When Christmas approached too quickly to plan a festive ball, Joelle and Kayleigh from Supported Living in West Wales came up with a new idea — a Winter Ball, giving the people twe support something special to look forward to at the start of the new year.
The event was held in January at The Gwenllian Centre in Kidwelly. As Joelle explained, “As we didn’t have enough time to plan a Christmas ball, we decided to do a Winter ball instead in January for the people we support.”
They made sure the people they support were part of the planning from the beginning. Joelle said, “We discussed in the people we support forum about the Winter Ball and threw our ideas around. The people we support came up with having cakes and drinks instead of a buffet, and they agreed that each home would make different cakes and bring them along to the ball.” This collaborative approach ensured the event was shaped by the people who would be attending it.
The vision for the night soon became clear. “We didn’t want a Christmas themed ball, so we went for a winter themed/formal ball,” Joelle shared. “We had fairy lights on each table in the jars, black tablecloths with a white runner, and a photobooth which was amazing! All people we support used this and we had some great pictures from these which are displayed around the houses.”
Planning was shared equally between the pair. “We sat and planned and worked together with everything,” Joelle said. “Me and Kayleigh had the same vision, and it was amazing to bring it all together on the night.” They did face one challenge when severe weather disrupted the original plans. “We had to move the event from the middle of January to the end as we had a bad snow weather warning, so we moved the ball to another date as we did not want to risk people driving in the bad weather.”
Seeing everyone arrive set the tone for a wonderful evening. “It was amazing to see the effort that everyone had made to follow the theme — everyone looked so smart,” Joelle said. Her favourite highlights were simple but memorable: “How happy everyone was, seeing everyone enjoying. What also stood out for us is that we managed to get everyone that attended plus staff into a group picture.”
Some attendees also joined from a neighbouring service in Wales, including Gemma, Simon, Ronnie and Hayley, who had a fantastic time celebrating alongside everyone else.
Joelle offered heartfelt thanks to those who supported the evening. “I would like to thank the people we support for attending and making such an amazing effort with following the theme of the event. We would also like to say a thank you to Bridie for her help with purchasing everything and helping organise on the night.” She added, “A special mention to the staff and people we support at Maesawel for staying behind after the event to help with the cleaning up the hall and loading the cars with everything that needed to go back to homes and the office.”
With such brilliant feedback, Joelle shared that more celebrations are already in the works. “Yes, we would very much like to organise another event after such an amazing Winter Ball. We have already had discussions about planning the next event — we have looked at doing a Welsh Valentines Ball next year.”
Regional Director Kuba also reflected on the success of the evening, saying: “Joelle and Kayleigh created a lovely evening that reflected what people told us they wanted. It was great to see everyone relaxed, happy and enjoying themselves. The atmosphere really showed how much it meant to people, and I want to thank them both for the care and effort they put into making it happen.”
A huge thank‑you to Joelle, Kayleigh, and everyone who helped make the Winter Ball such a fantastic event. We can’t wait to see what they create next!
