A charity is bringing a smile to the faces of nursing home residents this Christmas by bringing children dressed as elves in to visit.
The United Kingdom charity, Friend in Deed’s ‘Little Elves’ program aims to bring young and old together, forge new friendships, and spread a festive spirit of kindness.
The children (and sometimes their families) dress as elves for specially organised events in nursing homes, and together they sing Christmas songs and make music, play games, and generally get to know each other.
At one event, a snowball fight took place – with cotton wool snowballs.
By all accounts, the events are thoroughly enjoyed by both young and old.
The children bring a smile to the residents’ faces, reminding them perhaps of when they had their own young children.
And the children’s openness and good cheer makes it easy for all to connect and bond, and new friendships are formed.
The organisers hope that the visits will continue into the new year, so the friendships made at the events can continue.
During one event a “little elf stole the heart of an older friend”.
Friend in Deed is a UK social enterprise that organises intergenerational programs with the purpose of ‘promoting kindness’ – an important cause, especially at this time of year, which, though happy for many, can also be a time of loneliness and stress for some.
Friend in Deed asked visitors to bring along donations for the food bank for the event, and included a wishlist of the food needed.
“Those elves are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” said one appreciative resident. And we have to agree.
Have a merry Christmas all, from the team at HelloCare!
