Fun for all the family at the Town Hall

When big families run in the family, it pays to book out the Town Hall for Christmas lunch.

So this year, Siaufaga Papali'i rallied her siblings so the whole family could spend the day together at the Auckland City Mission's annual Christmas meal.

She runs through the family tree:

"There's my sister, my other sister, her four kids, my brother, my other sister, my mum and my nephew who both came up from Murupara for it. And my three, and I'm bringing up my little sister and little brother so they came too."

The final tally is 16, she thinks, though she may have lost count.

"We all came because it's the only way to spend Christmas together as a family. The kids have fun, and they enjoy the food. If they were at home, they'd be sitting round watching television. I don't get very much money, and it's blimmin' hard come Christmas."

One of the sisters, Levei Papali'i, brought five of her six children, and persuaded her good friend Mrs Togia to bring her four children along.

She is won over by the children's enthusiasm.

"We're definitely coming back. It's a good get-together."

Over the other side of the hall, Vao Kapisi from Otahuhu is worried - his wife has just run off with another man, and not just any man, but Santa Claus. Leah Kapisi is Mrs Claus, her sequinned top nearly outshining the bright Samoan prints of her husband and 8-year-old daughter, Ila Kapisi.

When it is over, the Town Hall quickly returns to normal, but the congeniality does not end.

All the way down Queen St small groups can be found already tucking into seconds, from plastic containers passed out by the volunteers on the way.