The activities team have been busy bunnies over the past couple of weeks, preparing for Easter.

As is sadly still the case, we were very aware that this family-focused holiday wouldn’t be the same as previous years with restrictions on visits still in place – albeit more relaxed. We wanted to ensure our residents very kept positive, and we provided many different activities to aid in the celebration.

Those who wished wrote/decorated an Easter card for a loved one or friend which we addressed and sent to aid the connection between families. Cards were either handmade by the residents during craft sessions, or we provided beautiful pre- made cards that they could personalise with a message of their choosing.

We wanted to decorate the whole home with Easter-themed crafts and with three floors, that’s a lot of eggs, chicks and bunnies! Our craft group took to the challenge and enjoyed a few sessions of glueing, painting, drawing and colouring to aid us in creating a bright and colourful home. We were lucky enough to be joined by residents who may not normally participate in group activities, who wanted to show off their creative side.

As well as craft activities, Easter had an impact on our beauty-themed tasks with some residents enjoying their weekly pamper session with an Easter twist. A few of our ladies are donning beautifully painted nails, with pretty spring flowers painted by our technician.

Our residents took part in decorating the whole home. The home looked colourful with bright colours in every communal room, coloured eggs all around and delicate egg mobiles dangled in the breeze by windows on vase trees. Pictures of yellow chicks were put up as bunting and spring flowers brightened each room. The residents also enjoyed decorating polystyrene eggs to hang on our Easter Tree. Once we had pinned, hung and stuck their efforts around the home, we could clearly see the pride they had taken in their work. Many compliments were passed around by staff and residents and those involved received a big confidence boost.

On Easter Sunday our residents enjoyed a visit from the Easter Bunny, and all received a chocolate egg! The kitchen got fully involved in the Easter merriment and worked hard to provide a beautiful Easter Sunday Buffet Tea. All needs were catered for with a large display of tempting nibbles and treats. One of our talented kitchen assistants went to work and created 3 stunning Easter Cakes. It was a shame to cut into them!

The fun continued on Easter Monday. We invited our residents to join us for an afternoon of chocolate and messiness!

We made shortbread biscuits in the shape of Easter Eggs and invited them to decorate them. Using brightly coloured icing tubes they each personalised their own biscuit. We had many decorative edibles such as coloured sprinkles, mini marshmallows and chocolate hearts and each looked bright and beautiful and good enough to eat.

After this, we all moved tables and enjoyed chocolate fondoue with our chocolate fountain!!

Bowls of cut melon, kiwi, strawberries, banana, biscuits and marshmallows caught everyone attention for this unsurprisingly popular activity.

Despite the lack of families and visitors, our residents enjoyed the Easter weekend festivities. The chocolate fondue proved to be one of the most popular activities with the ‘Easter Trees’ and decorative Easter crosses being the most praised and enjoyed decorations this year.