The 96-year-old had been holed up at home to avoid Covid, but decided to spend the day out "reliving her heyday" for a special dinner with her son, Mike Hammond.
Mr Hammond said it was the first time his mother had left home since Covid hit New Zealand’s shores in 2020, and he was excited to share the festive spirit and seasonal cheer with her.
The two decided the perfect place for their first festive lunch together in 37 years would be at the Dunedin Town Hall, at the Dunedin Community Christmas dinner.
"It’s a great thrill. My mother used to be a ballroom dancer and she danced right here in this hall in the 1940s," Mr Hammond said.
"I won’t dance but I like the music," Mrs Hammond said.
The dinner is an annual event on Christmas Day hosted by Acts of Kindness Charitable Trust so that anyone spending Christmas alone has someone to spend it with.
Mr Hammond was thrilled with the decision to come out for lunch, as it was the first time his mother had seen the city centre since lockdown.
"I could not believe it, I thought we’d gone back in time," she said.
It had been three years since she had walked down George St and was delighted at how it now looked, Mrs Hammond said.
Throughout their lifetime the two had travelled all over the world together, but Mr Hammond thought spending a family day in the city his mother had grown up in was "just perfect".
"We’ve got quite a few volunteers overseas — a uni student from London, a family of four from California — spending their time helping."
It was the eighth Christmas the trust had hosted at the town hall, and hundreds of people had turned up for their free meal, she said.
Ms Hardy and her husband decided to start the seasonal event when another charity Christmas dinner across the city closed down.
"I said we need to have somewhere for people to be on Christmas.
"We don’t want to have people at home alone."
The 2021 dinner had to be cancelled "for obvious reasons" as Covid restrictions had disrupted plans, she said.
"We missed it last year, so it was weird for our family to be home at Christmas. It was so not normal."
Dinner was a choice of roast chicken or lamb, seasonal vegetables and potatoes and a vegetarian option by request.
For dessert was plum pudding with custard, pavlova, cream and fruit salad.
