It would be hard for anyone who has never experienced it to know how hard it must be to spend Christmas in hospital. But thanks to a few local organisations and a handful of school children, each year the wards of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital are brightened and decorated with festive cheer for patients who will spend this coming holiday within its walls.

One of these organisations is the Fairmont Hamilton Princess. For the past four years employees have decorated one of the wards and thanks to an increase in interest, this year the hotel decided to decorate two wards: the Gordon surgical ward and the Curtis Medical Ward.

"Last year some 20 Fairmont staff members participated and this year we're aiming for even more", explains Fairmont Service Plus team member Kay Marie Lewis.

She started the event four years ago and was given the idea by her sister, Kathy Ann Swan who is Director of Nursing and Allied Health at KEMH.

Ms Lewis is Assistant Executive Housekeeper and for the last three years, Service Plus President — a 10-member team at the hotel that creates activities and awards that honour hotel colleagues and builds team spirit.

All Fairmont Hamilton Princess employees are invited to take part in decorating the KEMH wards and the Service Plus team picks a colour scheme (this year it's blue and silver) and the hotel and hospital provide all the necessary decorations for the evening's decorating.

When visiting hours come to an end, volunteers get to work with much creative flare to transform the wards, sometimes to the pleasant surprise of patients who wake up the next morning to discover the spirit of Christmas all around them.

"Decorating at the hospital has become a cherished mission to a lot of us. Sickness is so difficult to bear, particularly at Christmas. We're so fortunate to be out and about with our families and to enjoy a very special time of the year," Ms Lewis said. "Taking the time to decorate makes it a little easier and more cheerful for those in the hospital. This evening of decorating is a labour of love to many of us—we're so blessed to be able to share this. By extending ourselves like this, during the holiday season we can create a better atmosphere for the patients and staff. This gift of sharing — makes us better spirited individuals. The hospital staff is so warm and so welcoming to us. They're so glad to see everyone from the hotel, and when you see the joy on a patient's face it turns out to be a gift for all of us!"

Last week year three students from Warwick Academy visited the hospital to spread some cheer among patients, staff and visitors. Every year the school spends a few hours at the hospital over the festive season performing carols and this year students took the time to decorate a tree on the fifth floor with handmade decorations.

They appeared to have a lot of fun and were joined in song by staff and visitors in the hospital's reception area. Of course Warwick Academy is just one of about a dozen schools which visits the hospital to sing carols and decorate trees on the wards in the weeks leading up to December 25th.

Debbie Byrd, Manager of Staff Affairs, who coordinates holiday events at KEMH, said: "Our staff, residents and patients greatly appreciate when members of the community bring holiday cheer to the hospital. It is a true expression of this festive season when school children come to sing carols and people decorate the wards."