Schoolchildren join Sutton care home for journey into Christmas past

Old festive traditions have come to life at a care home in Sutton, where residents welcomed a local primary school for a day of seasonal activities. 

Tennyson Grange, on Westmead Road, joined forces with young visitors from Harris Junior Academy Carshalton to revisit customs from Christmases past.

The year 3 class performed a very special concert for the residents, featuring carols from across the ages including some firm favourites among the audience that had them singing along.

Radio St Helier even joined the celebrations to broadcast the carols live, before chatting to residents about their own memories of Christmas. 

Resident Sylvia Payne, 88, said of the day: “The children absolutely made our Christmases! Looking at the expressions on their faces was wonderful. You can’t beat listening to and watching children sing, they were really concentrating to do their best for us and they did such a fantastic job.”

The event was part of Care UK’s ‘Step into Christmas’ initiative, which aims to revive residents’ festive traditions by encouraging them to share memories with the local community and the younger generation. 

By blending storytelling, crafts and carol singing, the sessions create a space for meaningful intergenerational connection. For further information on Step into Christmas, visit careuk.com/Step-into-Christmas.

Harriet Mensah-Mandley, Home Manager at Tennyson Grange, said: “Christmas is such a special time of year, and this event allowed us to honour those memories from residents’ childhoods of singing carols with family and loved ones. 

“It was a wonderful opportunity to bring different generations together for a day of festive cheer, which we were lucky enough to broadcast to the local community! It was truly heartwarming to watch residents reminisce and share stories from Christmases gone by. 

“We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Harris Academy and Radio St Helier for joining us and making the day so joyous for all involved! Their presence brought an extra sparkle to the day.”

Designed to enable residents to lead active and fulfilled lives, while also promoting independence, Tennyson Grange incorporates plenty of space for hobby and leisure activities. The layout of the home has been configured to facilitate the creation of close-knit communities and encourage social interaction among the residents, and it has its very own cinema, hair and beauty salon and café.