Care Home Xmas Gifts

[crystalblue01]

Hi , my dad is in a care home where he seems content & cared for
Im just wondering what others do for staff gifts they all work hard but obviously i can’t afford to buy individual gifts

I did bring in a nice Xmas card last week and some chocs for everyone .
Im just wondering if I should get some wine for the managers ? Any advice please

Why the managers? In my experience, the managers seem to sit in the office on screens whilst the care staff do all the donkey work!
I buy a big card and a couple of tins of chocs for my stepdad’s care home, and I make sure I give them to the staff who actually look after him when I visit.

A nice hybrid of individual presents vs not is a box of minis that people can help themselves to?

Eg travel sized bubble bath, mini candles, eg

https://amzn.to/48j9EUZ

I’d do that for everyone rather than wine for managers I think.

A box of chocolates is more than enough, the buying of more extravagent presents for everyone people come into contact with who are just doing their jobs needs to stop.

Cans of drink are always popular in a workplace sharing scenario. Then almost everyone can enjoy them regardless of dietary needs

I took a couple of tubs of roses/quality street in and left them in dad’s room yesterday and told the cleaners/care staff where they were. I’m sure when I go tomorrow the chocs will be gone 😂

Chocolates are very thoughtful. In the nicest possible way it is care staff who provide all of her care ,managers may walk around every so often and chat with the residents but its her carers hat will be there when she gets up and ahe goes to bed attending to every need

i work in a care home we are inundated with chocolates and shortbread and wine for the managers just is an insult.

I did a hamper.
Tinned drinks like coke and lemonade
Energy bars for when you don’t get time for a proper break
hand creams lip balms
Crisps, biscuits in individual packets
Black biros because they were always elusive
Ask the staff what’s useful and what they’d like in the staff/break room.

My goodness you sound a bit ungrateful Pavillion , what with the cost of living I can’t afford to buy wine for each member of staff
personally I would be grateful for chocolates & that relatives had thought of me .
I wish that I could afford to buy all the carers , kitchen staff , cleaners , laundry staff a special gift . I did take a lovely card to the home and 3 containers of chocs for the staff to share .

Pavillion doesn’t sound ungrateful to me, just a foot soldier who is the one putting in the 1:1 support whilst being nagged by the managers to do more, better and for less. Then come Christmas, it’s the managers who get the thanks and wine.

I don’t think @pavillion1 is being ungrateful, OR suggesting that you should be buying them all wine, but is feeling that you see the managers more worthy of “more” of a gift than the care staff, who are generally the ones on minimum wage, amd are the ones doing the direct care for residents

Im not trying to sound ungrateful but if you could only see the amount of Quality street and Roses we have already and tbh it goes straight to the food banks come january 1st..
Im not asking for wine either just pointing out how it makes us feel.

Forget about presents. Send each of the carers who works with your dad an individual card with Christmas wishes and a personal message of thanks and appreciation for all that they do. I honestly think that will mean more to them than a few chocolates.

I gave my stuff mid-January, to help people stagger through the next couple of months before the spring without all the excitement of Christmas.
Card and thank you before Christmas.
My mum’s care home was thousands of pounds a month, with actual workers on low wages and still providing wonderful, individual care. I was very grateful, why should they be?

Make sure your managers know! I asked our (very hands on) manager and she was adamant that chocs were best

How do you identify them all? I know some of the day staff, and the laundry lady, and the cooks, but I don’t know the night staff

I took in a couple of boxes of wrapped chocolates/ biscuits and a Christmas card which always gave my thanks to the staff . Left them with the managers office on mum's floor.

Make sure your managers know! I asked our (very hands on) manager and she was adamant that chocs were best

Best for who though ? We are quite a healthy bunch so we would never get through that many chocolates in a year ..

I bought a tray of cupcakes when my mum was in a home and they went down well

I always take tub of chocs and box of biscuits in
Staff are always happy with this and I see everyone eating them so I guess every home is different but I know mum home is always happy with this cos they have tell me

But they are not going to tell you what they really think now are they 😳

I have some cash for their Christmas social. No idea if that's wanted or not tbh but they can spend it as they wish. Gave it to the lead nurse on shift.

We weren't allowed to accept individual gifts anyway when I worked in a care home. They had to be handed in and redistributed by management. Which was shit. so we used to sneak them out and hope no one checked

I'd have been really insulted if management got nice presents and we only got chocs to share. Not because I'm ungrateful, but because we were the ones doing the daily grind.

Whilst I agree with @pavillion1 that people shouldn't be giving more to the managers than the other staff, I don't understand the feeling that they could be 'over-run' with chocolates and biscuits . Most will have a decent best-before date on them so it's not as if they need eating by the end of December and if there really are that many, then each member of staff takes one home to share with their family, as we used to do in my office . Given the number of staff at the home my parents were in, which far exceeded the number of residents I'm surprised there would even be that many.

What would you suggest as a better gift then @pavillion1 ?

we have some who do that and its always really appreciated. Thank you x