Tiny Tobias leads Hope celebration

AWAY IN A MANGER: Kate, Paul and baby Tobias Deere in starring roles as part of Hope Christmas.

The Christmas spirit appears to be alive and well with hundreds turning up to Living Well Church's annual Christmas production Hope Christmas.

The 90-minute show celebrating all that is Christmas has been a part of the church's calendar for the past 10 years and, like the decade before, yesterday people crammed the auditorium to watch the performance and sing carols.

Liz Fowler performing

Music co-ordinator Liz Fowler said this year about 60 people were involved onstage - including 8-week-old Tobias Deere, who took the starring role as the baby Jesus.

Mrs Fowler said it was particularly exciting to have Tobias and his parents, Kate and Paul, on stage as in recent years they'd had to resort to teenagers playing Mary and Joseph and a doll for Jesus.

"He [Tobias] was really well behaved."

Mrs Fowler said standout performances of the show included Janine Parker, who reworked the words to popular hit Let It Go to focus on the stresses of Christmas, and Steve Holmes, who also sang for the crowd.

She said 4-year-old Mackenzie Pitman-Brewer did a great job of her solo performance as well.

Between 300 and 400 people turned out for the morning performance, with more than 500 for the evening show.

Entry was by cash donation or an item of non-perishable food, which will go towards the Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal.