Manukau police are getting creative with their keep safe message this Christmas.

Over 800 "Christmas chain letters" have been sent out to Manukau families with extra pre-paid envelopes and instructions to pass the message on.

The locally-designed Christmas cards wish recipients a safe festive season and make sure they know what services are available during that time.

"It is important to us that throughout this busy and sometimes stressful time that you all look after each other," says district commander John Tims.

"By sending these Christmas cards it increases our capability of raising awareness and helps us to inform people about where they can go for help and support if they need it. It also provides an opportunity for people to pass on the message by sending the cards given."

Police are hoping the cards will reach further afield, maybe even to other parts of the country.

The message in each card is translated into Maori, Tongan, Samoan, Chinese, Punjabi and Hindi and on the back is a list of numbers people can call if they need help.

"Within our Police District we have over 165 different cultures and are constantly engaging with our community. It was important to us that the majority of people receiving these cards would be able to understand the message and keep the chain going," says Tims.

Police say they would like people to let them know who they have sent their cards to, either on their Facebook page or to tweet @manukaupolice #manukuapolicesafexmas.

- nzherald.co.nz