Gift a Cuddle This Christmas

As Christmas approaches, a special atmosphere begins to fill our Hospice and gently extends beyond its walls.
It reaches into our Hospice at Home service and across our wider care, bringing comfort, warmth, and connection to all those we support. We do everything we can to make this time of year feel festive with twinkling lights, Christmas trees, music, even a brass band or a visit from a donkey. Families add their own decorations, favourite treats, and traditions, making each bedroom feel more like their own homes.

What truly makes Christmas so special is the love shared here. I will never forget sitting with a mother and daughter in matching Christmas pyjamas, sharing stories and laughter late into the night. Or the young woman who adored Christmas, determined to wrap gifts for her children and write a letter to her husband, reminders that even in the hardest times, love shines bright.

Christmas is also a time when families long to be together, side by side, and that is why cuddle beds mean so much. These specialist beds extend to give loved ones the chance to hold each other close and share precious moments, that would otherwise be impossible. Sometimes it is holding hands whilst drifting off to sleep; other times it can be a whole family gathered on the bed for a cuddle, creating memories to treasure. Most poignantly, it can be the chance to hold someone you love in their final moments, bringing comfort and peace at the end of their life.

This Christmas, we want every patient to have the opportunity for a cuddle. But right now, we only have three cuddle beds between our sixteen bedrooms. Each of these beds costs £15,000. Our dream is for every bedroom at Rowans Hospice to have one, so no family has to say goodbye from a distance.​