Community Christmas is an opportunity for communities to come together and for older people, many of whom are lonely and socially isolated, to be with others during the festive period.  People across the UK let others know about the events they are hosting during the festive period by registering them on the online community Christmas directory on our website.  This year there were a total of 901 events registered, all of them accessible to older people, ranging from tai chi and line dancing clubs to Salvation Army band performances and organised walks. 

Most events centred around food, with the majority offering a Christmas lunch, either on Christmas Day or in the days before. And with the rising cost of energy and food, the directory also included warm spaces open to older people during the festive period.  

The gift of befriending 

Amongst the hundreds of community Christmas events that took place this year was a celebratory Christmas lunch supported by the Oxford Food Hub, an organisation that collects surplus food from wholesalers and supermarkets and redistributes it to those in need.   

Organiser Sara first had the idea for the Christmas lunch when she noticed that, whilst a vast amount of food came in on Christmas Eve, by then most of the charities the Oxford Food Hub supplied were closed for the Christmas break. The lunch was originally a way to use the surplus food and give the charities’ beneficiaries somewhere to go on Christmas Day. It grew very quickly from 40 guests to about 400, amongst them older people, people in supported living, refugees, people with mental health problems, families for whom Christmas is hard, and people who do not have a home. No one is excluded. 

150 people volunteered their time on the day, with a volunteer picking up almost every guest and sitting to eat with them.  

Sara told us, ‘I’ve come to realise that Christmas is a very alienating time for many people. It’s this befriending, more than the food, that’s the real Christmas gift.’  

This wonderful Christmas celebration is supported by many other local organisations including conference hall The King’s Centre, who provide the venue; Oxford Event Hire, who provide tables and cooking equipment; Happy Cakes, who make a spectacular cake for 500; a local ‘pick-your-own' who supply tonnes of potatoes and various schools who loan minibuses. 

Getting creative with Christmas tree decorations 

At Pepper’s, in Melton Mowbray, communities came together to make festive decorations.  Wednesday afternoons are all about art at Pepper’s.  From creating beautiful mandalas to colourful gratitude cards, locals are invited to come along and spend an hour relaxing, unwinding and enjoying the many benefits that being creative brings.   Over the festive period, people of all ages had a lot of fun making decorations for their Christmas tree. 

 “I love the art sessions at Pepper’s”, said one local. “I’ve not done any art since my school days, and I find painting helps me feel calm and focused. We all had fun decorating the tree and I liked seeing what everyone made”.