Lovingly-stitched Advent calendars for care homes

An astonishing amount of love and attention to detail has gone into the making of fabric Advent calendars as gifts for care homes this Christmas. The project undertaken by Cheltenham and Bishop’s Cleeve Anna Chaplaincy for older people (CaBic) has resulted in more than two dozen being presented to care homes in the area, as CaBic coordinator Gill Ford explains:

‘CaBiC Anna Chaplaincy has completed an ambitious Advent calendar project for local care homes. With the help of volunteers, 26 calendars were lovingly created and personalised for care homes throughout Cheltenham and Bishop’s Cleeve.

The pockets of each calendar were filled with items related to Advent or Christmas and an activity was suggested to accompany each item. Pocket fillers included an angel, a donkey, Mary, Joseph and a baby Jesus (wrapped and labelled as “the greatest gift”), a manger, as well as a candy cane shepherd’s crook, Christmas biscuit cutter, mini-Advent wreath and even a handmade mouse. Templates for a number of activities and Christmas quizzes were also supplied to accompany the Advent calendar, as well as individual Christmas cards, handwritten for each resident and a chocolate coin.

I would like to thank all the volunteers who have helped to bring this project to its successful completion: to those who have made the beautiful calendars; to Mary Padley and Mary Leonard, who not only made calendars but helped with instructions and packs of materials; to Rachel Cottell, whose amazing creativity both inspired and supplied many of the pocket fillers and to those who wrote Christmas cards and coloured bookmarks – this wouldn't have been possible without them.

If anyone would like a copy of the list of items that filled the pockets and/or notes for activities coordinators which accompanied the calendars, feel free to email me at gillian.ford@cabic.co.uk and I’d be very happy to share them.

We have already had one comment on the post I put up on the CaBiC Facebook page which reads: “Thank you so much for our beautiful advent calendar. We are delighted to receive such a fabulous gift to celebrate Advent with our residents.

So much work must have gone into creating

so many fabulous activities.”’

Debbie Thrower writes, ‘What an achievement; carried out with such flair and expertise and on a grand scale. Congratulations to everyone involved and, surely, a blueprint for others!’

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