Pleasant Point Christmas parade to bring in the politicians

Santa Claus will be at the parade, but so might Brian Tamaki or President Trump. Photo/file

Head along to Pleasant Point next week and there's a chance you might bump into US president Donald Trump, or maybe our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Or, at least, people that look like them.

The annual Pleasant Point Christmas Procession will be making its way through the streets of the South Canterbury town on Friday and it's expected to be traditional on either end and unpredictable in the middle.

Secretary of the procession committee Deanne Milne said the parade, which has been running for about 58 years, had some relevant Christmas floats - with Santa Claus, pipe bands and carollers - but there would also be a mix of the particularly non-traditional.

"The beginning and the end is Christmas related, and the bits in the middle sometimes are and sometimes aren't."

Past floats include residents dressed up as Destiny Church's Bishop Brian Tamaki giving sermons, former prime minister Sir John Key pulling a girl's ponytail, and cycling drug cheat Lance Armstrong.

"The business floats aren't traditionally Christmas-related. They're satire . . . something of a political nature of what has been current the week before Christmas," Milne said.

Around the time schools in the area were closing, a Trevor Mallard float made an appearance, and last year President Trump showed up.

Milne said there was a chance he would be in the parade again, along with Prime Minister Ardern, and "possibly Winston".

"He's usually good for something," she said.

The parade began decades ago when a group of local women decided to put something on for the kids. Among the pipe band and Father Christmas floats, residents were also pushed down the street in wheelbarrows.

"It's a real community effort.

"It's a chance for a district to get together and have some fun just before Christmas and sort of let go of a lot of the stress before Christmas."

Usually two or three thousand people would show up to the parade each year, she said.

This year's parade will be held on December 15.