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Presents from Santa, school kids and a diamond anniversary have made Christmas merrier at Glengarry Village Residential Aged Care.

Dozens of families and friends came together in celebration of Glengarry’s annual Christmas lunch on Thursday the 31th December. All the residents were in their best clothes, wearing paper crowns and breaking Christmas crackers. There was delicious food, a live performance from singer Leyla Nassif and chatter all around.

Jinky Mactal, the recreational activities officer, was the life of the party and had been sitting up and planning since 2 o’clock that morning. She had gone ‘all out’ for the Christmas lunch, and was constantly grabbing more chairs for the increasing number of resident’s guests.

It was well worth the effort according to Jinky, “To get everyone together” she said, “That is the one thing that matters to me”.

Jack and Jill Kindergarten had visited earlier in the day to sing Christmas carols to the residents. The children had been coming weekly to the home to visit those at the home as part of an Intergenerational Program that Glengarry has. The lunch was also special for another reason, it was the 60th wedding anniversary of resident David Wilcken and his wife Bridget. They were given a bunch of orchids by Twilight’s facility manager Margaret Smithson in celebration of their diamond anniversary.

However, they were not the only ones to get presents this Christmas, as local community groups and even the families had donated gifts for the residents. Santa came around with labelled and wrapped gifts for all the residents, with surprises from slippers to novels.

Everyone fell in love with Frankie, the soft hearted giant from Delta Therapy Dog Volunteers that put on antlers and served as Santa’s reindeer. And at the end of the day Frankie was also given a gift from Santa- a juicy bone.

Residents of the memory support wing, ‘Eloura’ had a quiet in the courtyard to enjoy their own Christmas festivities. Student nurses and volunteers catered their lunch with soft music for a relaxing time for the residents.

The food fit the season perfectly with classics like shaved ham and beef with gravy, roast vegetables and peas. Desert was also very popular with residents and families alike with homemade mince pies, fruit cakes and pastries.Jinky and Margaret thanked guests and staff for making the day special for the residents at the end of the lunch. The Christmas lunch has been a long-time tradition of Twilight aged care, to bring people together during the holiday. It is held annually in Glengarry Residential Aged Care Facility as well as throughout all of their four homes in the northern Sydney area.