Calderdale in Recovery Xmas Party
On the 19th December 2015 the members of Calderdale in Recovery enjoyed a fabulous day of fun and games for all ages to enjoy when their Xmas party was held at The Basement Recovery Project. Many families and friends also came together to celebrate this festive time with many guests and staff wearing fancy dress. I have never seen so many Elves and lady Santas. I am not sure who the ‘real’ Santa was but he had a similar stature to our own Mr Stan. Many volunteers were on hand to welcome people and the place was decked out in seasonal brightness.
It wasn’t long before the place was filling up and the excitement was building. It was great to see so many families coming in and this always reminds me of how important recovery is in Calderdale. There was a massive spread of food for people to tuck in to and everybody was soon stuffing their faces. Mark had also done one of his legendary soups which warmed the cockles of many people’s hearts.
Colin and Josh hosted some kids games in Martin’s room which had also been transformed into a wonderland with balloons and decorations everywhere. The kids were treated to pass the parcel and musical chairs with many prizes up for grabs. This went down a storm and only served to get the youngsters even more excited.
Eventually the time came for Santa to give out gifts to the children in the grotto that was built for all to enjoy. The grotto had a truly magical feel to it and it was a joy to see how much the kids loved it. They were queued up in anticipation and none came away disappointed as jolly old Santa weaved his spell.
Stan also joined with Chris and they both performed a couple of songs from the musical ‘Annie’. This was a great spectacle with rags on their heads and mops in their hands.
There was also the obligatory raffle to take part in with magnificent prizes from meals for two to basket hampers and men & women pampering lotions. The adults also had their fun and the quiz with its many “chocolatey” prizes proved to be very popular and, as always, very competitive.
The choir performed and entertained with their customary enthusiasm and a few Xmas crackers were belted out. It is great to see how they have developed over the year.
All in all it was a fantastic day with all the kids leaving happy and everybody else leaving stuffed and exhausted. A big thanks to everyone who volunteered, helped , donated and of course everyone who attended. See you all next year.
Dean
