Staff and tenants at the Castlebrae Glebe supported housing accommodation in Craigmillar organised a lonely scheme, which runs all year round and, this year, the scheme made sure that its users had somewhere to be on Christmas day.

Those who would otherwise be by themselves on the 25th were invited to join them for a hearty, home cooked Christmas dinner.

The wholesome dinner was followed by a lively game of bingo. The Bield tenants were high in festive spirits as, just days before, they got together to see the beautiful lights decorating the city’s George Street.

Sharon Tomany, manager at Castlebrae Glebe, said: “Christmas is a time for togetherness. Many of the people who have joined our lonely scheme love to socialise but, unfortunately, have over time found themselves in situations in which they have nobody to talk to or to share their days with.

“Feelings of isolation and loneliness are too often experienced by Britain’s older population, and we’re doing our bit to make sure this changes.

“Christmas, especially, is a time in which it’s so important to be with others and to celebrate the magical day together.

“We’re very proud of what we achieved this year – there was a lovely warm atmosphere and everyone had such great fun.

“The staff did a great job of serving up the delicious meal for such a large group of us - compliments were paid all round as everyone tucked in.

“With the carols on in the background, and everyone together, relaxing and conversing, festive cheer filled the room at Castlebrae Glebe this Christmas.”

Tenants at Castlebank Gardens Retirement Plus service in Glasgow got into the Christmas spirit as they were treated to two fun-filled, festive days.

An intergenerational choir, provided by the Active Senior group and children from the local area, sang a selection of carols and festive favourites.

Sarah Cannon, development manager at Castlebank Gardens, said: “The Active Senior group are a community-based group who provide regular entertainment and opportunities for the tenants so that they can continue to be involved in their wider community. The group and pupils from Yoker Primary School came along to sing carols and entertain the tenants. They had an absolute ball.”

The seasonal entertainment continued into the next day as Castlebank Gardens held its Christmas party. Tenants enjoyed music and jokes, stuck into a three-course Christmas dinner and even welcomed Santa Claus as he handed out gifts to children from local Greenacres Nursery.

Tenants were treated to more Christmas tunes, put on by country western band The Carlton Three, who gave up their time to entertain the tenants at the Christmas party. The band, consisting of a banjo, a singer and a harmonica had tenants dancing along to the country western music and classic Christmas songs.

And later on everyone at Castlebank Gardens was spoiled with yet more Christmas carols as children from the nursery performed recitals of their favourite ones.

Sarah said: “The Carlton Three are a band of a tenant’s niece - they were a big hit. As was tenant Jim Gallagher who dressed up as Santa Claus for the children.

“Everyone really enjoyed their Christmas dinner, too. Tenants were served a three-course meal by our cooks and sat down to party hats and crackers.

“It’s very important to us that tenants enjoyed both Christmas days as there have been so many changes this year - we recently switched from sheltered housing and care to Retirement Plus. It’s all been a great boost for morale.”

In their busy week of pre-Christmas celebrations, residents at Bield’s Crosshill Gardens retirement housing development in Port Glasgow all joined for a traditional turkey dinner, complete with all the trimmings.

The Christmas dinner, which was accompanied by lentil soup for starters and cheesecake or gateau for desert, was enjoyed by all 40 of the development’s residents who sat together at one very large dining table.

After enjoying the feast, two local community wardens put on a disco for tenants, which saw Crosshill Garden’s residents spend the evening dancing to top hits from their era from the likes of Roy Orbison to Elvis.

And, to keep the merry spirits high over the Christmas period, Port Glasgow High School band visited Crosshill Gardens later on in the week to play tenants some lovely recitals of classic Christmas tunes.

The band of 25 pupils, which included a saxophonist, singers, a bagpiper and clarinet and flute players, gave their renditions of well-loved carols, such as Silent Night and Jingle Bell Rock, for everyone at Crosshill Gardens to sing along to.

To thank the students for their brilliant recitals, tenants gifted them with chocolate oranges decorated in a white, hand-knitted casing to mirror the look of a snowball.

Michelle McKinnon, manager at Crosshill Gardens, said: “It was lovely to see the younger and older generations bond after the pupils’ concert.

“The knitted chocolate snowballs were such a thoughtful idea - the students loved them. “Everyone’s enjoyed the get-togethers. Having all the neighbours sitting around one big table and then dancing the night away at the disco has really got us in the party mood.

“It’s been a very social week at Crosshill Gardens and the community feel has grown even more with everyone celebrating their ability to be free to enjoy their own choices about how they celebrate the festive period.

“From everyone at Bield we would like to say a big thank you to everyone who got involved and made this week as special as it was.”