The heat is on in Country Court kitchens as Valentine’s Day Tea Party preparations are well underway. Our care homes are taking part in our ‘Baked with Love’ competition with Chefs and Residents baking a selection of delicious treats for their Valentine’s Day Tea Parties.
The winner of our Valentine’s Day baking competition will be announced on Monday 17th February, the winning home will receive a contribution to their resident’s Comfort Fund for future activities and outings.
Our chefs are already putting the finishing touches to their cakes with these fabulous entries from Chef Louise at Abbey Grange Care & Nursing Home. Natalie, Kitchen Assistant at Lakeview Lodge Care Home even came in on her day off to create her entry to the competition.
It's not just the chefs who will be baking, our residents will also be getting creative as part of their weekly activity sessions, you can see their creations on the Facebook pages for our care homes.
Our care homes are hosting afternoon tea parties to celebrate Valentines Day, with entertainers on hand to provide music and singing to set the mood. Family and friends are invited to join in the fun too.
In addition to baking, residents have been getting creative and making some wonderful decorations for their homes. At Beech Lodge Nursing Home in Holbeach residents were asked which staff members they loved to spend time with and matched up photos to create a wonderful decoration for their home.
Making decorations for their homes is a great way to help people stay connected with the changing seasons, especially for those living with dementia. Seeing visual cues and prompts can remind people of the time of year, trigger memories and aid reminiscing. Craft based activities are also good for concentration, hand-eye coordination and maintaining dexterity. Making something and seeing the end result is great for well-being and gives a sense of purpose to the activity.
Over at Eccleshare Court Care & Nursing Home in Lincoln residents have been thinking about what’s important to them and who’s in their hearts. Their drawings are in their favourite colours and include the names of their family members, pets and favourite pastimes.
Residents enjoyed chatting to staff throughout the activity, reminiscing about their lives and their families and even having a laugh at staff attempts to draw pictures of pets and hobbies. Activities that involve reminiscing help staff to get to know residents and find out what's important to them, bringing people together and creating close bonds of friendship between residents and staff.
Residents at The Grove Care Home in Waltham enjoyed a visit from pre-school children at Explorosity Nursery, who presented residents with a rose to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The residents loved seeing the children and chatting to the little ones.
We love to encourage intergenerational activities and often welcome pre-school children, school-age children right up to teenagers and young people looking for work experience in the care sector. There are great benefits for both the young people, who may never have encountered an older person with dementia, and also for the residents themselves to enjoy watching and chatting to their young visitors.
Don't forget to check out our Facebook pages to see who the winner of the Baked with Love competition is on Monday 17th February.
