Bring Christmas cheer to lonely oldies this year

National charity Friends of the Elderly is calling on people in Biggleswade and the surrounding area to hold community activities on Christmas Day, so no older person will be alone unless they want to be.

As official partners of Community Christmas, the charity hopes more people than ever will get involved in 2016.

It helped senior citizen Tony Smith have the best Christmas ever last year. He doesn’t have any famly and usually spends the day watching TV.

But thanks to Community Christmas, Tony attended a Christmas lunch and enjoyed an afternoon of entertainment and games. He said afterwards: “It was the first time Christmas actually meant something to me, it was the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

With more than a third of older people living in Bedfordshire affected by loneliness, and around 500,000 older people in the UK claiming Christmas day is when they feel most alone, Friends of the Elderly and Community Christmas are asking people to give the gift of time by organising an activity on Christmas Day.

And it’s not just about inviting people to share your turkey dinner – you could get them together to watch a Christmas film, share a cup of tea and a mince pie in the local pub or enjoy a festive walk.

Friends of the Elderly spokeswoman Jo O’Boyle said: “We’re calling on individuals, organisations and businesses to arrange Christmas Day activities for older people who don’t want to be alone.”

If you’re organising something, contact Community Christmas so it can be listed on the website, making it easier for older people to know what’s happening and to give them something to look forward to on Christmas Day.

> More details at www.fote.org.uk/christmas