School and care home project proves Christmas magic never gets old

Margaret Houston with Ayla McGeogh, left, and Casey McConville beside the Christmas tree at Rashielee Care Home in Erskine.

It’s feeling a lot like Christmas at Rashielee Care Home in Erskine, Renfrewshire. The recreation areas are decked with tinsel, fairy lights and Christmas ornaments while a tall, twinkling tree stands in the lobby.

Yet it’s a very special visit that truly fills the residents with festive cheer. Pupils from the nearby Rashielea Primary School arrive for their weekly visit, sporting Santa hats, Christmas jumpers and big smiles. They enter singing Jingle Bells and the residents’ faces light up.

Last week, the primary school invited residents to watch its nativity, and pupils sang Christmas songs in the care home as part of an intergenerational project that benefits both sides.

What will Santa bring?

The Sunday Post joined them and when the conversation turned to Christmas, we asked what was top of everyone’s lists.

“A piglet! Not a real one, a toy! How could the elves make me a real one?” said six-year-old Aria O’Neil.

Her primary 2 classmate, Bethany Preston, six, also has an animal on her list. “I’d like a Curlimal,” she said. “It’s a fluffy hedgehog that makes cute noises and curls up when you touch it.”

Rashielee resident Mary Geraghty with Bethany Preston.

What did Mary McKinney, who turns 98 just a few days after Christmas, ask Santa for when she was their age?

“A wee baby doll. I can’t remember her name but I was very fond of her,” said Mary.

“I had lots of aunts and uncles, and no brothers or sisters, so I received quite a few presents on Christmas Day.

“Christmas wasn’t as big as it is today. We didn’t have the same money when I was young but we always had a lovely time.”

Jean Hughes told the pupils: “I used to get what I really wanted but I only got one big present and then a stocking with an orange and penny inside.

“Christmas has always been about family and that’s been the same since I was young.”

The children chat to resident Margaret Houston about Christmas.

What did the kids make of only getting one gift at Christmas?

“My mum and dad work really hard so I wouldn’t mind,” said Ayla McGeogh, nine, who fancies a miniature toy kitchen.

“I’m hoping to get my first mobile phone for Christmas so I can talk to my friends after school but Christmas is really about family time not just presents,” added her primary 5 classmate, Casey McConville, nine.

Christmas traditions

Most of the Rashielea pupils we spoke to penned letters to Santa this year.

Mary McKinney didn’t write a letter to Santa as a child but later embraced the tradition. “I taught my son Timmy how to write and helped him with his list. He was never spoiled but I always made sure he got something he asked for.”

Leaving Santa a sweet treat, a cup of milk and a carrot for Rudolph is a tradition unchanged.

“I make reindeer food with my gran using oats and glitter,” added Ayla McGeogh. “We sprinkle it in the garden.”

While only two pupils had plans to see a panto over Christmas, this remains an annual tradition for Gina Sloan, 63, who has been in Rashielee for five years as she is unable to live independently. She said: “When I was growing up in Glasgow, my uncle worked in the Pavilion theatre and my dad worked in the King’s so I used to see the pantos a lot. I loved Cinderella and Snow White.”

Gina Sloan with pupils Adam Williams, left, and Troy Dursun.

Nine-year-old Abbie Campbell’s family has a Christmas Eve tradition that’s long been popular with families living near Glasgow.

“For the past few years we’ve been going to the Irn-Bru Carnival, which is really fun,” she said.

Gina, who is looking forward to a visit from her daughter, Michelle, and grandson Cole, four, recalled similar family visits. “I took my kids to the Kelvin Hall circus and you’d get a photo with the big elephant,” she said.

A Christmas wish

When asked for their Christmas Wish, many Rashielee residents longed to spend Christmas with family.

Jim Tait, 83, said: “My wife, Gillian, just moved into the care home this week so we will be spending Christmas together. I miss her. It will be wonderful.”

Luca Bosewell, 11, said: “I’d wish for my gran, Anne, to come back. She had cancer and died two years ago.

“She loved Christmas. We used to go to church together but this Christmas I’ll go with my brother and we’ll watch a favourite film of hers after dinner.”

Casey said her Christmas wish would be “to end homelessness” and for “everyone to be happy”.

Her classmate, Ayla, doesn’t want anyone to go hungry. “Everyone deserves dinner, especially Christmas dinner!” she said.

Troy Dursun, nine, who wants a gaming monitor for Christmas, enjoys his visits to the care home because they remind him of his relatives far away. “My grandparents stay in Turkey and Poland so it’s nice to come here to see the residents as they remind me a bit of them.” His Christmas wish? “World peace and for everyone to have a happy life.”

Aria, six, said the visits were important because “it might make someone’s day better” while Luca added: “Sometimes they can be lonely if they don’t get visitors. Our visits make their day, which is really nice.”

Jean Hughes told us: “It makes my day when the kids visit. They make us smile. It’s lovely to see them excited for Christmas.”

Jean Hughes and Luca Boswell. — Jean Hughes and Luca Bosewell.

Rashielea deputy head teacher Danielle Meiklejohn said the visits began in December 2018 when the school choir asked to sing Christmas songs to the residents. The visits continued and, as relationships developed between the children and residents, the mutual benefits became clear.

“These interactions are a highlight of the pupils’ week and help them develop kindness, empathy, compassion and respect for diversity with the additional benefit of reducing loneliness for the residents.”

The school and care home embrace any opportunity to collaborate. “Our ethos is that our residents remain part of the community when they enter the care home,” said Jennifer Carruthers, deputy manager of Rashielee Care Home.

“The residents all look forward to the kids coming. It brightens their day and it shows the kids that care homes are not sad or scary places.”

Intergenerational projects that connect young people with an older generation exist across Scotland. Alison Clyde, CEO of Generations Working Together, said these initiatives are “an essential response to our changing, ageing society.”

She added: “We would love to see more of these projects across Scotland.”