Mary Rose Manor

As it has been a tough year all round, we in activities were determined to spread a little love and happiness round our home.

We spent the couple of weeks prior to the 14th of February working with our residents making handmade Valentines cards for their l oved ones, which we addressed and delivered for them.

We have had lovely feedback already from relatives who were surprised and delighted to receive such a surprise.

Our residents also enjoyed making salt dough keepsakes. Most chose to make hearts, which were baked to set, then decorated by the residents. We added a spray of perfume to add another Valentines sensory element to the craft and some have chosen to hang them in their wardrobe to make their clothes smell nice!

To fully ‘spread the love’ we again transformed one of our trolleys with red cloths, heart balloons and crafts made by our residents. We made and brightly decorated cupcakes as a tasty enticing treat and made delicious jugs of creamy and rich hot chocolate. Not only did these help with fluid and nutrition intakes; they added a warm and comforting element to the afternoon. We made a love song playlist with traditional and recognisable songs which we played on our trolley as we visited every resident, either in their rooms or enjoying the communal areas.

It wouldn’t be an ‘Activities Event’ without a homemade photo frame!! This time, a beautiful heart framed those who wished to have their picture taken. ‘Cupids Helpers’ certainly achieved their positivity as we were greeted by much laughter and many smiles, sone even singing along with us!

We celebrated Valentines with messages of hope and positivity as well as ‘traditional love’ and spent time asking our residents ‘what does love mean to you’. We all discovered similar responses like ‘support’. ‘Caring’. ‘Togetherness’

What better message to positively hold onto through what has been a challenging year?