A free Christmas dinner is being planned in Oamaru again this year after the inaugural event last year proved successful, with 15 volunteers putting on a repast for 35 people.
"Kai Time" is being organised by the Orwell Street Chapel, starting at 11.45am on Christmas Day.
Pastor Tony Dudley said the dinner was being offered to those who struggled to cope with Christmas, and already people were volunteering to help.
"Everyone wants Christmas to be meaningful but instead it's just shop, shop, shop.
"Christmas, once a celebration of the birth of Jesus, is now the season to look for the best deal, credit cards overdrawn and `to do' lists that never get done," he said.
Some people were just glad to survive it.
Kai Time was a "time out" for those who struggled to meet those demands, the forgotten and the lonely, he said.
Offers of help could be made to Orwell Street Chapel.
