A Note From Ms. Kate:
I have whānau (lifelong friends who are part of my chosen family) in Aotearoa (New Zealand) so I’ve had the pleasure of visiting twice. Both times in January, a cold and bleak month here in Ontario and mid-summer in Aotearoa.
I enjoyed lounging on beaches when I’d normally have been braving icy roads to get to the reference desk. January also meant relics of Christmastime. Some decorations were still up including detailed holiday scenes wholly unlike what I was used to seeing in North America.
Unfortunately, I would not meet my amazing Solidarity teammate, Anne, until 2020 so while I’ve spent time in her beautiful country, I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her in person despite our close working relationship. I’m forever grateful that the internet has connected us across the world and I hope someday our amazing team will get to meet in person. I’m privileged to work with some of the most amazing, kind, and thoughtful folks I’ve ever known.
In Solidarity,
Kate (she/they)
Founder and Director, Storytime Solidarity
by Auntie Anne, Tāmaki Makaurau Aotearoa.
Meri Kirihimete e hoa ma!
It’s time for sunshine and whānau!
For barbeques and beaches.
Welcome to Christmas in Aotearoa New Zealand (with a side order of Australia.)
Many things will seem familiar to our northern hemisphere whānau, others…. well, not so much!
The best explanation is the video from How to Dad.
Christmas can mean sunshine.
It can mean community.
It can mean family.
It can mean fun.
It can mean drought.
It can mean flood.
It can mean hardship.
And all of those aspects are covered in the books below.
The books have been divided into loose categories.
Interspersed with the books are photos from my Christmases past.
Serious / Solemn reads:
- COWSHED CHRISTMAS by Joy Cowley and Gavin Bishop.
- WOMBAT DIVINE by Mem Fox and Kerry Argent.
- HETTIE’S CHRISTMAS GIFT by Bernice Screech and Rita Parkinson.
- SARAH’S TWO NATIVITIES by Janine Fraser and Helen Magisson.
- THE CHRISTMAS CARAVAN by Jennifer Beck and Robyn Belton.
Mine and my siblings’ feet during Christmas lunch last year, while one of us was isolating.
Based on a Christmas song:
- A PŪKEKO IN A PONGA TREE by Kingi M. Ihaka and Dick Frizzell.
- GRANNY MCFLITTER: A KNIT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Heather Haylock and Lael Chisholm.
- THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS ISLAND by Teresa Lagrange.
Me in, approximately, 1979 with a mall Santa.
(Now, in 2023, my ex is a Santa in the same mall. The one that opened the day I was born. And the same mall my grandad used to Santa, when my older siblings were little – and there are photos of them with him, to prove it.)
Summertime Christmas:
- CHRISTMAS IN SUMMER by Suzy Cato, Itty Bitty Beats and, Carla Martell.
- BLUE, BLUE SUMMER by Anna Coddington and Story Hemi-Morehouse.
- CHRISTMAS DAYS IN THE SUNSHINE by Byll Stephen, Beth Stephen, and Simon Howe.
- CHRISTMAS WONDER DOWN UNDER by Vikki Conley and Cheryl Orsini.
- SANTA’S WORST CHRISTMAS by Huia Publishers and Isobel Joy Te Aho-White.
A pōhutukawa in bloom – Aotearoa’s Christmas tree. This photo was taken in my driveway in December 2023.
Christmas always comes:
- THE TROLLEY by Patricia Grace and Kerry Gemmill.
- THE LITTLE YELLOW DIGGER SAVES CHRISTMAS by Peter Gilderdale and Fifi Colston.
- ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS RAIN by Cori Brooke and Megan Forward.
- CHRISTMAS ALWAYS COMES by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley.
My Christmas Day family in 1978, having a picnic on the shores of a nearby creek. I’m sitting between my Dad, and a family friend – whose nearly-two-month old is in the pram on the side. My sister is 8.5 months pregnant, with her husband beside her. There’s a kite in the foreground – pretty sure Dad and my sibling will be flying that any time soon.
Christmas traditions and family:
- NANNY MIHI’S CHRISTMAS by Melanie Drewery and Tracy Duncan.
- PAVLOVA & PRESENTS by John Parker and Linda McClelland.
- FIRE TRUCK SANTA by Nic McPickle and Nathaniel Eckstrom.
- THE BOXING DAY TEST by Sharon Whillis and John Bennett.
The fire truck Santa is a tradition in parts of Aotearoa New Zealand, too. The Santa run usually doubles as a fund-raiser, as these are volunteer fire stations.
Christmas animals:
- SLINKY MALINKI’S CHRISTMAS CRACKERS by Lynley Dodd.
- CHRISTMAS WOMBAT by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley.
- MY MERRY CHRISTMAS by Rosie Smith and Bruce Whatley.
- LITTLE PUGGLE’S CHRISTMAS by Vikki Conley and Helen Magisson.
- BIN CHICKEN AND THE CHRISTMAS TURKEY by Jol Temple, Kate Temple, and Ronojoy Ghosh.
Me and Ralph in 1974 and today.
Particularly - and peculiarly - Aotearoa traditions:
It wasn’t really Christmas, unless you’d been to a local Santa parade. This is us in 1982.
And, it really wasn’t a Santa parade, unless there was a pipe band in it.
You know it’s Christmas when this obscure (to the rest of the world) Christmas song rules the airwaves.
