With the countdown to Christmas now truly upon us, it seemed like a good time to take a look at what’s been going on at Crouched Friars over the last few weeks. Our residential care home, based in Colchester provides nursing and dementia care and ensures that there is always lots going on to keep our residents entertained and their lives enriched.
There has been a busy schedule throughout December, with festive activities in particular to ensure residents and staff have a magical time.
Let’s take a look at what everyone has been up to…
Boogie fever
At the end of November the residents at Crouched Friars had a lot of fun as they participated in a group dance class. Everyone sat together in a big circle and enjoyed a group session which involved lots of arm actions, a giant ribbon and some great tunes.
Dance therapy can be a great method of improving visual perception and spatial memory, which are both areas commonly affected by dementia. The residents always find a good dance an enjoyable activity, which is great for boosting their mood as well as having a positive impact on their mental health.
There’s a new activity that’s getting everyone excited
A spot of exercise always goes down a treat at Crouched Friars. From stretching to dancing, the residents always enjoy the positive impact that some gentle movement has on them. The recent addition of a new sports activity has been available to everyone, and that’s boxing! The residents have really been getting stuck in, having a go with the great support of our exercise instructors.
Exercise, in any form, has some really positive health outcomes on the elderly, and on those living with dementia in particular. Keeping active has a positive impact on people’s joints, flexibility and mobility, essentially enabling them to remain independent for longer. It also improves sleep, confidence and mood. No wonder it goes down so well!
The festive run-up
There’s not a person in Crouched Friars who doesn’t love getting into the Christmas spirit, so December is always a festive and fun-filled month, bursting with Christmas activities and events. Here’s what’s been going on…
On 14th December it was time to make the home’s Christmas cake. Everyone got involved in putting the recipe together, and lending a hand to ensure the cake was properly mixed and ready to go for Christmas Day. The real effort, however, came when it was time to dispose of any leftover brandy! The residents enjoyed a nice early evening tipple to celebrate the completion of the Christmas cake. Cheers!
On 15th December it was time to make this year’s mulled wine stock. The residents helped to spice the wine with all of the festive season’s finest flavours, including oranges, cloves and cinnamon, to ensure there will be a glass of mulled wine available for the rest of the month. Very sensible thinking from the team at Crouched Friars!
The Christmas preparation continued on 17th December with wrapping, wine and some Christmas letters. The residents enjoyed a nice glass of red wine whilst they were preparing their gifts. To add to the Christmas magic, the residents received letters from some local primary school children which were to wish everyone at Crouched Friars a very merry Christmas! The residents love to feel part of their local community, and so it was wonderful for them to receive letters from children in the area. The residents would like to say a huge thank you for the letters, and wish everyone involved a very merry Christmas!
And finally, on 20th December the residents got wrapped up warm, poured themselves a glass of that mulled wine and headed out into the garden. The residents put their best singing voices forward as they sang a selection of Christmas carols to really get them into the Christmas spirit! What could be better than that at this time of year?
There have been festivities aplenty at Crouched Friars this Christmas season, which will continue for the rest of December and into the new year. There is always something magical going on in the home at this time of year, and the residents are definitely having a wonderful Christmas time. From everyone at Crouched Friars, we wish you a very merry Christmas!
Our specialist dementia and nursing home in Colchester, Essex provides an entirely bespoke package of care for all residents and prides itself on its rich culture and warm environment. To keep up to date with everything going on you can follow us on Facebook @CrouchedFriars or call the team for more information on 01206 572 647.