A care home in Maidstone has unveiled a spectacular Dickensian Christmas display.
To help get residents and the local community in the festive spirit, Brian Thornton, Maintenance Manager at Care UK’s Invicta Court, on Gidd’s Pond Way, has created an authentic Victorian Christmas street scene at the home.
Brian started building the set in August using wood recycled from previous home displays. The life-size snow-covered set includes a bay windowed toy shop stocked with vintage children’s gifts, a bakery, Victorian house frontages with panel doors and picture windows and ‘The Invicta’ – a traditional style public house.
The display was officially unveiled to residents and the local community as part of the home’s mission to bring festive joy to local people this Christmas.
Commenting on his creation, Brain said: “The idea of the Christmas scene was to bring happiness to the residents, especially those who are less mobile and unable to go out and see the Christmas markets. I wanted to make sure they didn’t miss out on experiencing the Christmas spirit.
“It has been very labour-intensive, but worth every minute! Getting to see the look on everyone’s face when they saw the display for the first time was fantastic. The residents have loved showing their relatives around and sharing the experience.”
Sara Barbosa, Home Manager at Invicta Court, said: “Here at Invicta Court, we’re passionate about playing an active role in our community, so we’re delighted to be opening our doors this December for everyone in the community to enjoy our newly created immersive Christmas display.
“We know that December can be a difficult month for many, so it was important for us to bring people together to get into the Christmas spirit with their loved ones while reminiscing over their favourite festive memories.
“Thank you, Brian, for bringing Christmas into the home with the phenomenal Christmas display, we really appreciate everything you have done to ensure everyone enjoys this festive season.”
Invicta Court offers a full range of permanent residential care, including dementia care, nursing care, and short-term respite care, in luxurious surroundings. The home has its own café, hair and beauty salon, bar and cinema. The highly trained, professional team work hard to ensure that residents can lead active and fulfilling lives, both inside and out of Invicta Court.
