If you would like advice and ideas on how to put on or organise a community Christmas event or activity, our engagement team would be delighted to talk to you.   

Contact us by emailing christmas@reengage.co.uk.

Your Christmas event or activity can be registered on our directory.

We are publicising local community events and activities, however small, that provide connections on Christmas Day and over the festive period and, in many cases, there will be an opportunity to get involved and volunteer. You can find out about events through our directory.

You can also apply for one of our many other volunteer roles which run through the year.

Unfortunately Re-engage are unable to match older people with individuals who would like to invite them as guests for Christmas dinner in their home. However, if the idea of having people to your home appeals to you, please do consider applying for our volunteer tea party host role.

In our online directory we publish local community events and activities that provide connections on Christmas Day and over the festive period. Please contact the organiser of the event or activity that you are interested in attending directly.

Some events and activities do offer transport but it may not be free. Check the details under the event listing to find out if transport is provided. If you still have questions or nothing is stated please do contact the organiser directly who will be able to assist you.

Not necessarily. Many events and activities are free, some take donations, and some are full priced. The main criteria is offering a community friendly event that those on their own can go to.

The organiser of the event or activity or the point of contact that has been provided to you as we will not be able to answer any queries regarding the event or activity.

No. Community Christmas is simply our Christmas campaign. We offer social activities throughout the year and are mostly well-known for our Sunday afternoon teas, but our activities also include call companions (telephone befriending), and activity groups. Our goal is to help tackle loneliness among older people by engaging them in their communities and bringing generations together. You can find out more about our work on our about us page. 

There are two key ways your company can be involved in community Christmas this year by:

• making a Christmas donation to support our work.
• holding your own community Christmas event or activity and registering it here.

If you would like advice and ideas on how to raise money, or to discuss what we can do for you in return, our fundraising team would be delighted to talk to you.

Contact Sadie Ellison on sadie.ellison@reengage.org.uk or 020 7881 2364 to find out more.

Any money raised helps go a long way to support community Christmas events and activities with resources and guidance. This includes a digital platform to allow a central place for people to find out what's happening in their local community around Christmas.

As with all charities a small percentage of money raised goes to our overheads, but most goes towards the development and delivery of our services that help reduce loneliness for older people – our social gatherings and our call companions service. You can find out more about our work on our about us page.

Community Christmas began in 2007 when the founder, Caroline Billington, was asked to drive a handy-bus of older ladies to a Christmas Day lunch. She was overwhelmed by what a small act for her made such a huge difference to the ladies. How happy they were to have been out, how they may have spent Christmas alone, and how they would continue to keep in touch for tea or coffee.

The experience left a desire to do more and the next year Caroline set up her own Christmas Day lunch, but she felt she could do more. The thought that there were people everywhere who would spend Christmas alone was enough to keep her up at night and in 2011 the birth of community Christmas as a movement began. She shared her experience, and an additional two events were born.

Community Christmas grew from strength to strength and in 2018 when Caroline felt she had taken it as far as she could – she chose to work in partnership with us and left a legacy for us to continue. With 650 website listings and an additional 102 locations offering companionship and taking enquiries from community Christmas she handed the reigns to us to continue.