A woman whose two children were killed with their father in a crash between a car and a truck in Waikato on January 3 wants their funeral to be "a fun and bright celebration".
Kylie Nicholas, of Pirongia, said her 10-year-old daughter Jaiden and seven-year-old son Kade loved life, had many friends and their funeral should be about celebrating that.
Tia Nicholas, 3, survived the accident while the children's father, Justin Paul Nicholas, 34, died. His cremation has taken place.
Tia will remain in hospital for up to six weeks.
The three Nicholas deaths were among 24 people killed during the provisional Christmas/New Year period.
Yesterday police national headquarters senior media adviser Grant Ogilvie told NZPA the holiday road toll was still provisional and more people could yet die from injuries they received from accidents that happened between 4pm on Christmas Eve and 6am on January 5.
Mrs Nicholas said Jaiden loved jazz and hip-hop dancing. Her passion was the Hannah Montana television series on the Disney Channel.
"Her bedroom is covered with Hannah Montana. There's nothing that isn't Hannah Montana." Jaiden also loved music and was a "little social butterfly".
"Our house is always full of girls her age. The house is like a railway station. She has a huge amount of friends."
Mrs Nicholas said Kade was always smiling, always happy and not a rough and tumble type of boy.
"He's sensitive and kind. He loves reading, writing poems and stories.
"I'd go and have a shower and he would have written 'I love you' and put it on my dressing table."
She said she wanted their funeral on Saturday to be just about the children and all their friends.
"The day will be about celebrating them - having their favourite songs.
"If people want to come and say goodbye to Jaiden and Kade before Saturday they are welcome. The house will be open so they can say goodbye," said Mrs Nicholas.
She said that Tia's six-week stay in hospital was in some ways going to be good.
"I don't have to go home because I don't want to go home by myself. In five seconds my world changed forever. My main focus is getting through this week, then getting Tia well and then going home.
"Then it's going to be the changes, the things you don't think of. At the moment, it's still a bit unreal. I've cried non-stop. I'm on kind of a roller coaster ride," she said.
Mrs Nicholas said she was not the only one suffering.
"It is just totally mind boggling on what a grand scale this affects everybody. It's the ripple affect.
"I'm trying not to be absorbed in my own self ... in the beginning, it was 'look at me, look at me and Tia' and as I've looked around me, it's not all about me.
"It's about their little friends, it's about the truck driver and the people that came and got them. It's just huge. The talking helps (me). It's nice to feel those human feelings again, it's not fair."
Mrs Nicholas described Tia as incredibly brave.
"She's very responsible, wise beyond her years."
Mrs Nicholas had not seen Tia's car seat, which disintegrated at the scene.
"That's the only reason she survived because of the car seat. She had room to move, she wasn't a solid structure."
The funeral is at Pirongia School hall at 11am on Saturday. The school's PTA is looking after the catering.
Mrs Nicholas said media were welcome to attend but asked they keep a respectful distance.
