Winter Blog

Our Maidstone hub members had a great time ice skating, giving them such a boost of confidence and allowing them to spend time together before Christmas started.

There was one young person who was terrified of ice skating and too scared to try without the penguin aid but ended the session with a big smile! She was helped by our Apprentice, Hayleigh, who encouraged and supported her to eventually skate on her own – she said, “I’m well proud of myself!”

What a fantastic start to the holiday, skating into Christmas!

No sprouts for us! Our Medway youth hub enjoyed their very own spin on Christmas dinner without a sprout in sight! A full-on roast with pigs in blankets and stuffing for them to feel full, warm and cosy but with plenty of room for desserts that Willy Wonka and his Chocolate Factory couldn’t even handle – sweets galore!

We also shared donated gifts with the group who were so grateful.

“This is Christmas! Being here at youth group.”

“I wish we could do Christmas together on Christmas day.”

“Such a lovely Christmas meal together!”

“My present was so good, thank you!”

Hit those Christmas tunes on full blast! Thanet started off at the youth hub with a fantastic Christmas party! A Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and classic party games like musical chairs.

We also started a new tradition of gift wrapping a youth leader with Christmas wrapping paper to see which team was the quickest and the evening ended with the trending fast-paced head-to-head game that involves touching your head shoulders, knees and then grabbing a cup – all to determine who is King or Queen of Christmas!

This was all planned by the young people – their Christmas done their way!

They loved receiving their Christmas presents and one young person was so shocked that they questioned it by saying, “What!? This is for me?” Followed by a grateful, “Thank you so much!”

Thanet’s additional activity was a visit to the ice rink at Quex Adventure Park. There were moments of trepidation for some but it was an exciting experience as they tried something new. We laughed, experienced falls but together had some good-old Christmas cheer!

“Wow, this was so funny – can we do this again?”

“Thank you, I had so much fun! I can now ice skate as I’ve been shown how to. This is amazing.”

“It was great having help from the amazing volunteers, especially to cook the food for such a big group! We couldn’t have done it without them.”– Thanet Legends Hub Lead.

The Swale youth hub were excited to enjoy ‘Aladdin’ the pantomime at Central Theatre, Chatham. There was lots of shouts of the classic, “They’re behind you!” and many giggles!

At the hub, the group also held a Christmas Party with plenty of fun games, amazingly yummy food and the opportunity to be creative with Christmas craft. We ended the party by giving out gifts to each member.

“It was really funny to see the leaders dressed up as Christmas Crackers!”

“Thank you for my present – I will have something for Christmas now.”

“Thanks to everyone who supported us with donations this Christmas. We were able to give the young people their very own Christmas in the way they would want it. We had fun in a way that works for them. We know how challenging Christmas can be, so we greatly appreciate your support to be able to put a smile on their faces at this time of year.” – Swale Hub Lead.

‘Ti’s the season to… play laser tag?!’

Having been given lots of choices, our Gravesham Legends chose the traditional activity of festive laser tag! They had such a great time burning off some energy and being competitive – and it was the first time playing for some. We finished up with a festive buffet and wishing each other a merry Christmas.

Christmas saw YLF’s Giving Tree presents also given out to the young people who were truly grateful for the gifts.

“I loved my wash set. It will save me money for longer.”

“The scooter I got was amazing!! Thank you!”

“It has been wonderful to see the young people able to celebrate Christmas as they wish. Their voices were listened to, and the activities they wanted to do were organised and planned with them. Outside of Legends, Christmas isn’t always how they would want it, so it was great to see them able to show up and be themselves, enjoying team building and confidence boosting activities.” – Legends Manager.