'Perfect conditions' for Wellington Christmas parade

Photo / Nikki Papatsoumas

Thousands of children lined the streets of Wellington today hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa on his sleigh.

The Wellington Christmas Parade, which kicked off at 2pm, ran along Lambton Quay before ending on Manners Street.

About 60,000 people were expected to attend the parade, Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said.

He said the mild weather made for "perfect parade conditions".

Children were dazzled by brass bands, acrobats, circus performers, cheerleaders, elves and penguins, but of course the highlight was an appearance by Santa himself.

Eight-year-old Hugo Sudwell travelled up from Christchurch to visit his grandparents this weekend, and was lucky enough to head along to the parade.

He said he was most excited to see Santa, but his favourite part was the "octopus balloons".

"I loved the octopus balloons the most, I really like sea animals so they were my favourite."

Hugo said his dream was to one day be in the Christmas Parade himself.

"I really wanted to be in the parade, maybe one day."

Meanwhile, Hamilton's Christmas Parade was cancelled as bad weather swept the North Island.

Organisers said there would be no postponement date and the cancellation was due to health and safety reasons.

The decision had not been made lightly, a statement on the parade's website said.

"This would have been our largest parade for some years and had some wonderful entries. We hope they will consider coming back again for 2015."