Enjoy a special Valentine’s Day with those you love

Valentine’s Day can be a fantastic opportunity for residents to socialise with their friends and family, bringing people together to enjoy memories, sweet treats and special food. 

Whether it’s a sister or brother, partner or parent who lives in a care home, everyone deserves a little extra attention on Valentine’s Day. Here are a few ideas to make a loved one's day special.

• Spend the day with them. Some care homes may allow you to spend the whole day there. What’s more loving than spending time with those that you treasure on Valentine’s?
• The theme of love can be embraced in simple ways, such as playing romantic music in the care home, or even having live music. A band playing all the classics can help to set a romantic mood; residents might even want to have a sing-a-long!
• Music can be a great way of bringing old memories to life.
• You could also run themed activities such as crafting, card making or serve a special three course meal with simple additions of chocolate and strawberries. 
• Run a romantic coffee morning or afternoon tea. This is a great way to get people together chatting and reminiscing about wedding days. Looking at engagement and wedding photos is also a lovely activity to bring people together. The snacks and cakes can be heart-themed. You could provide cupcakes or biscuits for the residents to decorate themselves as a fun activity which may evoke fond memories of baking in the past. See our biscuit recipe below or if short on time you can buy plain biscuits or cupcakes to decorate. This could also be a charity event to raise money for a charity of your choice.
• Decorations – hearts and flowers can be made at a crafting session and put up to give a romantic feel. It will make the event seem that bit extra special and different from normal days, adding a bit of colour.
• Romantic tips – older residents can offer younger family members tips to a long successful relationship. This is a great way to bring together families and get people talking.

Take a look at the recipe section on our website for some Valentine’s Day meal ideas.

Biscuits for Decorating

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Chilling time: 30 mins

Makes about 30 biscuits

Ingredients

• 100g/3.5oz plain flour
• 75g/2.5oz ground almonds
• 75g/2.5oz caster sugar
• 100g/3.5oz cold vegan butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2–3 tbsp water

Instructions

1. Mix together the flour, almonds and sugar in a mixing bowl. Rub in the vegan butter with your fingertips until you have the consistency of breadcrumbs.
2. Stir in the vanilla extract.
3. Knead together gently in the bowl with your hands until the mixture forms a soft dough.
4. Wrap in cling film and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
5. Line two baking trays with greaseproof baking paper.
6. Dust a work surface with plain flour then roll out the dough and cut out heart shapes with a biscuit cutter.
7. Place on the prepared baking trays and chill in the fridge for a further 30 minutes. This helps to keep their shape.
8. Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F/gas mark 3.
9. Before baking, prick each biscuit with a fork.
10. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden.
11. Remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
12. Decorate with icing and toppings of choice and enjoy!