Christmas Cheer

Bringing joy and companionship during the festive season

Together at Christmas

Christmas time usually conjures up joyful images of family and friends celebrating, exchanging gifts, excited chatter and delicious food. For some people, however, it can be a lonely time. Marmalade Trust understands how difficult Christmas can be for someone who is experiencing loneliness.

Through the Christmas Cheer project, volunteers bring joy and companionship to people experiencing loneliness across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire. Project members – our VIP guests – join us for a festive lunch on the big day, or a doorstep visit, subject to eligibility criteria.

Eligibility

The Christmas Cheer project is open to people who:

Will not see anyone on Christmas Day, no friends / family to share some of the day with
Feel lonely all or most of the time
Live in own or rented home, not currently homeless or in temporary accommodation
Christmas meal only: Able to self mobilise, get in / out of transport to venue and keen to be with others
Doorstep visit only: Able to self mobilise to get to front door, and keen to have some connection on Christmas Day
Please note: The project is available for those who don't require specialist support services, such as for mental health crisis and substance misuse. For a list of more specialised support services, please click here.

Volunteer for Christmas Cheer 2025

Volunteer applications for Christmas Cheer 2025 are now open! If you're passionate about making a positive difference to people experiencing loneliness, we'd love to hear from you.

Please note: volunteers must be available to volunteer on Christmas Day, 25th December 2025.

Refer yourself or someone you know

Learn more

About the project

Last Christmas...

In 2024, we are proud to have brought joy and companionship to 200 people experiencing long-term loneliness in our area. Everyone who joined us was supported by our network of over 150 wonderful volunteers.

One project member told us: "Christmas Day for me was the happiest I have known for years.”

Read our 2024 Evaluation Report

How it all started

Health professional and volunteer, Amy Perrin, knew how tough loneliness and social isolation can be. Through volunteering, Amy met three older people spending Christmas Day alone. Seeing the shortage of Christmas events in Bristol, she took them out herself. Amy was approached by GPs and even a local bank clerk asking if she could include more people, and soon 3 became 18! After Christmas, with a doormat piled high with thank you cards, Amy realised the importance of what had been achieved and Marmalade Trust was born. Amy is our brilliant founder and CEO, and in 2024, she was awarded an OBE for services to older people.

Our VIP guests

Our project members are our VIP guests, and we do whatever we can to make Christmas a joyful time of year for each individual. After months of careful planning, we can't tell you the joy it brings us to see our project members enjoying their Christmas Day. We also love it when our project members call us afterwards and tell us how much fun they had: "I just wanted to extend my gratitude for all the kindness and consideration yesterday. My volunteer was amazing, what a wonderful, lovely lady," one project member expressed. Another said, "Marmalade Trust have been a godsend to me, and I don't know what I would have done without them." These words underline the significance of the connections made and the joy experienced.

Our three step approach

Loneliness can often feel overwhelming and something out of our control, so it can be useful to have a starting point. To help you and others to feel less lonely we have framed it into three parts.