Celebrating Christmas in July

For residents and clients across Afford’s Supported Accommodation and Community Centre sites, July was all about getting into the festive spirit and spreading some Christmas in July cheer. Our sites came alive with the magic of Christmas through festive baking, dress-up days, roast lunches and of course, Santa visits.

Our Community Centres and Supported Accommodation provide inclusive and engaging environments where you can celebrate life’s milestones and create lasting memories.

At Jamisontown Community Centre, every month a different country is a celebrated. They incorporate the cultural traditions and festivities into their cooking, fitness, music and art programs. For July, they swapped out their ‘country of the month’ for Christmas in July.

“We try to think outside the box and everyone enjoys group activities, so we hosted a yule log dessert competition. Throughout the month, we have also had Christmas dress-up day, we sung Christmas carols, decorated the site and baked lots of Christmas treats,” said Team Leader, Leonie Pearson.

Wollongong Community Centre is another NSW site that has been sleigh-ing it with Christmas inspired arts and crafts. In preparation for their Christmas party, the site made fantastic decorations.

The Southport Community Centre team celebrated with a mouth-watering Christmas roast lunch and a surprise visit from Santa. It was a collaborative effort with staff setting up the decorations before the clients arrived then working together to cook all the Christmas classics.

“The clients were so happy and there was so much laughing. After lunch and bon-bons there was hot chocolates and dessert while listening to Christmas carols. It was such an awesome day to spend together,” said Acting Senior Lifestyle Assistant, Rachael Aquilina.

Victoria also joined in on the fun with the Pakenham Supported Accommodation house hosting a Christmas in July lunch complete with homemade Christmas desserts.

We love to see our sites jingle all the way through these challenging times and celebrate the magic of Christmas when we need it the most.

Find out more about Afford’s Community Centre and Supported Accommodation services so we can support you to make the most of your life.