Older residents enjoy an extra special Christmas Day together

At H&F Giving, we believe that no one should be alone at Christmas and we want to make sure the festive season is a time of togetherness, not loneliness. That’s why on December 25th, with our friends at Hammersmith & Fulham Council, we once again brought together over 400 older and isolated residents of Hammersmith and Fulham for a heart-warming Christmas Day celebration for those who would have otherwise spent the day alone.

Our guests enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch with all the trimmings. The room was full of joy and there was plenty of laughter, enthusiastic dancing to live music from Vivid Jazz, and a real sense of community spirit. Every attendee received a gift bag to take home, and free transport was arranged to ensure everyone could join us. The day was made possible by the dedication of more than 65 volunteers, who generously gave their time to support the event and prepare the goody bags, helping create a memorable Christmas for all who attended.

There was a touch of Hollywood glamour on the day as extra special guest and H&F Giving patron Hugh Grant turned up to help out and spread some Christmas joy.

Our guests had a brilliant day, with one resident from Sycamore House, an alms-house run by Hammersmith United Charities (HUC) for low-income older residents, telling us how special the day was for them: “It was absolutely magic, so much fun, so much joy in one room. The best Christmas I have had in years and years!! Eternal thanks to everyone who organised such a memorable day for us all.”

Louise Wilson, Executive Director at H&G Giving, said:

“A massive thank you to the whole H&F community for making this special day happen. Including everyone who donated and volunteered, all of our sponsors and to H&F Giving’s patron Hugh Grant for taking time out on Christmas Day to sit down for a chat with our older and isolated neighbours.”

Days like this are only possible year on year due to the generosity of the community, and everyone coming together to help their neighbours – we are incredibly grateful to everyone for making the day a success.”

Your support made this happen – thank you.

We’re just tallying up the final figures, but our community has raised well over £40,000 (and counting) together to ensure this incredible event happened.

Alongside support from local businesses and foundations,  hundreds of local people contributed to the lunch appeal by making donations via our crowdfunding campaign on our website, via bank transfer and at local events – raising over £20,000 together – an incredible achievement.

A huge thank you to our key sponsors, donors and supporters who came together to ensure hundreds of our older neighbours in Hammersmith & Fulham were not alone:

  • Dr Edwards and Bishop King’s Fulham Charity
  • The Julia Rausing Trust
  • Olympia: who sponsored the entertainment, giving residents the chance to sing along to the amazing music from Vivid Jazz
  • Friends of Brook Green: who sponsored two tables of our older residents to have lunch together
  • WPS (Wates Group) & ThermoServ Ltd: who sponsored a table of our older residents to have lunch together
  • North who sponsored a table of our older residents to have lunch together
  • Chelsea Supporters’ Trust who sponsored a table of our older residents to have lunch together
  • Shoots & Leaves
  • Hammersmith BID
  • Blueprint Partners: whose fantastic team lent us their studio space and made our Christmas promo videos pro bono
  • The Hurlingham Foundation for donating the turkeys
  • Novotel London West: who were incredible hosts again this year

                    

We also want to take this opportunity to thank H&F Giving’s core funders which this year include NEC Software Solutions and City Bridge Foundation along with our founding partners, DEBK and HUC. Their unrestricted support is integral in enabling us to deliver impactful projects such as our Christmas Campaign.

A huge thank you again to everyone who volunteered or donated to make this event happen, as well as the Events Team at Hammersmith & Fulham Council for all their hard work in making the day such a success. Because of the generosity of our local community, over 400 residents weren’t alone this Christmas.

Want to get involved in the Big Christmas Lunch 2026?

This event can only happen with the generosity of our whole community. We are currently looking for headline supporters and sponsors for H&F’s Big Christmas Day Lunch 2026. If you or your business would like to get involved, we’d love to talk you. Please reach out to us at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you there!

Find all 2025 photos here: H&F’s Big Christmas Day Lunch – Flickr