It might be all about Santa at this time of year, but Harold the Giraffe gave the big guy in red a run for his money this weekend.
The Life Education Trust mascot made a guest appearance at a special fundraiser for the organisation held by The Fat Dog Cafe.
The popular local cafe donated all of its proceeds on Saturday from 7am to 3pm to the organisation, with staff working for free.
The fundraiser has been going for about four years and this year raised about $4000 for the charitable organisation.
Trust chairman Russell Hallam said they were grateful for the support of the cafe.
With the programme costing about $120,000 a year to run in Rotorua, Mr Hallam said fundraisers like this were crucial to helping make sure local children could go through the programme.
While money goes into a pool of operating costs, they were preparing to update the technology in the mobile classroom to take it "into the third age". Fat Dog manager Martin Kroese said he was pleased with how the day went.
Mr Kroese said one of the best aspects of supporting the Life Education Trust was that all the money stayed local. The trust is a charity organisation which provides children with the knowledge to make informed choices about their health, to respect others and learn to appreciate their uniqueness.