On Wednesday 30 August we hosted our annual carnival day here at Sonya Lodge Residential Care Home.
It was an early start for our Activities Team, our Business Manager and our Maintenance Man, filling our Home and grounds full of colour. We had banners, bunting, games, signs, homemade decorations and even a homemade balloon arch! Every part of our Home was decorated – our driveway, reception area, all of our communal areas and the whole garden.
After lots of preparations, we kicked off the celebrations with a BBQ. Our residents tucked into burgers, sausages, different breads, potato salad, homemade coleslaw, garden salad and more, all lovingly made by our Chefs. They washed this down with a variety of fizzy drinks and fruit juices.
At lunchtime, those who wanted to sit outside enjoyed their lunch in the garden and our residents’ families joined us later in the afternoon so the dress up came out! Frilly tutus, colourful wigs, photo props and headbands! We had a well-stocked treat trolley full of different flavours of popcorn, sweets, huge marshmallows and lots of different drinks to keep our residents hydrated in the sun.
Our entertainer arrived at 3pm and it was all go! We were all up dancing straight away. Singer Graham sang a mix of Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and more. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed his performance.
During the afternoon our residents also enjoyed different carnival themed games in the garden such as bowling, skittles, hoop toss and bean bag toss (which involved staff members putting their heads in and residents aiming at them!). For our residents who opted to stay inside, we had games going on indoors and we made sure they could still enjoy a sing-along by opening our lounge windows. Viv, Nellsar’s Recreation and Well-Being Manager, came and joined in the fun too! She enjoyed dancing with our residents and dressing up in a bright orange frilly tutu!
Everyone enjoyed the day so much and some of our residents told us how amazing it was the next morning – one resident said “It was absolutely spectacular!”
A special thank you to our Business Support Officer, Amanda and Maintenance Man, Brian for their assistance with all the decorations and set up.
What a fantastic day to remember!
