With Christmas Day upon us, many people will be downing their tools for the rest of the year to spend precious time with families and loved ones.
But for many in essential services such as care workers, they will be family plans on hold as they spend their day ensuring valuable services continue to run as the deliver much-needed support.
Kelly Sweeney, a care assistant at Renaissance Care, will be enjoying Christmas Day and Boxing Day with the elderly residents of Rosepark Care Home in Uddingston. Kelly and her colleagues at the home will be going above and beyond to ensure residents have a magical day and the festive spirit is sprinkled on every activity throughout the day.
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Speaking about why she chose to work Christmas Day, Kelly said: “There is no feeling quite like it when you see the sparkle in the eyes of the residents when we tell them it’s Christmas Day, they truly light up.
“Christmas Day in the care home is very special, we get the residents dressed in their favourite Christmas jumpers or special Christmas Day outfits and then have a lovely, homemade breakfast to kick off the day.
“Many of the residents will have visits from friends and family where they will exchange gifts and enjoy the day together. And, usually Santa himself makes an appearance.
“We all sit down to enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner together, making sure all of the trimmings are just as the residents like them and then to round off the day the residents relax and watch a Christmas film – It’s a Wonderful Life is a firm favourite with the residents of Rosepark.”
Kelly has worked at Rosepark for seven years and in that time has built meaningful relationships with many of the residents.
She said: “Our role for Christmas Day is simple, we want to make that day as special as we can for our residents. They’re like family to me and I want them to have a fantastic day with us and with their families when they come to visit.
“I choose to work Christmas Day because, for me, it gives me a sense of purpose. It’s such a boost to see the joy on the faces of our residents and I'm so thankful that I can be a part of that.”
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