Santa made a special visit to Waipawa last week to help spread some festive cheer among local children - and to help raise money for a good cause at the same time.
Meredith and Mark Drake, owners of Kingfisher Gifts in Waipawa, arranged for Santa to spend Thursday afternoon at their festively decorated store, where children patiently waited for a turn to sit on his knee and tell him what they wanted for Christmas, as part of an annual fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House in Auckland.
"We had drinks and nibbles throughout, loads of raffles - including a signed Black Caps shirt and a signed Magpies jersey - as well as many other raffles kindly donated by local businesses and people," said Meredith Drake.
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Along with the raffle proceeds, the couple donated 20 per cent of all sales from the store on the day to Ronald McDonald House near Auckland's Starship children's hospital - two places the family know all too well.