By Barbara Sutherland

The food services team at Sagebrush went above and beyond for the community’s first-ever Christmas dinner. With a beautifully decorated dining room, carving station, spectacular desserts, including a flambé station, residents, their families, and care partners enjoyed a very special roast turkey dinner.

First Resident’s Table Went First 

The food was laid out as a buffet, so General Manager Tamara Thomas decided on a fun and fair system to choose the order in which to call tables forward to the buffet. “We called the tables in the order our residents had moved into Sagebrush,” says Tamara. “Our very first resident was Hilda Dewald, and so her table went first. Our second was Ida Forth and so her table went second, and so on until we had called the name of each resident within our community.”

Hospitality aides served the coffee and tea and made sure the residents who needed help with their meal, received care and assistance.

Prizes and Gifts 

“We had just under 100 people for the dinner,” Tamara says. “There were prizes and gifts - four of which were gift certificates to True Colors Hair Studio, which is our community hair salon right here in Sagebrush.”

“It was a pleasure and a joy to be a part of our very first Christmas Banquet.”

Photo: GM Tamara Thomas (centre) strolls among the tables of residents, including Irene McKellar (right), care partners and guests at the first-ever Christmas dinner.