Care-experienced young people are those who spent time in foster care, kinship care or children’s homes when growing up. When they are very young adults, they may be living alone away from their friends and family. They are twice as likely to report feeling lonely most or all of the time than other young people in the general population. Christmas can be a particularly isolating time when other people are busy with their families.

For the third year in a row, volunteers will be hosting a group of care experienced young people on Christmas Day to bring some festive cheer! The volunteers, known as ‘hosts’, with knowledge of the needs of care-experienced young people, work at CASCADE children’s social care research centre at Cardiff University and a range of charities including Voices from Care Cymru and NYAS Cymru. Some of the hosts have experience of foster care or residential care and understand how difficult the festive season can be. 

The dinner and activities are inspired by similar dinners in a range of English cities. The movement was started by the renowned poet Lemn Sissay, who has written extensively about his own experiences of growing up in care. The Cardiff Christmas Dinner is currently the only similar event held in Wales.

The feedback from the last two years has been incredible. Some young people got in touch afterwards to tell us what the day had meant for them:

“[We] just wanted to send the biggest thank you ever to the team for the event on Christmas day. We were honestly overwhelmed by the feeling of inclusion throughout the whole day and wished we could do something to express our gratitude for the obvious amount of work that went into making it happen. Over the years, [we] have spent many Christmases in many different places with different people, and although we are always so grateful, there is always an underlying feeling that we were intruding. Our 2022 Christmas day was the first year that we didn’t feel that. Having an event specifically for individuals in our position, and to be surrounded by others in similar boats, was the warmest and most incredible feeling; for once we didn’t feel like the ‘add-on’; we felt like we were fully part of something and were meant to be there. From the gifts and food, to the chats and activities, the laughter, kindness and warmth that everyone on the team brought, we just wanted to say thank you. So much, for everything.”

With feedback like that, how could we not be motivated to do it all again? Care-experienced guests, who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day, will once again be invited from a 30-mile radius of Cardiff and transport will be provided for them. They will receive gifts, dinner and the day will be filled with fun activities.

The volunteers are raising money for the event, with funds raised being managed by the registered charity Voices from Care. They are also on the look-out for high-quality gifts and decorations for the event. Anyone wishing to help can email thecardiffchristmasdinner@gmail.com