The Queen looked past scandal that has at times this year shaken the royal family to send out a global thanks to those who helped celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.

A West Auckland family escaped from an inferno after their house was deliberately set on fire early on Christmas morning.

Hundreds of thousands of bargain hunters are expected to make the most of the Boxing Day sales.

The Christmas Eve death of a toddler in a tragic driveway accident has left a tiny lakeside village reeling.

A man watched in horror as his brother drowned in stormy surf at Whiritoa beach on the Coromandel Peninsula on Christmas Eve.

A gifted academic who grew up in Karori has died suddenly in London, devastating her family.

A surprise delivery of presents from generous children arrived for those in need this Christmas.

A Secret Santa exchange programme amongst Twitter users has brought gifts to people who may not have got any.

A Christmas story from an associate, who was in a Salvation Army op shop when a family - mum, dad, and three children - stopped by to drop off a new bike.

New Zealanders spent 2.6 per cent more in the week leading up to Christmas this year than they did a year ago, due mainly to a resurgent Canterbury region.

The thick fog that cancelled more than 100 flights at Wellington airport yesterday has lifted, with blue skies now above the capital.

Theists, and perhaps some atheists too, might thank God for Dr Zain Ali's gracious and insightful comments about God and religion.

Relatives can easily get on each other's nerves. Suzanne Masefield offers ways to head off any aggro.

People around the world are preparing to celebrate Christmas. Check out some of our favourite shots of the festivities.

What do the hard-working people who run some of our city's busiest and best kitchens do when their restaurant kitchen is given a final scrub-down for the year? Do they put their feet up and let others wait on them hand and foot?

A travel company has given 100 of its staff affected by the Christchurch earth-quakes a special Christmas bonus.

Shopkeepers are bracing themselves as last-minute Christmas shoppers head to the stores on one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

New Zealand's overseas defence force personnel will be turning to heavy doses of Skype tomorrow for a link with home on Christmas Day.

I never believed the world would suddenly end, but I liked the idea that it was possible.

Jockeys Opie Bosson and Danielle Johnson are partners at home - but not at work, where they regularly compete for victory.

The Mana Recovery Trust has spent the past 16 years helping people with mental health disabilities to develop the skills to work and live in the community.

A Christmas card from the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran wishes us a Merry Christmas. There is nothing unusual about that.