CHILDREN from a Renfrewshire school experienced the joy of giving when they took Christmas gifts to the elderly residents of a nearby care home.

A total of 20 pupils from Park Mains High, in Erskine, took glad tidings to Robertson House, based just across the road from the school.

They spent time chatting with the residents, who enjoyed reminiscing about Christmases when they were young.

The visit was part of the school’s ‘12 days of Christmas’ project, which let the youngsters celebrate all that’s good about the festive season as they looked forward to the holidays.

Deputy headteacher Nicola Maynes told The Gazette the ‘12 days’ had included a school concert, prizes to winning ‘houses’ and other popular end-of-term activities.

She added: “An important element was to stress the importance of giving and, for this, we collected items for the Renfrewshire toy bank, plus the gifts for the care home residents.

“The pupils took gifts to a total of three care homes in the area.

“It gave the pupils a lovely festive feeling at this time of giving.

“It emphasised to them that, amid all the celebrations, there are some in society who are finding things are not quite so rosy.”

Suzanne McAllister, team leader at Robertson House, added: “The residents had a wonderful time with the pupils, who sat with them and chatted.

“The looks on the residents’ faces showed how much the visit was appreciated.

“Some of the residents don’t have families, so receiving a gift is something special for them.”

Meanwhile, Park Mains staff showed they were also thinking of others by organising a reverse Advent calendar in which gifts were placed for distribution at Renfrewshire Women’s Aid.

Nicola said: “This was the staff’s way of leading by example at this time of giving.”

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