Christmas arrives early as patients of The Prince of Wales Hospice come bearing gifts!

We are blessed at Forget Me Not to have the cockles of our heart warmed on many many occasions. Throw in a bit of Christmas spirit and we’ll be made of jelly most days! But on one frosty morning in Huddersfield last week, even the stiff-upper-lip brigade were wiping a tear from their eye as our toddler group were visited by some very special guests. Guests, who, like the three wise men, came bearing a gift.

Unbeknownst to us, our guests – outreach patients from The Prince of Wales Hospice in Pontefract – had been lovingly handcrafting a very special present for our children. What none of us was expecting was that their visit to give us that present would be the real gift.

When our visitors from the adults’ hospice arrived, one little boy was so excited he’d almost unwrapped the present before they’d crossed the threshold! And who can blame him? It was a colourful picture of popular Disney characters, each one beautifully drawn and painted by the patients, then collaged together into a one amazing artwork.

But perhaps even more special than the present they brought with them, lovely and precious as that was, was the time our visitors spent playing pass-the-parcel, singing Christmas tunes and chatting and laughing with our little ‘uns.

For Sharon, our director of care, it was possibly “the best thing that’s happened in my time at Forget Me Not. It was heart-warming to see such a lovely connection being forged between young and old, and between our two hospices.”

Jo Lister, activities co-ordinator for The Prince of Wales Hospice, was delighted: “Our patients got a lot of pleasure meeting the children and spending some time with them. They were buzzing about our visit all the way home and were still talking about it at the next outreach group.”

The run up to Christmas is often hectic and stressful. But in moments like these, moments of tenderness, generosity and joy, the true spirit of Christmas is revealed. Thank you to The Prince of Wales hospice for making this happen and to our visitors who brought the magic of Christmas to Forget Me Not.