Pāpāmoa party to help give to Tauranga Community Foodbank

Teaching young minds the beauty of giving at Christmas is a driving force behind one of Pāpāmoa's biggest parties for kids and their families.

Christmas on the Field will be held on December 6 at Tahatai Coast School to help collect food for the Tauranga Community Foodbank.

Organiser Lauren Burnette said the annual event was one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for the primary school's Parent Teacher Association and has been run for several years.

"It is our way of celebrating the end of the school year as a community and giving the kids, teachers, families and wider community an opportunity to get together for some festive fun [while] at the same time raising funds for the school and giving back through foodbank collections."

Christmas on the Field is a family-friendly event which is open to the whole community.

People are asked to bring at least one food item for the foodbank, which is placed on a collection trailer at the entrance.

"The kids really embrace the foodbank collection and walk up very proudly to add their chosen donation to our trailer," Burnette said.

"As one child said: 'It feels good to give to others'."

Burnette said the school supported the foodbank throughout the year "as they are such an important part of our community and we want to support the amazing work they do".

"We feel that as Christmas is a time of giving, Christmas On The Field is the perfect opportunity to teach kids to think of others who may not have as much as they do and to also be grateful for what they have."

Christmas on the Field will have food vendors and rides such as the chair-O-plane, inflatable obstacle course and mini jeeps, food trucks, carnival games, CrossFit Alliance Ninja Warrior races, raffles, a silent auction and, of course, Santa.

Each year group from the school performs and there will be other entertainment from other school groups. Each year group also runs its own stall which it receives the profits from, such as dunk-the-teacher, cake stalls, or Nerf gun targets.

Burnette said when the school delivered last year's trailer load of donations, "the volunteers were immensely excited and grateful".

"It was very humbling to imagine how grateful the final recipients must be."

People are encouraged to bring along a picnic rug and cash to enjoy the evening.

In the event of adverse weather, Christmas on the Field will be postponed to December 13.

Christmas on the Field

What: Christmas on the Field
Where: Tahatai Coast School, Pāpāmoa
When: December 6, 5pm to 8pm
Why: To fundraise for the school and collect for Tauranga Community Foodbank
What to bring: Cash, food items for foodbank, and a picnic blanket to sit and enjoy