Aidan’s Christmas Dinner Project

Bringing festive warmth to families in hospital at Christmas

Aidan’s Christmas Dinner Project was founded by Lucy and Simon Pond in memory of their son Aidan, who sadly passed away in 2014 from a rare genetic condition called mitochondrial disease. After spending their final Christmas together in hospital, Lucy and Simon were inspired to help other families facing similar experiences — families who find themselves in hospital over the festive season, away from the comfort of home.

The project began with a simple but powerful idea: to bring joy, warmth, and a sense of celebration to children and their families spending Christmas in hospital. Over the years, it has grown into a cherished tradition, delivering festive hampers and hot Christmas meals to families across Sussex.

Each year, volunteers prepare and deliver beautifully curated hampers filled with handmade treats like mince pies, Christmas pudding, brandy butter, and thoughtful gifts such as tea, coffee, hand cream, and decorations. On Christmas Day, a team of volunteers serves a full festive meal to families and staff at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton, ensuring that no one misses out on the spirit of the season.

The project supports families in:

Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital (Brighton)

Trevor Mann Baby Unit

Special Care Baby Unit (Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath)

Bluefin Ward (Worthing Hospital)

Lucy Pond shares the inspiration behind the project:

“We hadn’t prepared ourselves with food to take to the hospital and we simply weren’t able to make the time to prepare a Christmas meal. As a result, we spoke with the head of nursing at the Alex and to Rockinghorse as the hospital’s official charity, about our experience and how it could be made better. Together we came up with the idea of providing hampers to parents which would be full of treats to be taken home or enjoyed at the hospital. In addition, we decided that a hot Christmas dinner could be cooked on site on the day itself. From there, Aidan’s Christmas Dinner Project was born.”

Aidan’s Christmas Dinner Project is a celebration of kindness, community, and remembrance. It honours Aidan’s memory by making Christmas a little brighter for those going through difficult times.

Your donation will help us continue this beautiful tradition — funding ingredients, gifts, and the logistics needed to reach families across Sussex. Every contribution makes a difference and helps us share comfort and joy when it’s needed most.

Please give what you can and help us make this Christmas special for families in hospital.