On the 13th and 14th of September 2025, we were lucky enough to be invited to Stoke Mandeville Stadium (the birthplace of the Paralympics) in Aylesbury to attend Emmett’s Genies Year in a Day event. We arrived at midday on Saturday and left at midday on Sunday, and in that whirlwind 24 hours, we celebrated an entire year in a single day! It was just what we needed as a family, having spent the last year under the cloud of relapse.
What is Year in a Day?
Simply put, Emmett’s Genies Year in a Day event is an entire year of family celebrations packed into one single day. Think Valentine’s Day, Easter, Summer, Halloween, Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day all celebrated one right after the other. It’s a 24-hour sprint of incredible generosity, all contributing to one bonus year for the brave families of critically ill children.
Think of it as a day of pure, concentrated joy.
We arrived at midday on Saturday to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a delicious lunch of pizza, sandwiches, crisps and salad. Next up, it was Easter, where there were bunnies, guinea pigs and chicks to pet, a rock choir to listen to, an Easter egg hunt, Easter arts and crafts, the Easter bunny, and Easter games. Then we moved on to celebrate summer with a display of super and custom cars, police and fire vehicles, an ice cream van, ponies to meet and groom and characters like Moana to meet. Then we all headed back inside for a Halloween dinner of burgers and chips, followed by an epic Halloween party including dressing up, face painting, potion making, a stilt walker, a disco with party dances, a trick or treat lucky dip and more arts and crafts. After this, we all went outside to celebrate bonfire night with a fire dancing and fire eating display. Then we headed back inside for Christmas Eve, where each family were given the most beautiful Lapland UK books and cuddly toys as well as a Christmas Eve box containing handwritten and personalised letters from Santa for each child. When we woke up on Sunday morning, we went for a Christmas breakfast of bacon rolls, pancakes, Danish pastries and ice cream, then we headed through to the Christmas party! The Christmas party was 3 hours of festive fun! There was Gingerbread decorating with Mrs Claus, Christmas arts and crafts, stockings for each child, a beautiful train and village display, Elsa singing Frozen and Christmas songs, a snowball fight area and a visit to see Santa with a gift for each family member! It truly was an experience to remember and gave us back so many lost moments.
Who are Emmett’s Genies?
Emmett’s Genies is a charity set up by Amy Scullard after her son Emmett was diagnosed with a Stage IV Germ Cell Tumour in the summer of 2018. Emmett completed his treatment in March 2019, and he wished to meet Scooby Doo, so in September 2019, he and his family headed to the Give Kids The World Village in Florida. The family had such a magical time on the trip that Amy came back inspired to create a similar village here in the UK.
The charity started small by gifting boredom-busting activity packs to children during their hospital stays. They then secured some Meta Quest VR headsets to give children the opportunity to explore the world from their hospital room. Now, Emmett’s Genies hosts an annual “Year in a Day” event as they continue working towards their long-term goal.
Emmett’s Genies Long-Term Goal
The ultimate goal of Emmett’s Genies is to create a Wish Village right here in the UK. There are many children across the UK who cannot travel internationally as they are just too sick to do so. Having a wish village in the UK would allow children with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions the opportunity to have extra special wishes granted, as well as giving their families the opportunity to create lifelong memories.
The eventual village will be designed around the thoughts, wishes and designs of the very children it is being created for. There will be a different event celebrated every day, and there will be Christmas celebrated every week. The children and the families who visit will be able to relax and switch off fully; there will be nobody staring at scars or bald heads, no questions to answer about why there are tubes and dressings. This village will truly enrich the lives of children who visit.
Top 5 Ways to Support Emmett’s Genies
Emmett’s Genies is an entirely volunteer-run charity, so that they can plough as much money back into supporting the children and saving towards their wish village goal. Here are 5 ways to support Emmett’s Genies this year:
- Donate. Make a one-off donation either by donating money directly to the charity or purchasing a gift or two from their Amazon wishlist.
- Fundraise. Hold a fundraising event or activity to raise much-needed funds.
- Volunteer. As the charity is entirely volunteer-run, there will always be something to do, no matter how much time you have available to help.
- Sponsor. During the Year in a Day event, different key elements of the day are sponsored by businesses. Perhaps your business or employer could sponsor part of next year’s event.
- Awareness. If you are not in a position to help, then share posts and talk to people about it. You never know who in your network could help, so sharing posts about the charity could indirectly help them.
I hope reading about our experience at Emmett’s Genies Year in a Day brought a smile to your face. For our family, it was more than just a party; it was a chance to reclaim moments of joy that had been lost. After a year under the cloud of relapse, this event was a powerful reminder that even in our darkest times, there is still so much light and hope to be found.
Emmett’s Genies is proof of what a small group of dedicated people can achieve. Their dream of a UK Wish Village is something truly special, and it will change the lives of countless families who can’t travel for a wish. Their journey, from simple activity packs to a full-blown “Year in a Day” event, shows just how much we can accomplish when we work together.
The best part is, you can be a part of this incredible story, too. Whether you donate, volunteer, or share their mission with a friend, every little bit helps bring them closer to their goal. Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about granting a wish—it’s about giving a child and their family a chance to feel whole again.
Have you or someone you know benefited from a charity like Emmett’s Genies? Share your story in the comments below!
