Learn, have fun, ile and sgm h the throu seasons!
CHALLENGE
Inside this pack.. Your three-month toolkit, jam-packed with ideas to help you keep active and have fun.
Spooky spider cookies Page 5 Have a campfire party Page10 Christmas card competition Page 12
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E G N E L L A CH 2020 has been an incredibly tough year. So, we want to finish the year in style with an exciting and action-packed challenge that will give you the chance to win some amazing prizes! Over the next three months itywe’ve set you some fun, activ n based challenges that you ca s tackle at your service. Service ll who complete 8 challenges wi th receive a fantastic reward… wi further prizes for those that go even further…
est of b y r e v e h t ll a We wish youe you have lots of fun! luck and hop
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Your activity pack You will soon receive an activity card and sticker sheet through the post. This is your tracker, and it should be used to log each activity you complete. Be sure to send photos and evidence of you completing the challenges to communications@voyagecare.com (and don’t forget your consent forms!!!). Each month has a theme and the activities set will help you host a fantastic event at your service. Budget will be made available to help you buy the materials you need and host parties and events for the people we support. More information will be made available on Hive. If you’re not based in a service, don’t despair! Lots of the activities are suitable for trying at home, and you can get involved in competitions and challenges too. We’d love to see photos of you and your families having a go! Ready? Set… Go!
ARE YOU UP TO THE
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ACTIV8 CHALLENGE?
Rules
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basis wed on an ongoing • Entries will be revie the Activ8 have completed il and services who a confirmation ema ive rece will challenge . to claim their prize with details of how judged after be will ons • All other competiti ng dates and we’ll share l their respective closi ers through our usua details of the winn channels. communications
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Christmas We entered the ition card compet ts using We made craf pine cones Christmas We entered the n tree competitio ive log/ We made a fest cheese stars We went to the ty Christmas par Year’s Eve I made my New resolution environmental
• Every time yo u complete an activity or challenge, you must find the c orrect sticker and log it on your activ ity card. This will help y ou to track you r progress. • To complete the Activ8 cha ll enge you need to collect 8 stickers, but feel free to do more (or all! ) of them! • Individual sta ff can still get in volved at home. Send your Activ8 tra cker (available to do wnload on Hive ) to communicatio ns@voyagecare .com by 31 December a nd you’ll be en tered into a prize draw! • Let us know w hen you’ve com pleted your activity tracker by sending a p hotograph or scan to com munications@ voyagecare.co m! We’d also lik e to see your photos an d video to evid ence that you’ve taken p art. (Don’t forg et your consent forms! ) • Entries will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and servic es who have co mpleted the Activ8 cha llenge will rece iv e a confirmation e mail with details o f how to claim their prize . • All other com petitions will b e judged after their resp ective closing d ates and we’ll share deta ils of the winne rs through our usual chan nels.
With Halloween just around the corner, why not get crafty and make a (not so) ghoulish tin can alley! It’s a great way to upcycle some empty baked bean tin cans and turn them into a fun-filled Halloween afternoon!
Tin Can Bowling
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Clean your tin cans and peel off any labels or paper.
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Paint your cans in your base colour. (White is perfect for a ghost and try purple for a zombie!)
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Once fully dry, you can begin to get creative with painting more details.
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Once dry, stack the tin cans, find a tennis ball and begin bowling them over!
What you’ll need: ✔ Empty tin cans ✔ Acrylic paints ✔ Brushes
Top tip! You could even on googly eyes glue the cat or wrafor white bandages p for the mumm on y! OCTOB
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Tic-tac-toe-tally terrifying! loween playing Have some spooky fun at Hal n this tic-tac-toe game with creepy pumpki and ghost-painted stone counters! All you you need to do is collect some stones when are next out and about.
What you need
Spooky Spider Cookies Ingredients: ✔ 100g butter ✔ 125g caster sugar ✔ 1 egg
✔ 10 stones
✔ ½ tsp vanilla extract
✔ Orange, white
✔ 150g self-raising flour
and black paints
✔ Brushes
✔ 100g plain chocolate chips
✔ Paper
✔ Leftover chocolate chips or Maltesers (for decorating)
✔ Thick pen
✔ Edible Eyes (for decorating) ✔ Black writing icing (for decorating)
Method: 1. Clean your stones and wipe dry. 2. Paint 5 of your stones orange and the other 5 white (you might need to do two coats of paint). Leave to dry. 3. Once fully dry, you can begin to paint s more details. Add some black scary face onto the pumpkin and ghost stones. and 4. Time to make a board! Draw 2 vertical 2 horizontal lines roughly 8cm apart. This should make 9 squares. a 5. Each player now takes it in turn to lay counter on the board. First player to make 3 counters in a row wins. Good luck!
spookish e m o s g in v a h y jo n E nock k n a c o h w e e s d fun an the most over!
Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line three oven trays with baking paper. 2. In a bowl, mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. 3. Sift the flour into the mixture, then add the chocolate chips and mix all well together. 4. Spoon a large teaspoon of the mixture on to your oven tray, leaving enough room for them to spread. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, and once golden remove from the oven. 5. When still slightly warm, carefully place a few chocolate chips or Maltesers onto the cookies. This will make the spider’s body. Leave to cool completely and then pipe on the black icing to make legs and add on the edible eyes. Enjoy!
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n w o r u o y t s o h How to
r a l u c a t k o o Sp
movie night!
Halloween is the perfect time to host a scary movie night. All you will need is a ghostly movie and some creepy snacks. Grab a comfy pillow, a big blanket and you are almost ready to settle in for a few scares, from all things that go bump in the night! But first, you need to decide on which movie to watch. Here is a list of our favourite fright night movies:
• Hocus Pocus Three witches wake after 300 years of rest to get revenge and cause terror!
• Ghostbusters When there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call?
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• The Addams Family They’re creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky and they have a hand as a butler!
• The Haunted Mansion Home to ghosts, ghouls and spooky graveyards. Will the Evers make it out alive?
• Casper Meets Wendy The only friendly ghost you wish to bump into!
Visit Hive to download a printable Halloween bingo board for your movie night!
We would love to know how your Spooktacular move night went! So, please get in touch and review your movie for the next issue of Zest.
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Once you’ve picked a terrifying movie, you will need some scary snacks to go with it. Here are some of our favourite treats (not tricks):
Host your own
Halloween party!
• Trick or treat candy apples • Pastry snakes
As Halloween appro aches, you’ll need bewitching inspirat ion to host a great spooky party! Here are some top tips on how to throw a fr ightfully fun party.
• Frozen banana ghosts • Strawberry ghosts
Create some spooky decorations – make some tombstones from ca rdboard, cut out bat wings from black paper, mak e pumpkin banners w ith orange paper and st ring Plan some party gam es – how about a mum 2 my sack race? Grab som e toilet roll or white cr ep e paper, wrap everyone ’s legs up and the fir st on e to hop to the finish lin e wins! Make some terrifyin g treats and dreadful 3 drinks – why not mak e some Halloween sp ider cookies? The recipe can be found on page 5. To add extra gore, se rve some human bloo d by mixing together cran berry juice and lemon ade! 1
It’s competition time!
Send in your pictures of your party to communications@voyagecare. com so, that we can share them on our socia l channels!
Amazon Here’s how you can win a £50 voucher this autumn…
your It’s time to get creative and show us ating favourite thing about autumn by cre your own piece of Autumn Artwork. Send us a picture of your artwork to with a communications@voyagecare.com about. note about what your creation is all azon We’ll be sending the winner a £50 Am your entries by voucher, so make sure you send us of winning! 2 November to be in with a chance
Visit Hive for some fancy-dress ideas and to make your own cut out masks!
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s ’ e r a C Voyage
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see witches, we want to d ke ic w to ls ou gh From ghastly you have a favourite be ay M s! w ro ec ar sc t your spookies want to recreate or a u yo at th r te ac ar ch scary movie s you want to share? secret love for spider nd aterials you have arou m e th e us d an e tiv Get crea pillow ball as a head and a ot fo a e us d ul co u you. Yo r services arted! A couple of ou st u yo t ge to dy bo as a a few years ago that s w ro ec ar sc n ow ry created their ve iration! you could use for insp your out how you display eep Remember to think ab by the window and cr it op pr d ul co u Yo ! ur scarecrow it off at the front of yo ow sh or t ou rs ou d crazy the neighb Be as imaginative an e! se to ne yo er ev r fo service of your ber to send a photo em m re t bu t, an w u as yo yagecare.com for it vo @ ns io at ic un m m scarecrow to co ecrow trail! to appear on our scar
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We’d love for as many of you to get involved and start our very own Voyage Care scarecrow trail. Send in your creations to communications@voyagecare.com
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beyond!
It’s competition time and we’d like you to make your own ecofriendly rocket! Are you ready to blast off into space? Get creative and go wild with finding items to help you build an out-of-this-world rocket! You can use recycled plastics, paper, empty toilet rolls and much more. Why not cut some windows out of paper or use coloured tissue paper as flames? Let your imagination go crazy and get busy making the best eco-friendly rocket there is! Send a picture of your finished rocket to communications@ voyagecare.com by 2pm on Friday 27 November to be entered into our competition!
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Keep a look out on Hive to see who else joins our scarecrow trail!
To infinity and
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Host your own
campfire party
The cold nights are slowly drawing in, it’s time to get cosy and put on your fluffy socks! Here are some tips for how you can host your own indoor campfire party this autumn.
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Paint, craft or draw your own fire. You could use cardboard and paint on it or print a picture of fire from the internet!
Time for you all to sit around the campfire. Place your fire in the centre and all sit in a circle around it.
A campfire wouldn’t be right without some snacks – why not try our fruit rockets recipe?
Why not play some games around your campfire or have a little sing-along to the song to the right?
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Campfire burning burning, ’s e ir f , g in n r u B ’s e “Fir nearer, w a r d , r e r a e n w a r D wing, lo g e th in , g in w lo g In the rry, come e m e b d n a g in s e Com sing and be merry.”
Send in videos to communications@ voyagecare.com of you singing your campfire song so that we can share them on our social channels!
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Fruit rockets Flame handprint craft It’s time to get your hands messy with this next autumn craft! Get your orange, yellow and red paints out and pour some into separate containers (big enough to fit your hand into)! Then, dip your hand into the paint and onto a plain piece of white paper. Repeat with the other colours and then you will begin to see a flame take shape! You can finish off your masterpiece by adding logs to the paper: you could use brown paper or grab some twigs from the garden!
ns, so send them tio ea cr ur yo e se to We’d love s@voyagecare.com into communication
Ingredients: ✔ 5 strawberries ✔ 10 large green grapes ✔ 15 blueberries ✔ 5 long cocktail sticks/ skewers (ideally ones with confetti on the end)
Method: 1. W ash and dry the fruit, then chop off the ends of the strawberries. 2. T hread the blueberries and grapes onto the skewers. 3. T op each skewer with a strawberry to make a point at the top of the rocket. 4. Serve and enjoy!
Visit Hive for an autumnal cupcake recipe! Visit Hive to see how Lynwood House hosted their very own campfire party.
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Christmas ca r d competition
Our Chris tm and we ca as card competiti o n come up ’t wait to see wha n is returning once with this t amazing a year! creations gain, you Like alway s, there a re two ch made into a C h r is tmas card ances to see your d winning d . We will esign esign f at Civitas or Voyage Care, an be choosing a Housing A d dvisors w our friends Go to Hive ill choose another w inner! and search
‘Christmas card competition’ if you need a little inspiration!
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How to enter
to Send your handmade designs re.com by communications@voyageca unce the 4 December and we will anno winners on Facebook on 11 December! Good luck! Craig from Ladycroft Respite and Sarah from Cordwainers created friendly snowmen.
Christmas tree competition! Trees are short and trees are tall,
Go wild with baubles and tinsel
But Christmas trees are best of all.
And we will choose the one most cheerful.
We want to see your festive flair,
One thing you must remember,
So, decorate your tree with lots of care.
Submit your tree by 18 December!
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Send your photos to communications@ voyagecare.com and we will be in touch if you’re a winner!
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Candy Cane
hide
What you’ll need: ✔ Candy canes
✔ Pen and paper
and
seek!
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Start off by planning where you want to hide your candy canes. Write them down on a piece of paper.
Can you think of any clues that could help people find them? On a separate piece of paper write a clue for them to find each candy cane.
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4 Top tip!
Top tip! Look around where live and write dow you n hiding places as you see them.
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Hide your candy canes! (Make sure no one is watching so they don’t know where they are hidden).
Give your clues out and watch as they go and try and find them all!
y are “hot” e th if le p o e p ll te Why not ruggling to find st re a y e th if ” ld or “co means they are t” o “H . e n a c y d n a ac ing it and “cold” really close to finindthe wrong place! means they are
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Sit back and relax. Why not let someone else hide them and you can try and follow their clues instead?
Look out on Hive for some more Christmas party game ideas!
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Pom-pom pine cones This craft couldn’t be simpler, but it is so effective! What you’ll need:
✔P ine cones (collect them on a walk!)
✔ Glue (a hot glue gun is ideal) ✔S mall pom-poms (available on
Amazon and all good craft shops)
✔S tring or ribbon to hang your decorations
Top tip! ine cone is p r u o y e r u s e k Ma start! u o y e r o f e b y r d clean and
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Put a blob of glue on one of the ‘leaves’.
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Stick a mini pompom onto the glue.
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Did you know that pine cones make fantastic sustainable Christmas decorations? They’re easy to collect and can be used for lots of different things. Why not try one of these fun ideas…
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with found materials
Repeat this for every ‘leaf’.
Tie 11 inches of ribbon or string into a loop and glue it to the base of the pine cone. (This is where a glue gun comes in handy!)
Leave your creation to dry before hanging it somewhere festive!
There you have it, homemade Christmas decorations that are kinder to the environment.
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swags
Bring the outdoors in by making a beautiful, environmentally-friendly Christmas swag!
What you’ll need:
✔P ine cones
✔C raft wire
✔F resh evergreen
✔P liers
boughs (pine, spruce or fir are perfect)
✔O ther Christmassy
natural materials, like holly, berries or dried orange slices
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✔S cissors ✔ Ribbon to decorate – hessian works really well with the natural theme!
Gather together your evergreen boughs and arrange in a loose fan shape. Mixing different greenery can be really effective!
Wrap wire tightly around the stems until secure.
Top tip! Trim any brown or dead bits from the boughs before you start.
If you have pine cones left, use them to make your Christmas wrapping extra special. Why not spray them with metallic paint or glitter for even more impact!
Use more wire to attach your pine cones and decorations, like berries and orange slices, hiding the ends in the greenery. Tie a big bow! Secure it around the stems to hide all the wire. Wire-edged ribbon works well for this.
Using more ribbon, or a wreath hanger if you have one, proudly display your swag to bring on the festive cheer!
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! n u f e iv t s e F
different this year, but le litt a l fee t gh mi as tm ris Ch have lots of fun and that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate with friends! challenges should mean Our December activities and stic festive get-together you’re all set to host a fanta ur decorations, cook up a for your service. So, hang yo ur party games and get Christmas storm, prepare yo ready to have some fun!
Have fun!
Decorations As you plan your party, use craft time to make homemade decorations – you could even combine your party with dressing the service for Christmas, including your allimportant entry into our Christmas Tree competition! (see page 13 for more info)
To make your party go with a bang, try to think of all the things you love to do together. If karaoke is a firm service favourite, why not put a Christmassy spin on things and have a Christmas song karaoke battle? Or if dressing up is more your thing, hold a ‘Worst Christmas Jumper’ competition! Party games are a must, so check out our handy ideas on page 14-15!
A festive log would be the perfect centerpiece for your dinner table check out the recipe on Hive! DECEM
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Festive baked cheese stars Get the festive party started with these easy, yet tasty Christmas treats.
Ingredients: ✔ One puff pastry sheet
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Top tip! You could even try different Christmassy sh apes!
✔ Approx 100g grated cheese (try mixing a little parmesan with cheddar or red Leicester)
Get creative! Finally, why not make or buy some fun Christmassy dressing up accessories and have fun taking selfies – we’d love to see you smiling for the camera!
✔ Flour, for rolling ✔ 2 tbsp milk ✔ Toppings of your choice (black pepper, poppy seeds, paprika, or chopped herbs are delicious!)
Method: 1. Preheat oven to 180C (Gas mark 6). Unroll your pastry sheet. Sprinkle the cheese over one half (saving a little for later). Fold the pastry in half to cover the cheese. 2. Flour your rolling pin and surface. Roll the pastry out until it is double the size. 3. Line a tray with baking paper. Use a star-shaped cutter to cut out the stars and place them on the baking tray.
Festive food No Christmas party would be complete without delicious food and drinks. We’ve shared some tasty ideas in this toolkit.
4. Use a pastry brush to wash the stars with a little milk. Top each one with some of the leftover cheese from step 1, and your toppings – you can be really creative here, so use your favourite flavours! 5. Bake in the oven for around 10 mins or until puffed and golden brown. And there you have it! These cheese stars are delicious served with cranberry sauce for dipping!
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See 2020 off in style by throwing a classy
y t r a p e v E s ’ r New Yea Dress to impress and enjoy your favourite foods as we say goodbye to a very memorable year! Everyone loves a party, it’s a great way of having fun with friends. Follow our guide for the perfect New Year’s celebration!
ode
Menu Light snacks and finger foods are usually popula r – you could try the chee se star recipe on page 17, or find your own recipes to impress the guests!
Dress c
e is a great New Year ’s Ev n the year to time to reflec ok ahead lo just gone and year. Why w to a brand ne time me not spend so book of all p creating a scra emories m your favourite e things r, th from this yea for and ful you are grate created e crafts you hav down. ck through the lo
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it classic with You can keep aras, or go ti black ties and dress – just cy wild with fan one knows ery make sure ev e! the dress cod
you can At your party s and ok share your bo t has ha chat about w ial for pec made 2020 s nd look a your service – n e fu forward to th 21! 20 you’ll have in
New Year ’s Eco-resolution
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We have a really ambitious target to become carbon positive by 2025, and our environment committee would like your help to start 2021 as we mean to go on.
Activities Party games are always a winner! Charades, pin the tail on the donkey and Pictionary are classics – visit Hive for more ideas!
Music
ryone to share e v e sk a t o n y Wh ngs and you so te ri u o v fa ir the ning to them can enjoy liste re your top ta together! Wha tracks of 2020?
We’d like every service to set an environmentally-friendly New Year’s resolution – it can be big or small, but it must be something new and a commitment from your service to help us move towards our goal. Use the checklist on Hive to help you decide what you could do to help us, help the environment. You could begin recycling, switch out your favourite brands for more eco-friendly products, or even try to reduce your energy consumption by turning off lights when they’re not needed and switching electrical appliances off at the wall instead of leaving them on standby. There are lots of options to help you be a more eco-friendly service!
Services settin g New Year’s ectheir resolution will g oextra Activ8 re et an ward. DECEM
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Watch the
Voyage Excellence Awards!
We’ve had to make some changes this year, but we have found a way to celebrate the achievements of our wonderful teams and individuals across Voyage Care! Although it’s not how we planned, this year’s Voyage Excellence Awards will be held as a virtual event. We will keep the same sparkle and excitement like any other year, and together we can celebrate each other’s achievements surrounded by the people we care about.
As a special treat, all finalists from this year will be invited to the Voyage Excellence Awards next year which will be bigger and better than ever! We’d love for you to join us and watch the Voyage Excellence Awards as if you were really there! Instructions on how to join will be shared on Hive closer to the time, so keep an eye out for updates. We are really excited that we’re still able to host an event this year and celebrate an evening that’s all about you.