Santa thrills kids on harbour cruise

Christmas is tough for some families.

That’s why The Red Boats owner-operators Andrew and Dannielle Somers hatched a plan to put some joy back into the festive season for those who might need a bit of cheering up.

They’ve just held their second Christmas Cruise in conjunction with the Mad Butcher and Suburban Newspapers Community Trust – a fundraising arm of Fairfax Media and the Central Leader. Nearly 30 children from all over Auckland and their caregivers enjoyed a few hours on the harbour on Sunday – all free.

There were smiles everywhere when Santa arrived, via the police launch Deodar, to hand out trustdonated goodie bags.

Each child got a $200 gift voucher, tickets to the movies, a sunhat, books and more.

There were also double passes to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer – courtesy of the Bruce Mason Centre, as well as a Santa hat, balloons and candy canes from the Warehouse Albany.

‘‘People were blown away by what was in those bags,’’ Andrew says.

‘‘Some of the mums got quite emotional.

‘‘Christmas is a happy time of the year for most people – but that’s not necessarily the case for everyone and these kids have had a difficult year for various reasons. But they really did all have a fantastic time and it was great to see them all so happy.’’

Trust chairman David Penny says the day wrapped up another big year for the organisation that also raised $250,000 for the Kidz First Children’s Hospital in May.

‘‘This is exactly the kind of cause we love to get behind,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s a family kind of thing for us – these kids are the faces of our communities across Auckland and among the many thousands of readers who enjoy our papers every week. It’s great to be able to give something back.’’