Enriching lives through celebrations

When a resident moves into one of our care homes, we see it as the start of a fresh chapter in their lives.

We believe their new home should be filled with joy and happiness, and we do everything we can to create these special moments.
Big birthdays and anniversaries are the perfect excuse to welcome loved ones into our homes, and of course for our chefs to show off their baking skills. Some of our homes also have rooms which can be used to throw the perfect family party.

Many of our care homes celebrate religious festivals, Christmas being a special one for so many of our residents. Children visiting from local schools to sing carols or treat our residents sneak previews of their nativity plays are always greeted with beaming smiles. At other homes, residents will enjoy a lavish banquet, traditional dancing and prayers to celebrate Diwali, the festival of light.

Celebrating with culinary creativity

Food is always at the heart of every celebration in our care homes and our chefs pride themselves on making mealtimes a highlight of the day. Every year our chefs go head-to-head in Sanctuary Care’s MasterChef contest, which celebrates the culinary flair of the talented people cooking for our residents.

Big birthdays are always a huge reason for our teams to pull out all the stops to celebrate. Recently our Beach Lawns home resident Arthur celebrated his 106th birthday! And on top of the celebrations, he marked his milestone with a BBC television appearance, telling reporters about his miraculous survival during the war, when his plane crashed into the sea at 300 miles per hour!

Many of our homes throw open their doors and welcome people from their local communities along for celebrations, like our Haven home in Pinner, where there was a fabulous party to celebrate the home’s 10th anniversary. They enjoyed a barbecue in the sunshine, a magician and even a performance from the King of rock n’ roll himself, Elvis!

Our amazing staff

We are proud to celebrate the incredible staff that enrich our residents’ lives. Many of our staff and teams in our homes have won awards for the exceptional care they provide. Like James Samson, who was proud as punch to win the Care Champion accolade in the National Care Awards. Meanwhile Kate Lockwood was beaming from ear to ear when she collected the Outstanding Contribution to Health and Social Care in Worcestershire Award in September 2023.

Another reason to celebrate is when our homes achieve ‘Outstanding’ ratings from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) or ‘Excellent’ ratings with the Care Inspectorate (CI). At our Watlington and District Nursing Home in Oxfordshire, there was a party on the lawns, complete with a flash mob who performed a special dance to celebrate the home’s Outstanding rating!