Spreading Christmas cheer to families

In 2019, we wanted to bring some magic and Christmas cheer into the homes of families affected by childhood cancer. Unfortunately, our usual Christmas parties were unable to go ahead, but we still had lots of festive fun for families to get involved in. We held a Christmas Craft Party and a Virtual Christmas Party, as well as giving families the opportunity to receive a Christmas gift box and a personalised video message from Santa. Our Christmas Craft Party took place on 13 December 2019 and over 90 families received their craft kit in the post beforehand ready for the crafty fun on Zoom! The children made a beaded snowflake decoration, an LED snowman decoration and they also decorated their own fabric stocking. Thank you to Made by Me Craft Parties who hosted the event for us. Suki and her sister were just two of those attending, and their mum Rachel told us:

The girls loved it and it was a great way to get involved with some festive fun. Thank you so much to everyone for all your efforts in putting the session together. They have some lovely little handmade keepsakes from another Christmas that’s a little out the ordinary! Three years ago Suki was in hospital over Christmas and she has lots of crafting things from then too which she made in her hospital bed. Every time we now bring them out at this time of year they bring back so many memories, of another different but also special time.

Our Virtual Christmas Party took place on 21 December 2019 and over 60 families signed up to join in the festivities. The party was hosted by Captain Fantastic and involved games, dancing and some exciting challenges. Seb, age 6, attended the party and his Mum Natasha said:

Seb had a wonderful time at the party. He laughed so much he nearly fell off his chair. It was so interactive and simple to follow. Thank you for all your amazing events and bring so much joy to our family during these hard times.

We also temporarily transformed our office into Santa’s workshop and packed and posted 180 gift boxes for families affected by childhood cancer. These gift boxes included sweet treats, baking kits and games to play with the whole family! Duncan’s Mum Sarah called it ‘a parcel of sheer joy’, and we are so pleased the gift boxes helped to spread smiles at  Christmas.

Finally, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without Santa. We gave families the opportunity to sign up to receive a personalised video message from Santa, recorded all the way from the North Pole! One of the messages was for Beatrix, age 4, and Santa gave her a special well done for finishing her chemotherapy in November and ringing the end of the treatment bell. Beatrix’s Mum, Lin-Marie said:

This is phenomenal. The girls absolutely loved it. Their faces were a picture. So incredibly special given Beatrix has her port removal operation in 4 days and we’re shielding at home in preparation. They loved the special mention with their names in. It got even the 9 year old to still ‘believe.

We are so glad we could help spread some magic at Christmas to families affected by childhood cancer. If you’d like to hear more about our events for families, please visit this page to find out how you can get involved.