Southampton care home brings joy to children with Christmas grotto

 

A care home in Southampton welcomed local school children to meet Santa at a special event ahead of the big day. 

To ensure the community was in the Christmas spirit, Care UK’s Ancasta Grove, on Barnes Lane, created a Santa’s Grotto at the home, and invited children from Sarisbury Infant School to experience the magic of meeting Mr Claus himself. 

Built over the course of three days, the grotto includes a Christmas tree, candy canes, presents, Christmas lights and a snow machine. Team members at Ancasta Grove dressed up as Santa’s elves, while volunteer David Woodley had the honour of stepping into the red suit and white beard. Residents were also encouraged to don their festive attire and get into the seasonal spirit. 

Frances Weaver, a resident at Ancasta Grove, said: “I love seeing the children’s faces at Christmas, it brings me great joy to see them so happy.”

Audrey Chiduku, Home Manager at Ancasta Grove, added: “Here at Ancasta Grove, we’re passionate about playing an active role in our community, so we were delighted to open our doors to children from Sarisbury Infant School to enjoy our Christmas grotto. 

“The idea behind the grotto was to bring the outside in, particularly for those residents who are less mobile and unable to see the Christmas displays in shops and garden centres at this time of year. It is also becoming more expensive for parents to take their children to see Santa, so we wanted to ensure no child missed out this year. 

“It was a wonderful chance to bring people together to get into the Christmas spirit and build new friendships – which is exactly what Christmas is all about. Santa’s workshop certainly brought a sprinkling of seasonal magic to Ancasta Grove.”

Ancasta Grove has been designed to deliver the very best standards of care and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. The home provides residential, nursing and specialist dementia care, as well as respite and end-of-life care, and is proud to be able to offer a ‘home for life’ if an individual’s needs change over time.