That's a wrap!

'Twas the first day of advent, and we couldn't have asked for a more festive task! Eleven Santa's helpers - dressed not only in the traditional red and white, but also sporting some excellent festive accessories - ran, walked and cycled to the Spencer Denney Centre in Windsor to help Age UK prepare for Christmas.

Special mention to Georgeta and Sheila for cycling the 20km roundtrip from Maidenhead on this extremely chilly evening - brrrr-illiant stuff! Also big thanks to Hannah for walk-leading, Jess for back-marking and Jen for her super knowledge of Windsor underpasses.

At the Spencer Denney Centre, I got a lovely cheer for managing to unlock without jingling any alarm bells and we were delighted to find that our task owner Rachel had left out all the ingredients for a great Christmassy evening. Jack's festive playlist and Jen's scrummy mince pies provided the icing on the Christmas cake.

Hannah, Georgeta, Anita, Emma and Michelle, Jen, and Vikie made like socially distanced elves and wrapped well over 60 gifts. Sheila and Jack decked the hall with festive bunting, fa la la la la la la la la, and since Jess had a Christmas tree hat on, it was only right that she should dress the tree. Fir(st) she untangled the fairy lights, then she did a tree-mendous job with the tinsel and baubles. It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Speaking of music, we finished the evening with a fitness session to the tune of Deck the Halls (one burpee for every fa la la la la!) and We wish you a Merry Christmas ('we wish you squats', 'figgy pudding high knees' and 'won't go until we get some jacks'). The music was so quiet it was more silent disco than epic Christmas party but we still raised a few smiles from passers by and we got a bit fitter too.

We took the same routes on our return journeys. In total the runners and walkers covered about 5km, with the odd extra 'loop back' for some so that we could make sure everyone stayed warm and no one got lost. It was a nice to surprise to meet Anita's husband Santosh the Great in the car park after we finished our stretches.

Christmas can be a stressful time of year and it can be hard to find the time to exercise, especially when the weather is uninviting. However if you're like me, it's at times like this that I most need exercise and fresh air for my mental health. If you're looking for the motivation to get out and escape the Christmas crazies then click here to check out the listings for lots of social 5km runs and feel-good activities like tree planting.

Next Wednesday we will be delivering leaflets in Maidenhead to share St Peter's Church's programme of Christmas events. A great activity to keep that festive feeling alive and to keep us warm! Sign up here.