THE Grange Care Centre in Eastington will be inviting people who may otherwise be alone to join them for Christmas lunch.

A family business will be inviting those who have no plans for Christmas to join them for a festive celebration in the care home’s onsite pub between noon and 2pm on December 25 as part of a new 'spare a chair' project.

Vikki Barnes who works in the Grange’s accounts department came up with the idea when she saw a television advert about the number of elderly people who will spend Christmas period: “I thought we have the perfect facility to host people who have noone to share Christmas with.

“Nobody should spend Christmas by themselves, so we hope people can join us in our happy, family environment for lunch and to pull a cracker or two.”

The care home team have been overwhelmed with offers of support and many people have messaged us to see how they can get involved and help.

Phil Klor, director of the company which runs The Grange said: “When a member of the team first approached me with the idea of bringing 'spare a chair' into The Grange Care Centre I immediately recognised what a fabulous idea it was.

“We relish this wonderful opportunity to reach out to people in our local community, particularly those who may be feeling lonely at this time of year, and try to make their Christmas a joyful occasion, full of festivities and celebrations.

“I loved the concept so much; I immediately set the ball rolling to have this implemented across all our care homes throughout the country, if successful we hope to offer ‘spare chairs’ for Sunday roasts.”

There are a number of spaces available at the Christmas table in Eastington, if you or a friend or relative would be interested in taking the care home up on their kind offer than you can contact The Grange Care Home on 01453 791513 or via their Facebook page: facebook.com/grangeeastington/