Over 250,000 over 65’s face the prospect of spending Christmas alone each year.

In the spirit of Christmas, we thought we could spread some ideas of how to spread the Christmas cheer and include people who may not have anyone else to spend the festive season with.

Invite someone round for Christmas

Whether it’s an elderly neighbour, a friend or a family member with nowhere else to go, why not invite them round to join in your festivities, even if it’s just for a cup of coffee and mince pie! This can go a long way to making someone’s day and making them feel included – especially over Christmas when everyone else is getting together and seeing friends and family.

Visit family in a Care Home

If you’ve got relatives in a care home, it’s important to remember them over Christmas, and they can still be included in Christmas – whether you build it into your Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day routine, it can be a worthwhile family trip!

Volunteer

There are lots of charity and community events that run over Christmas, many helping to make people feel included and giving people a place to go, so why not give up some of your time to give other people a taste of the Christmas cheer.

Give someone a call

Friends, family, neighbours – anyone you know might be alone at Christmas, it might be a good idea to give them a ring, check in on them and make sure they are okay! A little can go a long way to making someone feel better.

Christmas cards

Send a Christmas card to someone you know might not get that many this year – it could really lift their spirits!

Donate

Similar to volunteering, donating to charities that help the homeless, elderly or lonely can go a long way to helping these charities operate and sustain their operations over Christmas, when they might otherwise be short of money or volunteers.