Community Christmas lunch a hit

251213sp11 Christmas lunch. 25 December 2013 Daily Post photograph by Stephen Parker

There was plenty of love, goodwill and festive jingles in the air at Rotorua's biggest community Christmas lunch.

About 400 people filled the banquet room at the Rotorua Convention Centre today for a traditional lunch, complete with ham, turkey and all the fixings.

Organised by the combined churches of Rotorua, the free event was open to anyone, especially those who were alone or unable to afford a Christmas meal.

Organiser Dave Moore said there was an amazing turnout and a great atmosphere. Every child was given a present, while singers entertained with live music.

Karen Groot was in charge of co-ordinating the food and making sure everyone was fed.
She said about 20 volunteer cooks had been at the venue since 6am preparing the meal.

Most of the food had been donated by Rotorua organisations and people, she said.

"It's been amazing. Every year their generosity just gets better and better."

A total of 100 volunteers helped out during the day, doing everything from serving food to hosting a table - many giving up time with their own families.

One volunteer, who did not want to be named, was helping out alongside her brother. She said they had recently lost their mum, so "didn't want to sit around the house being morbid and sad".

"There's always someone worse off than us," she said. "A lot of these people wouldn't have a [Christmas] meal if they didn't come here."

While mainly for locals, there were also a handful of tourists who were welcomed to the party.

Young Dutch travellers Frederik Meulman and Kirsten Van Caspel were standing in the parking lot calling their families back home when a volunteer invited them in.

With no other plans, they were soon making new friends while enjoying a typical Kiwi Christmas lunch.

"I feel so much love here, it's great. It's really open," Mr Meulman said.

The pair had been in Rotorua just two days and said it hadn't really felt like Christmas, despite their attempts to decorate their campervan.

"Now actually it does feel like Christmas," Ms Van Caspel said.