Baffins family urge people to join Christmas doorstep fun and spread festive joy

After hearing the news that Portsmouth, Havant and Gosport were placed into tier four restrictions over the Christmas period, Sally Kingman and her family decided to do something about the loneliness people would feel.

Sally, who lives with her husband Brian, son Jamie Simmons and cocker spaniel Max, has encouraged her neighbours to come onto their doorsteps at 1pm on Christmas Day with a drink, festive outfits and even some Christmas songs.

Sally, who has grandchildren in Gosport she won’t be able to see, said: ‘In the summer when we had lockdown first of all, in our street there are quite a few elderly couples who really liked coming out on the doorstep.

‘Wouldn’t it be a nice thing to get a bit of community out in the street? Some of them might not see anyone that day.

‘It’s been an incredibly tough year, and to think that some people may be spending Christmas on their own is heartbreaking.

‘At least this will give them something to celebrate, and to build on the local community spirit we saw back in the summer.’

After posting about the event on neighbour app NextDoor, the response was overwhelmingly positive so Sally has created a Facebook event to get people from other neighbourhoods involved in lifting people’s spirits.

Sally said: ‘I think there’s a lot of people who can’t go out or see their families, it’s such a shame.

‘Everyone’s down in the dumps when you speak to them but we have just got to keep going.

‘It’s something to think about in years to come that in lockdown Christmas we were all out on the doorstep.’

SEE ALSO: Fitness group from Fareham steps up to provide help and donations to those in need

Visit fb.me/e/1JVpYtLjv to find out more about this event.

The idea of a nationwide jingle has also taken off online, with people planning to step out at 6pm on Christmas Eve to spread the Christmas spirit and help Santa on his way.

A neighbourhood in Gosport decided to take this a small step further and have arranged socially distanced doorstep carol singing to help put everyone in the Christmas spirit.

Neighbours in Woodward Close are looking forward to checking in with each other and bringing the community together.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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