Family gifts its Christmas dinner to all
Hundreds of people have been fed Christmas dinner by a Palmerston North family and their friends, who every year share their lunch.
The Birch family were among a group that set up a community Christmas lunch in The Square in the centre of Palmerston North in 2010, and the family has kept the tradition going ever since.
‘‘It’s to enjoy Christmas and relax with more than just our immediate family,’’ Cheri Birch said.
‘‘People talk about having a huge full life and sharing expands your world. So this is for anyone.’’
Each year they advertise the lunch for all-comers, and get a diverse group of ages and demographics.
Regulars include a group of older men who might not be comfortable cooking Christmas dinner for themselves, and international students who don’t have family in the country, she said.
For the four Birch children, it’s the only Christmas they remember.
‘‘I just like hanging out with people and talking, and eating ham and chicken,’’ Annalena Birch, 10, said.
The meal was a simple way to do something meaningful, Cheri said.
‘‘It’s a pot luck, so the idea is to bring anything to share, but we always say ’don’t worry if you can’t’.
‘‘We can despair about how terrible the world is, but this is a small way we can make it better.’’
This year, the group enjoyed barbecued sausages, ham on the bone and chicken with salad and fruit to follow.
Debbie and Sophal Dowall joined the lunch for the first time this year. Debbie’s family are at home in Cambodia and Sophal’s are in Wellington, and with daughters who are 2 years old and 7 months they decided to stay closer to home this year.
‘‘We wanted to be with people and decided to come and hang out,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s pretty new for us to have a picnic.’’