return.
Thank you to all who came along, plus all the volunteers who helped with baking cakes and those who worked so hard on the day.

Christmas Trees at Corbridge Church

Our residents were invited by Corbridge Church to a special preview of the Corbridge Christmas Tree Festival last Thursday afternoon and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
There was a plethora of different types of decorated trees, and our residents and volunteers were amazed by the creativity and cleverness of some of the designs. We enjoyed a cuppa and mince pies and listened to some beautiful carol singing by the Church Choir.
Of course we’re giving a special shout out to Adrienne, our Activities Coordinator, who made our Charlotte Straker entry, on the theme of “Christmas Past and Christmas Present”. On one side of the tree Adrienne hung some vintage decorations, including paper chains and tinsel. The other side of the tree was decorated with much more modern designed baubles! The idea was to showcase how we work at Charlotte Straker – supporting our residents to remember special memories and continue traditions they enjoy, whilst looking forward to the future with the latest in expert care.
Thank you to St Andrew’s Church – it was such a privilege to have a special preview so our residents could go round at their own pace.

Christmas lunch at the Wheatsheaf in Corbridge

Thank you to Dylan and his team at the Wheatsheaf at Corbridge for hosting our residents’ special Christmassy lunch. Residents and helpers enjoyed the short frosty walk to the pub, and after a pre pre-dinner aperitif tucked into a three-course meal with all the Christmas trimmings. The lunch was delicious – the turkey was perfect, the roasties crisp and there was plenty of perfectly cooked veg and tasty gravy! Berenice Groves, Chair of the Trustees, said “Dylan and his team looked after everyone so well, and definitely got them into the Christmassy mood. Thank you to him and his team for a delicious meal, plus all the volunteers and staff who joined our residents and helped out. This meal really kicks off our Christmas celebrations and we’ve got a jampacked programme over the next few weeks.”