Michaela Gower spoke to long-time Christmas parade punters Colin Smith, from Napier, and Diana “Buffy” Mabey, from Dannevirke.
Santa Claus is coming to town - and his warm-up will include Dannevirke and Napier this weekend.
Napier will witness the return with a parade staple via 85-year-old Colin Smith, who had rebuilt the famous 1931 Austin 7 Fire Engine.
While the engine now finds itself in a less dramatic role with the parade, vehicles similar to his were used to fight fires in World War II.
His fire engine had made appearances at Christmas parades, birthday parties, and fire station events across the country It even participated during the firefighter strike earlier in the year.