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Care home gets crafty with pompom Christmas tree

Pamela BilalovaNorth East and Cumbria
News imageGrampian Court Care Home Vera Todd and Colette Roscamp are standing on each side of the colourful pom-pom Christmas tree with big star at its top. They are pointing at pom-poms they have made. Vera is wearing a red cardigan and a grey skirt and has shoulder-length white hair. Colette is wearing black trousers and colourful striped cardigan. She has short grey hair. Both are wearing glasses. The rest of the room is decorated for Christmas with lights and red stars hanging from the ceiling. Grampian Court Care Home
Residents Vera Todd and Colette Roscamp made pompoms for the tree

A care home has spent almost a year crafting its own Christmas tree out of hundreds of pompoms.

Residents and staff at Grampian Court in Peterlee, County Durham, unveiled the 8ft (2.4 m) decoration on Tuesday, which has been described as a "labour of love" by those working on it since January.

Wellbeing co-ordinator Lisa Stephenson said some pompoms had been made by residents who had since passed away.

"It's kind of a tribute to them as well and a memory for them," she said.

The idea came about last December with Ms Stephenson vowing it would have to be done "in style, and not just a little table piece".

"As the year has gone on, we have been under pressure to finish it," she said.

Visitors to the care home and local nursery children also helped out.

Resident Hylda Carr, who has been making pompoms since Easter, said she was proud of the result.

"I saw the unveiling, I didn't expect it to come together as well as it has and I didn't expect it to look as good as it does."

News imageGrampian Court Care Home The Christmas tree is made of fluffy pompoms in different sizes and colours. A big silver star is placed at its top. A Santa Claus figure is handing on the wall next to it,.The rest of the room is decorated with lights. Red stars are handing from the ceiling and Christmas cards are attached to one of the walls. Grampian Court Care Home
Visitors and local nursery children also helped make pompoms for the tree

Vera Todd, who also lives at the home, added: "I loved it - God guided me to make my pompom, it's not the best but I like to make people laugh.

"I admire the people who have done all the work to build it."

Ms Stephenson said making pompoms could be "quite difficult" and time-consuming, but the team had "sped up along the way".

"I feel proud that it has come together and it has worked out, because I must admit over the last couple of weeks I have thought 'are we going to be able to pull this off?'," she said.

"It was extremely lop-sided earlier last week, but it has come together."

News imageGrampian Court Care Home Lisa Stephenson, the home’s Wellbeing Co-ordinator is smiling next to the tree. She is wearing a red and green stripy Christmas jumper and has shoulder-length blonde hair. Resident Hylda Carr is in a wheelchair in front of her. She has short curly white hair and is wearing grey jumper and trousers and a gold scarf. On the other side of the tree is housekeeper Karen who supplied all the wool for the pompoms. She is wearing a red Santa T-shirt and black trousers. She has short red hair.Grampian Court Care Home
Lisa Stephenson (left) said she thought at one point the tree might not be completed

Ms Stephenson said completing the tree had required a lot of determination, but residents were happy with it and some had already asked if it could be put up again next year.

"Because it's been going for so long, sometimes when I'm going into residents' rooms saying, 'Is there any chance you could make some more pompoms today?'

"Sometimes they have rolled their eyes and said 'no more pompoms', but we have all worked through it and kept going," she said.

"It has been a labour of love."

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