250 older neighbours attend b:friend’s Christmas celebration

b:friend hosted its third and biggest Christmas Party on 17 December 2025, bringing together the charity’s social clubs at Magna Science Centre in Rotherham.

The festivities included musical entertainment, a hot Christmas dinner, games, a raffle and a packed dancefloor.

Events like these can be a lifeline for many, as a 2023 study by Age UK found that over 2 million older people wish they had someone to spend time with over the holidays, and 1.6 million find Christmas Day the hardest day of the year.

Colette Bunker, b:friend’s CEO, said: “We believe it is really important to get people together at Christmas, especially the older generations. This time of year, you see it all over TV, lots of adverts of families getting together around the Christmas table, and a lot of the people here today don’t have that. They might be spending Christmas Day alone, not being able to see or speak to family for mobility reasons, or perhaps they had people pass away.

“We have 16 social clubs in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and we wanted to do something really special for them for Christmas.”

Older neighbours attending the event said:

“It’s been absolutely brilliant! The best one yet.”

“I don’t know how you’re going to top this one!”

“We should do it twice a year!”

The party was funded by local councils, organisations and businesses, including:

Derbyshire Voluntary Action – DVA

A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

Sky Time To Care

South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation 

Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park

North East Derbyshire District Council

Chesterfield Borough Council

JN Derbyshire Trust

Gripple Limited

McCarthy Stone Foundation

The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire

Xeinadin Doncaster

Sheffield Town Trust