Festive flair – Ōtorohanga’s Christmas Club’s decorations
8am 12 December
This story has been updated by deleting reference to the Project Kiwiana team.
6am 11 December
He may be magic, but Santa still needs his helpers.
Ōtorohanga’s Christmas Club’s Normalyn Hughes inspects festive decorations
Normalyn Hughes is one such assistant, setting the mood for Ōtorohanga to be suitably imbued with Christmas spirit.
“I do enjoy it, we all do,” the Christmas Club’s community decorator said. “It’s just our way of spreading a little joy at this time of year.”
The club’s volunteers have been painting the town red, green and all sorts of other colours. From the Village Green and the Ed Hillary Walkway, to the Christmas trees by the kiwi at both ends of town, the group has been hanging strings of lights and boxes of ornaments.
“We’ve been putting up a lot of cut-outs of Santas and, this year, we’ve gone for Grinches too,” Hughes said. “Alan (Coxon) gives us a lot of decorations as well so we always go around and give him some of the cut-outs for Toby the Train.”
Hughes has also been instrumental in ensuring children have the opportunity to put in their orders with the man himself by setting up the Santa’s Grotto on Maniapoto Street.
“The decorations have taken us a couple of hours each night, but it’s all worthwhile,” Hughes said. “It’s part of helping to make our town a place where people can get together and enjoy the holiday season.”
Festive flair – Ōtorohanga’s Christmas Club’s decorations
