For many, Christmas is for spending quality time together at home as a family. At Saint Michael's Hospice, the festive period might look a little different - but that doesn't mean it won't be just as special.

Saint Michael’s supports people affected by terminal illness across the Harrogate district, with inpatient and at-home care. 

On Christmas Day, staff, patients and families will come together to celebrate on the ward. 

There's silly sock competitions, dinner with all the trimmings, and even visits from beloved pets - perhaps not what people imagine when they first picture Christmas in hospice care.

The Stray Ferret spoke to Saint Michael’s Hospice senior team nurse Amy Butler, who described how the inpatient team provides care to those living with terminal illness and their families, particularly over Christmas time.

Christmas can obviously be a difficult time on a hospice ward – what are some of the ways you spread joy and Christmas cheer for patients and families?

We love making Christmas special for each and every person we look after at our hospice who would like to celebrate. We know how important creating these memories is for them and their families.

We support families to just be families at times like Christmas. By helping patients manage symptoms, we take the pressure off so that relatives don’t have to also be carers. They can simply enjoy being with their loved ones.

Celebrations - including birthdays, anniversaries and even weddings, as well as Christmas - are happy times. There are tears of course, especially for those knowing it’ll be their last Christmas. But we often see patients and families relax and embrace the moment.

How do you celebrate Christmas at the hospice?

Working at the hospice on Christmas Day is always really special. There’s a great team atmosphere. We start the day with a bacon butty, and do fun little things together like our Christmas sock competition.

For those staying with us, we serve homecooked Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, or whichever meal they fancy. For instance, one patient requested a cold seafood platter and we’re happy to provide. We welcome patients to decorate their room with a decorations so it feels festive.

We invite a family member to stay with each patient for Christmas lunch, beautifully prepared by our chefs. Our team also hand out a small Christmas gift to our patients on Christmas morning.

We like to wear Christmas accessories when we go in to care for people, or even hide our elf in their rooms to help bring a smile to their face.

We welcome family and friends to visit, and pets too. We look out for any patients who don’t have many visitors and pop in to spend some time with them if they would like us to.

For those who wish to be at home for Christmas, we also try to facilitate this for patients where possible. It’s all about doing what’s right for them. We also know that Christmas isn’t for everyone and it can be a difficult time, so we’re more than happy to help give them a quieter day if they would prefer.

While we’re taking care of people at our hospice, our colleagues in Saint Michael’s HOME team are doing a great job looking after patients and families out in the community every day including Christmas day.

Are there any particular memories you have of a patient/family that you’ve supported during Christmas time?

Helping make special memories is such a natural part of what we do that it’s difficult to pick out one patient or family.

There have been a few cases over the years where a patient has been very poorly so we’ve brought Christmas forward for them. Our facilities and catering teams have been amazing in quickly bringing together all the Christmas decorations and a special meal so that a family can enjoy the magical occasion.

The whole team gets into the Christmas spirit so it feels like the real thing, and we love finding out which Christmas traditions the family has so we can recreate them in their room.

In these cases, patients may be in their last weeks or even days, so it’s really special to us that we’ve been able to give them these precious memories and time with their loved ones.

Finally, how do you unwind and celebrate Christmas yourself?

Spending time with my family, including my two young children. We have just this year started our elf on the shelf tradition as my boys are two and four, which is great fun. 

On Christmas Eve, we like to wear our matching PJs, have hot chocolate and watch a Christmas film.

Light Up a Life

This Christmas, Saint Michael's is holding its annual Light Up a Life appeal. Families can dedicate a light to a loved one on the Christmas tree, which can then be seen on the website.

There is also a Light up a Life event taking place at Saint Michael’s Hospice at 4pm on Sunday, December 15.

Donations are also gratefully recieved - 75 percent of services the charity provides are possible only through the support of the community.