Have you been naughty or nice this year?
Rain postponed Santa's visit to Auckland last weekend … but if the heavens stay dry, he'll be making an appearance this weekend.
Ah, December! 'Tis the season for Christmas mince pies and terrible office parties and unseasonable rain showers … but one thing you can count on is a visit from the big guy in red – Santa Claus. Or Father Christmas. Or St. Nick. Or whatever he's being called these days.
To make up for the disappointment of the halting of poor old Santa's sleigh and the much-anticipated parade last week, here's a look back at some memories from Christmas past.
It's only right that our first clip should be set to the over-the-top cinematic strains of Also sprach Zarathustra, (let's face it, anything's better than the Casio-tone version of Jingle Bells which also features in the clip) because the Auckland Santa Parade is bigger than Ben Hur. Shot back in 1985, the parade is seen here through the eyes of seven-year-old Sally – who would now be 40 – as she experiences the parade in all its glory – floats, storybook characters and of course, the big guy in red.
Watch the FTC Farmers' Santa Parade here:
Maybe this isn't quite about Santa – but it is a Christmas-themed tale. The short film sees the debut of actor Tammy Davis (better known as Outrageous Fortune's Munter) in a South Auckland-set Christmas tale. Young Vinnie and Jonah are bored on the mean streets — tagging, BMX-ing — when Jonah peer pressures Vinnie to join him in breaking and entering a house. When they find more than Christmas pressies inside, it tests mateship, moral codes and festive spirit.
Watch Ebony Society here:
Warning! This CGI animated short may not be the best thing to show to your impressionable children. Yes, it features the Easter Bunny and Santa, but its take on festive spirit is far from cuddly. The Easter Bunny is a drug-addled embittered creature and dear old Santa could do with a visit to a tattoo removal parlour.
Watch Preferably Blue here:
The 1970s really were a wacky decade. In 1977, TV1 – there were only two channels remember – threw all its big-name stars into this Christmas variety show. Ringleaders Roger Gascoigne and Nice One Stu's Stu Dennison are joined by a cavalcade of newsreaders hiding under Santa beards. Among the loopy 70s oddities on show: Brian Edwards in school uniform, channelling The Goons; Selwyn Toogood doing an It's in the Bag sketch that would nowadays likely be deemed too un-PC to make it
to air; and a performance from madcap band Mother Goose. After watching this, you could be forgiven for thinking the eggnog might have been spiked.
Watch Will the Real Mr Claus Please Stand Up here:
Almost as beloved as Santa Claus himself, is our own Goodnight Kiwi. Though the little kiwi had been put into retirement some years earlier – in 2008, TVNZ commissioned three animated spots featuring the kiwi and his cat to celebrate Christmas that year. Auckland animator Tim Hunt was given the job of updating the originals, while still retaining the hand-drawn, 2D look. Of the three clips, this one most closely follows the original Goodnight Kiwi sign-off which ran for over a decade.
Watch the festive Goodnight Kiwi here:
In this family-friendly feature, a proper North Pole Santa does a runner to a beach in Aotearoa days before his big night of the year, fed up with bureaucracy and brats. It falls to two Kiwi kids to get him out of the southern sun, and back to global gift giving. It's got everything a classic Kiwi Christmas should have – bickering families, backyard cricket and some biosecurity hazards thrown in for good measure.
Watch the trailer for Kiwi Christmas here: