Residents from two Llanrwst sheltered housing schemes came together to enjoy a traditional Christmas feast.
The slap up meal with turkey and all the trimmings was organised by Allison Hughes, a warden with housing association Cartrefi Conwy which manages Tan-y-Graig and Scotland Street sheltered housing complexes in the centre of the town.
More than 40 people enjoyed the festivities at the Eagles Hotel in the centre of the town.
Allison, who has been in her post since May, said: “Some of our elderly residents find it difficult to get out on a regular basis so we set up the Altogether Group at the end of the summer.
“This was the group’s first function and the aim of the Christmas meal was to get them all together enjoying a lovely meal together and having a chat.
“The atmosphere has been lovely, a bit like we are coming together as a family, and for some of the residents, who do not have a lot of relatives around them at this time of year, I like to think this is very important to them.”
Entertainment was also provided, free of charge, by Penmaenmawr based entertainer, Rockin Ron, aka Ronald Watson-Jones.
He treated residents to a medley of much loved classics including songs by Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly.
There was also a raffle and all the residents went home with a prize which were mostly donated by Llanrwst businesses.
The Christmas meal was part of a series of events organised by Allison, which will continue into 2012, in an effort to bring residents from the two schemes together.
Christine Berry accompanied her 93-year-old mum and Tan-y-Graig resident Gladys Pierce to the meal.
Christine, 61, who also lives in Llanrwst, said: “Allison is wonderful at organising events like this and it is very important that elderly residents like my mum are encouraged to get out and come and enjoy something different.
“I am glad my mum is able to get out and mix with people and it means she is not always stuck in on her own in the house.”
Her mum agreed and said: “I looked forward to coming here today despite the rotten weather but the meal and the event itself has been lovely.”
Cartrefi Conwy is one of North Wales’ foremost providers of affordable, high quality homes and around a third of the housing it provides is sheltered accommodation for elderly or vulnerable people.
Helen Egan, Head of Neighbourhood Services for Cartrefi Conwy, was at the event and said: “We encourage all of our wardens to organise events like these in an effort to bring our residents together and help create a warm and welcoming community for them.”
