Today was the day of a Very Welly Christmas. And boy was the Christmas joy merry!
Along with my pal Emma from A Tale of Two Citys, we headed down to David Jones on Lambton Quay to check out what all the Festive Fuss was about. Saturday today kicked off with some dodgy weather but luckily Very Welly Christmas will be on on Sunday between 12pm and 6pm, 11 December.
The Wellington Santa Parade has been going since 1949. Although the parade only went around the Basin Reserve then, thousands of parents and children lined the footpaths to witness the Capital's first real Christmas street spectacle.
Instead of the usual Santa Parade through to Civic Square, David Jones teamed up with Wellington City Council to put on an incredible display of food, activities and Christmas musical magic focused around its store in the CBD.
The parade started at the north end of Lambton Quay and went down towards the Old Bank Arcade...
The most magical moment was when Santa Claus arrived at the entrance of the store. It was so special to see every child's face light up. It brought a bit of a tear. Not gonna lie (#extracheeseplease).
Afterwards, Emma and I hit the streets to take a few photos and grab some eats. Luckily my KowTow playsuit matched our meatballs from Meatballer!
It was incredible to see the amazing effort of Wellington City Council and DJs. I loved that it brought the Christmas spirit to the CBD, keeping it all compact so you could walk through the normally traffic covered streets on foot.
Santa Claus was up for a hug with all the children and had a marvellous parade to bring him into town...(Santa will be arriving on Sunday at 12pm).
Some of us can't help but be excited for Santa, no matter how old we are. Emma was rather chuffed we were so close - but not as chuffed about getting to grab some food! The strawberry lemonade with thyme was a highlight!
If you are in Wellington this weekend, go and check out Very Welly Christmas. It's a wonderful time, and will certainly bring out your inner child!
Surrealism at Te Papa is where it’s at this winter with these wonderful events…!