Christmas comes early with community celebration

Up to 500 people made the most of the morning sunshine and enjoyed a free family Christmas day out in Dunedin yesterday.

For the third year in a row, Nations Church held its community Christmas event at Bathgate Park School.

Zh’jaylin Marsh (8), of Dunedin, enjoyed the face painting courtesy of Annilise Dobbinson, while others checked out the free pony rides, bouncy castles and magic show.

Event organiser Rahul Prasad said they wanted to put on a fun day out for South Dunedin families before Christmas.