Christmas Means Community

During December 2025 we ran a ‘Christmas Means Community’ campaign to bring residents together through joyful, inclusive activities that embrace diversity, boost wellbeing, and strengthen connections. 

Hosted by our Housing Engagement Team and our fantastic partners, we held events that spread festive cheer and created opportunities for everyone to get involved and feel part of something special. 

We asked you for your favourite things at Christmas, be it food, people, traditions and Christmas songs.

Many people shared their views on our social media channels, and we had 17 people respond to our online survey.   

This is the data from the online survey: 

• The most Christmas cheer came jointly from the post code areas of RM13 (Rainham, South Hornchurch, Wennington and Beam Park East) and RM14 (Upminster, Cranham, North Ockendon and Bulphan). 

• The most favourite Christmas song was jointly Driving Home for Christmas (Chris Rea) and Fairytale of New York (The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl). 

• Your most favourite festive tradition was spending time with your family, whether by having Christmas dinner together, watching a Christmas movie, shopping or baking together. 

• You shared your favourite recipes which included homemade cookies, cakes, sausage rolls, left-over turkey pie and a twist on cooking brussels sprouts for those who don’t like them! 

• Most residents said that the people or person who made Christmas special for them was their family, neighbours, front-line people working over Christmas and Santa!  

We shared your feedback on social media and in our Living in Havering e-newsletter.  You can sign up here for Havering Council news and updates.