Generous ladies raise $1201

Part of the big crowd which turned out for the cheer-assisting night enjoyed a lively Christmas cooking display by celebrity chef Jax Hamilton.

The 900 ladies who went along to the Mitre 10 Ladies Night in Napier on Wednesday were able to boost their DIY skills as well as give the 2014 Christmas Cheer Appeal a major boost in terms of the cash fund.

"It was a great night - very successful," Mitre 10 marketing manager Kerry Meehan said.

"We knew the result was going to be good when the Christmas Cheer ladies picked the buckets up at the end of the night," she said.

"They sounded pretty full."

Those who attended were asked for a gold coin donation which would go to the cheer appeal, and after a count-up was carried out yesterday morning the sum of $1201 was banked.

"Really, really good," Michele Glogoski from Napier City Council community development, which helps oversee the appeal, said.

"They give it a great boost every year - wonderful stuff."

A $100 anonymous donation which came into the Napier office of Hawke's Bay Today and a $40 anonymous donation from a customer at Paper Plus in Taradale (one of the appeal collection points) also pushed the fund along.

As well as gold coin donations many of those arriving for the Ladies Night dropped off gifts and toys.

The Napier and Hastings branches of Mitre 10 will keep the gift bins open until the end of the appeal on December 15, as well as operate donation tins at the check-outs.

Meanwhile, the gift pile at Familyworks in Hastings (the other agency helping steer the appeal) got a boost after Amanda, from the Hastings District Council, arrived with an armful of gifts, games and goodies.

Goodies have also begun arriving in the Napier and Hastings offices of Hawke's Bay Today where the sparkling Christmas trees have been set up.

This year's appeal will benefit about 950 Napier and Hastings families.