Christmas at Cotswold Friends

Christmas can be a difficult time for many, so here at Cotswold Friends we try to do what we can to bring some light amongst the darkness into our community and harness the sense of friendship and kindness that makes Cotswold Friends what it is. We have done that this year in a myriad of ways that you can read about below;

The Cotswold Friend

Every one of our clients has been given a Winter edition of ‘The Cotswold Friend’ newsletter which includes recipes, puzzles, articles and even some colouring in to do! These newsletters have been hand delivered by an incredible army of volunteers who wrap up warm and set about through the towns and villages that we cover. A huge thank you to the Volunteers for their hard work.

You can read the newsletter here; https://online.fliphtml5.com/ugduv/lfzv/

A Christmas Meal

Our Support Service clients were invited to a Christmas Lunch at Moreton Fire College on 8th December where we shared a delicious Christmas meal together, played ‘Bridget’s Bingo’, were visited by Father Christmas, won lots of raffle prizes that had been generously donated by local businesses and individuals, and were treated to some lovely Christmas songs sung by the brilliant Year 5 pupils from St. David’s Primary School in Moreton-in-Marsh. On the table each guest was given a hand-knitted Christmas gift – made by our Knit and Natter group - and a Christmas card made by Moreton Playgroup. We had two wonderful volunteers help us out from Helix Construct and their company generously donated £500 towards the event. It was such a special day and we can’t wait to do it all again next year!

Watch a short video clip of the day here

Christmas Gift Bags

For our Support Service clients who were unable to attend the Christmas Lunch, gift bags were put together that included all the delicious Christmas treats you can think of, from Christmas Pudding to Mince Pies and everything else in between. Again, these were hand delivered by our amazing Volunteers.

Christmas Community Activities

Every month we have more than 20 Community Activities going on from Friendship Cafes, to Walking Football and Lunch Clubs. Throughout December, many of the Activities have had their own Christmas parties or Christmas themed activities.

Christmas Lights Switch On

On Saturday 25th November we kicked off the Christmas season with a stall at the Moreton-in-Marsh lights switch on, we had lots and LOTS of chocolate to win (thanks to our generous community for donating) and some of the brilliant creations of our Shedders at the Men-in-Sheds projects were available to buy.

Christmas Tree Festival

Our talented Knit and Natter group who meet every other Tuesday in Moreton-in-Marsh, made the most fantastic Christmas decorations for our special tree that we showcased at the Stow-on-the-Wold Christmas Tree Festival. The tree told an innovative Christmas story, intertwining the Services and Activities offered by Cotswold Friends.

Christmas Food Network event

On Tuesday 12th December we joined a number of other local charities at the Redesdale Hall in Moreton-in-Marsh , showcasing the wide variety of support that is available in our community. We had a Guess the Marbles game that attracted local school children, some German tourists and even Police Officers!

Volunteer Party

To top it all off we hosted a party for all of our incredible Volunteers whose selfless commitment allows us to do the work we do. We wanted to say a big thank you to them and so on 14th December we all headed to Upper Rissington for an afternoon of festive fun. Father Christmas visited us, we had magic tricks, a bountiful buffet of delicious food, a Christmas quiz, a raffle with brilliant gifts donated by generous local businesses and individuals and some fantastic live music played by our Volunteer Chris Gibbard and a talented local musician Richard Norris.

You can watch a video of the event here

So all that is left to say is Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you from all of us here at Cotswold Friends!