Last Updated on August 2, 2016
Age UK and John Lewis have teamed up to highlight the loneliness faced by older people at Christmas. The much-awaited 2015 John Lewis Christmas advert, in partnership with Age UK, has launched this morning and carries the tagline of Show someone they’re loved this Christmas. It features a man on the moon and a young girl, called Lily, on earth.
New research from Age UK shows 60% of people aged 65 or over aren't expecting festive happiness to be part of their Christmas this year. Age UK’s campaign No one should have no one at Christmas says that over 1 million older people haven’t spoken to a friend, neighbour or family member for at least a month. The campaign is raising awareness and tackling the heart-breaking fact that the festive season will be a very lonely time of year for many older people
Among those aged 65 or over, 61% said that Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without spending time with their children or grandchildren, the top choice when asked what they wouldn’t be without this festive season.
Topping the list of worries for older people is missing loved ones who have passed away (42%), followed by the fear of not being able to see everyone they want to over Christmas (29%). Just 14% of people aged 65 and over said they expected Christmas parties to be part of their festive celebrations, with only a third anticipating festive drinks with friends or neighbours.
Only 23% of those polled aged 18 to 34 say they plan to spend Christmas with their grandparents and just under half (48%) of those aged 25 to 54 say they plan to spend it with their parents.
Last year, Age UK also found that nearly 400,000 people aged 65 and over in the UK were worried about being lonely over Christmas. The survey also reveals the worries the nation has about loneliness: nearly half of UK adults (41%) admit to being worried about being alone in later life.
In addition, nearly a third of people (27%) simply consider loneliness part of life - but when thinking about people facing a lonely Christmas, 46% of people feel sad about it and 16% are worried about friends and family who will be spending Christmas on their own.
Age UK is asking everyone to check in on older neighbours, relatives and friends, and sign its petition calling on the Government to recognise loneliness as a serious health problem and commit to action to help tackle it.
The John Lewis Christmas advert #ManontheMoon can be viewed on the John Lewis website here.
More details on Age UK’s No one should have no one this Christmas are here.