Christmas Cheer at Festive Party for Little Havens

Seriously ill children and their families from across Essex have had an early visit from Santa at a special Christmas Party over the weekend.

On Sunday 11^th December, children cared for by Little Havens Children’s Hospice made their merry way to Basildon for an evening of Christmas fun, games, music and food to celebrate the festive season. The party, hosted by Eastgate Shopping Centre, is in its eighth year and gives children and families cared for by Little Havens the chance to join together and enjoy a Christmas party of their very own.

Beckie Coyle, mum of 7 month old daughter Esmee enjoyed the party with her husband Duncan and Esmee’s sisters, Hattie, 13, Orla, 12 and Mia, 9. The family from Southend had their first stay at Little Havens in October of this year, just one month before Esmee was diagnosed with a rare life-limiting condition.

Beckie said, “Esmee has a rare condition and there are only 50 known cases worldwide. Her left lung is collapsed and her right lung only functions at 20% of what it should. When we first stayed at Little Havens I didn’t want to be there because it meant admitting that Esmee wasn’t very well and I couldn’t relate to that. By the end of the weekend I had completely changed my mind.

“I can’t explain what it did for us as a family. Duncan and I spent months with Esmee in Great Ormond Street Hospital and it meant all of our attention was on Esmee, and not the girls. Being at Little Havens enabled us to spend time with each other. I did some painting with the girls and for the first time in ages slept like a log. Esmee went into hospital that week but I was able to cope with it much better because I’d actually slept.”

Duncan added, “Tonight has absolutely blown me away. Even in this world with the way things are, this party has really cheered us all up. I can’t thank everyone enough for what they’ve done.”

As children and families tucked into food provided by Nando’s, students from the Performers Agency, Corringham, entertained guests with festive tunes and dancing before Josh Dubovie took to the stage with some swing classics and modern pop songs.

The shopping centre also opened Santa’s Grotto especially for the children and their families. Each child received a gift and goodie bags to take away at the end of the evening. The Hen’s Theatre Company held an Alice in Wonderland themed raffle and a magician and balloon modeller did a tour of the tables with their tricks.

Senior Nurse Lindsay Stone said, “We try as best we can to make Christmas special for the families we care for, but we’d never have the space to host a party for everyone under one roof. The Little Havens Christmas Party at Eastgate not only gives our families a magical evening out, but it means they can all be together at the same time. We are extremely grateful to Eastgate, Nando’s and the performers who kept us entertained all evening. We hope they all have a very Merry Christmas.”

Mike Horton of Eastgate commented, “What a marvellous evening.  They just seem to get better and better and seeing so many of the Little Havens team here reinforces the message of just what the hospice contributes to so many families. We all look forward to the next event in support of Little Havens.”

To find out how you can support Little Havens this Christmas, please call 01702 220350 or visit www.havenshospices.org.uk