Christmas Day is one of our biggest events of the year. It is always well attended and celebrated on the day. In 2020, our Christmas plans were limited to delivering food and presents to members’ doors, and in 2021, Christmas was hosted by our then partner cafe, The Courtyard Pantry. This year, Christmas came home to Flourish and we were all thrilled. Planning meetings were held every week for two months leading up to the big day, with staff and members working hard to apply for funding, prepare and freeze lots of food, make decorations and help Santa find and wrap gifts. 21 members attended these meetings and many more were involved in the preparations.
On the day, 48 members attended, 6 of whom were volunteers and feedback suggested the day was a great success. One member provided a short review:
“Xmas day went well, so many people were there for it. In the cafe we watched Elf & it was quite enjoyable with mince pies available for everyone. We went upstairs for the meal and all the tables were laid out splendidly. It was a joyous day, our first course was veg & lentil soup which was very good. Before the main meal there was a quiz. The main meal was fantastic. Turkey, roast potato, Brussel sprouts and carrots, stuffing, etc. The dessert was sticky toffee pudding. Next Santa Claus came with the presents, he kinda looked like a member but who knows. My gift was a lovely scarf & most people were happy with their presents, after that we all got a lift home.”
We were also treated to a visit from “Santa” who said after the event, “It was really really funny! Ever so much fun!” When asked what else he enjoyed about Christmas, he said “I liked the way the tables were done up with the Christmas trees out of cardboard.”
