Giving your time as a volunteer is both generous and rewarding, knowing that you will make a difference to someone else’s Christmas Day.
Some roles may only require a couple of hours whereas others might be longer. Families often volunteer together for set-up duties, but as places are limited we cannot guarantee a place.
Applications open again in September 2025!
Volunteering
KITCHEN HELPERS (age 16+)
On Christmas Eve most of the preparation work is done, whether peeling sprouts, slicing carrots or wrapping bacon around sausages, so please bring your own veg prep knife. There’s a lovely sense of friendship and joy as volunteers work together.
Christmas Day requires a smaller team in the kitchen, often from those who volunteered on Christmas Eve, for continuity.
DRIVERS / MINIBUS
Morning Drivers are the first point of contact with our guests, so a friendly courteous manner is essential. Many morning drivers will be appointed passengers by mid December, and our Transport Co-Ordinator will advise any specific needs, such as if they are only able to sit in the front or need their collapsible wheelchair to fit in the boot, for instance. We ask you to make contact with passengers, so they know who to expect on Christmas Day.
The dispatch team will match afternoon drivers to guests who live in a similar area. Bath Community Transport kindly loan us a minibus with a tail lift for those who require it. Emergency drivers need to be available between shifts in case someone wishes to head home early. We also have drivers assigned for taking home delivery meals to individuals unable to attend on the day and to support Julian House and other agencies.
SERVERY (age 16+)
There are two separate serveries, one for Guests and another location for Volunteers. There is a bit of liaison with the main Kitchen to ensure a supply of hot food, and on warm plates. Home delivery meals are also supplied to Julian House and other support agencies, with any allergy requirements being strictly adhered to.
MEET & GREET / DISPATCH
Basically these two roles are the same, just at the start or end of the day! Could you be that friendly face greeting our guests, helping them into the hall to find a place to sit and introducing them to their table host?
The Dispatch team is tasked with getting people who live in a similar location matched to drivers, to make it an easy trip home after the event. Needs an organised mind, with great people skills and a good memory for faces!
TABLE & HALL HOSTS
Table hosts manage a table of ten, keeping the conversation flowing. They note who has any dietary requirements and make sure this is passed to the Hall Manager, who instructs the servery team. Table hosts have their lunch served at the table and eat alongside the guests.
Hall hosts ‘float’ to provide assistance where needed, from helping guests to the toilet, asking for more gravy, working with the dispatch team to group people together for lifts home. For them it’s a more informal ‘when you can’ lunch!
DRINKS (age 16+)
This team of 4 people provides guests with tea or coffee on arrival, after lunch, and also serve water and wine at the tables. They are certainly kept busy during the day!
WAITING TEAMS
There is a morning team, who serve the starter and main course, and an afternoon team who collect the dirty main course plates and serve dessert.
One person is in charge of any special dietary options and the team is managed by the Catering Supervisor.
WASH UP
Another small team of just 6 people spread themselves between the Pot Room and the Plate Washer, dealing with all the dirties that come back from the kitchen and the hall. There is an hour’s induction to explain the machinery a few days beforehand and the team is overseen by the Catering Manager.
CLEAN UP (27th December)
The kitchen area is cleaned down immediately after the meal on Christmas Day and any left-over food is put in the fridges. The rest of the cleaning up is done on 27th, where floors are swept and mopped, signage taken down, tablecloths folded, and any leftovers taken to Julian House for them to make delicious Bubble & Squeak.
We make sure that everything is left neat and tidy at Kingswood School so we can come back next year!
COMMITTEE & TRUSTEE ROLES
This year we mourn the passing of Tod Harrison, who once dressed as Christmas Tree during her years as guest co-ordinator, before Tamzin joined us. Tod will be fondly remembered for her kindness, warmth and humour.
We are indebted to David Pendle having been chair for Open Christmas for many years before it became Connect Bath, who has resigned his post this year. We wish him well in his continuously busy retirement.
Please email us if you would like to be more involved with our team in the behind the scenes planning.
GIFT WRAPPING (23rd December)
Every year, guests take home a goodie bag filled with various items we have had donated, from chocolate santas to knitted hats, all individually wrapped by our nimble-fingered team.
There’s a production line of presents which are then collated into bags and placed ready for guests to receive at the end of Christmas Day, so they have something to take home.
SET UP (24th December)
All the family can get involved in helping with the preparations with 150 place settings to lay on 15 tables, with glasses, cutlery, napkins and crackers. There’s also signage to put in place and a need for tea and coffee runs!
