Santa a big hit in Tauranga Christmas Parade

Thousands of families and festive fans lined the streets of central Tauranga and the Western Bay today to take part in this year's Christmas Parades.

On Tauranga's Devonport Rd the Trustpower Christmas Parade took to the street, with Santa wowing the crowd.

The turn out to this year's city parade was so such an extent, traffic was clogged up on Cameron Rd and other key arterial routes for some time during and after the event.

Family fun continued with people bringing picnics to the waterfront area, where they were able to enjoy the sun and performance from the Little Entertainment Company.

Te Puke and Katikati also celebrated the festive season with Christmas parades in their respective towns.

Little Learners Education and Care co-owner Jason Rowntree said it was the first year the centre had entered the Tauranga parade.

"Many of the children have seen the parade and we thought we'd like the kids to have a really cool experience," he said.

Mr Rowntree designed their float, named Little Learners Little Gem, which would be a decorated van with Rudolph the reindeer on top.

The children, aged two to five, would walk behind with staff and parents.