IT was a ritual which many people now seem to put off. Sending Christmas cards is a tradition which has changed in recent years, with some opting for e-cards or a donation to charity instead.
However, there is no denying the lift some people still get when a card drops through their door and they realise someone is thinking of them.
With sending a card or a letter to a relative among the many simple things you can go to help people feel connected, it is no wonder Age Scotland is hoping people might put pen to paper this year for what has been a particularly tough year.
Families have been cut off and vulnerable people forced to shield for weeks on end during lockdown. And as The Herald’s Tackling Loneliness – Keeping Scotland Connected series shows more people than ever are likely to be spending Christmas on their own.
Trying to keep people connected is exactly what the Postcards of Kindness group have been trying to do for some time now.
Set up before lockdown, it is a facebook group which grew and became invaluable over the past few months when care home visiting was severely restricted.
The group is a network of volunteers who write cards to residents in care homes up and down the country.
One volunteer Kimberley Hamilton, from Glasgow, has gone that extra mile this year and has posted cards to residents in care homes in the west of Scotland.
Ms Hamilton said: “I have just posted a whole batch to local care homes with little decorations. I have been doing this for some time including during lockdown. I just think after the year everyone has had it is nice to send a card – it is the least I can do and hopefully it makes someone smile.”
Read more: 12 things you could do to help someone in your community this Christmas
She has been involved with the group for some time now and is always cheered when she receives a response back.
Ms Hamilton added: “I found out about the group sometime ago and I really thought it was something I could get involved with. I love to write cards and letters. It just seemed a really simple idea and something I could easily get involved with.
“I had spent time in and out of care homes as my late father had been a resident in one so I just wanted to help.
Ms Hamilton, who works in communications, hopes other people will be encouraged to get involved in Postcards of Kindness particularly this year.
“I have been posting cards with little decorations in them for the festive season,” added Ms Hamilton. “At other times I just pick up a postcard or a card which I see and think that might bring back memories for someone.
“I have been working from home for some time now, but when I have been travelling I would pick up postcards from Edinburgh perhaps. The people who receive them might enjoy a picture of Edinburgh Castle.
“It can be anything that might help start a conversation for the residents and let them reminisce for a little while.”
“It involves picking up a postcard, even a note, and writing a little message and sending it off. The Facebook page for the group makes it very easy as there is a list of care homes involved.
Leeanne Taggart, activities co-ordinator of Parkhouse Manor care home near Darnley, said residents' spirits were raised by receiving the cards.
Ms Taggart said: "Initially we received card from Scotland and elsewhere in the UK and now they come from all over the world. They really help residents to reminisce about where they have been and it brings back fond memories of where they have travelled to.
"We also incorporate it into our activities and have a massive wall map where we chart where the cards have come from which is a good stimulation exercise for the residents. I think it is a wonderful idea."
Lisa McGuire, Service Manager at Abercorn House care home in Hamilton, said it has been lovely for the residents to receive these post cards as an additional way of keeping in touch with people from the ‘outside world’.
She added: "This year has been particularly difficult for our service users due to COVID 19 restrictions in nursing homes. Normally our service users would attend church groups, nursery groups and such like in the local community but due to restrictions this year they have not been able to. Receiving these bright and colourful post cards has been joyful for them as it is an additional connection to people outside that they haven’t been able to have. This is particularly important at Christmas time as they are used to being involved in Christmas festivities within the community."
A spokesperson for Darnley Court care home said: “We’re exceptionally grateful to the Postcards of Kindness group for thinking about and writing to our Residents. Their postcards caused smiles all round and everyone was very touched by this kind gesture.”
Postcards of Kindness, set up by Your Health Ltd, started out as a small-scale project in a few care homes. The aim was to inspire conversations and jog memories and let people know they are being thought of.
Katy Boyle, of Postcards of Kindness, said: “They aim was to combat loneliness and isolation across the country, reminding residents that there is always somebody thinking of them, regardless of where in the world they are. People often write stories of their life experiences on their postcards, enabling the recipient residents to travel the world from the comfort of their home as their memories are stirred and imaginations piqued.
“There are currently 42,500 members and 2160 Care Homes signed up to the Postcards of Kindness Group, with more being added every day. These homes are from all over the world. There are currently 178 homes from Scotland on the spreadsheet. There are also homes from the Channel Islands, Zimbabwe, USA, Taiwan, South Africa, Canada, Norway, Brazil and Belgium, with cards being sent and received all over the globe.”
This year, a sister group was set up entitled Christmas Cards of Kindness with the specific aim of encouraging sending Christmas cards through the post to share Christmas joy, cheer and memories with the residents. This group has already accumulated over 800 members and growing. Members of the original Postcards of Kindness group have also naturally progressed to sending Christmas Cards, as well.
If you want to get involved go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/PostcardsOfKindness
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