A care home is inviting local people to celebrate the Lunar New Year in style.

On Wednesday 29th January, residents and team members at Care UK’s Mercia Grange, on Lichfield Road, in Sutton Coldfield, are hosting a special celebration to mark the beginning of the Year of the Snake. Attendees will get the opportunity to hold an array of different snakes, thanks to a visit by The Animal Man.

There will also be traditional Chinese snacks available in goodie bags and the home will be decorated with lanterns, large ornately decorated fans and red and gold balloons. The team have also organised a Lunar New Year-inspired craft session, where guests can create goldfish decorations using red pockets, while learning more about the culture and background of the annual celebration.  

Michael McNelis, Home Manager at Mercia Grange, said: “We’re looking forward to marking the Lunar New Year with the local community and everyone’s really excited about our special snake visit. 

“Here at Mercia Grange, we enjoy celebrating and learning about different cultures, and residents are always keen to try new foods and share their own experiences of different countries and their traditions. We’re sure that the traditional Chinese snacks will be a real hit, and we encourage those feeling brave to hold the snakes!” 

Mercia Grange is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing, dementia, and short-term respite care. The three-storey care home, which features 67 ensuite bedrooms, has been designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives, while also promoting independence.

The care home incorporates plenty of space for hobby and leisure activities, and includes its own cinema, hair and beauty salon and café. Care UK is one of the largest providers of residential care for older people.

As a well-established organisation with over 40 years of experience in caring for older people, we are proud to run more than 150 homes offering both residential and nursing care.

For two years running, Care UK has won more major care sector awards than any other large care home provider.

They also have more outstanding rated homes than any other organisation. Those are just some of the reasons why we’re trusted by more than 8,000 families.

Their care homes provide an impressive range of services for older people, ranging from short stay respite care to nursing care, end of life care, plus specialist care and support for people living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. They are proud to be building so many modern, luxurious and comfortable new care homes - we have opened 55 new homes since 2013 and expect to open at least 10 more homes between 2025 and 2026 in locations including Yate, Angmering, Wilmslow, Southampton, Saffron Walden, Tring, Birmingham, Stafford and Copthorne.