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Meri Kirihimete!
Kaiako at BestStart Pipiwai Road came together for a bit of friendly competition between the Northland centres for our Annual Christmas Grotto competition! We decided on a Kiwi Christmas theme this year, and what is more Kiwi than Santa at the beach!?!
We wanted our foyer to be exciting and interactive for our tamariki, so a small sandpit encouraged them to dig in the sand and build a sandcastle. Baskets full of decorations alongside a Christmas tree allowed whānau to contribute to our grotto competition by adding decorations to the tree.
Instead of the usual Santa's reindeer, we had Santa's sheep and his farm animals for tamariki to sit on. Tamariki loved saying hello to our inflatable Santa each morning as they grew more and more excited for Christmas!
There were so many little details that made our Kiwi Christmas special, with photos of kiwifruit, jandals, pavlova, seagulls, and hot chip sammies adorning our walls. Beach chairs, umbrellas, and balls were set out to create that relaxing "at the beach" feeling. Tamariki could also read our Kiwi Christmas book or strum the ukulele while waiting for whānau who were talking to our admin.
There is nothing more magical than seeing the excitement and wonder of Christmas through the eyes of a child. It warmed the hearts of our kaiako to see the eyes and hearts of our tamariki light up each morning as they entered our Kiwi Christmas grotto!