For the past three years, branches of the Caffell family have been meeting at the Pounawea Motor Camp for Christmas.
Glenys Mitchell, from Dunedin, said it was family tradition that brought them all together.
"Our parents brought us here as kids, and we've come back. Now our kids are bringing their kids."
Twenty members of the family were at Pounawea this year, and Mrs Mitchell believed the best thing about the site was the peace and tranquillity.
"It's a very restful holiday," she said.
Christmas dinner for the family was also very traditional, with turkey, mutton, ham, salad, new potatoes, and desserts including pavlova, cheesecake, trifles and jellies.
"We all brought something to contribute, and Roger slaved over a hot stove all day yesterday cooking the meat," she said.
The family agreed they were all spoiled by Santa, with some of the favourite presents being puzzles and "smelly things".
Glenn Maxwell, owner of the Pounawea Motor Camp, expected it to be fully booked over the New Year period.
"We have a predominantly Kiwi clientele, and we encourage a family atmosphere," he said.
Wanaka's community Christmas dinner was a festive and family affair yesterday with the organisers, the Perry family, using it an opportunity to say thank you and farewell to the town they have lived in for four years.
Barbara Perry was the foundation principal of Holy Family School in Wanaka, which opened at the beginning of 2006.
She will take up a new position as principal of Our Lady of Victory school in Christchurch next year.
"We just thought [organising the dinner] was a nice way to serve the community and say thank you for all the support we have had," she said.
The dinner is hosted by Wanaka Combined Churches and up to 40 volunteers every year and attracts hordes of hungry backpackers and Christmas Day "orphans".
• More than 100 people from all over the world celebrated a traditional New Zealand Christmas in Alexandra yesterday, at the town's 10th annual community Christmas dinner.
For some, it was their first taste of a Kiwi Christmas, while others returned to enjoy the annual event as in previous years.
Central Otago mayor Malcolm Macpherson and his wife Susan attended the festivities at the Alexandra Bowling Club rooms, which started at midday with music from bagpipers, violinists, and pianists.
Roast chicken, hot ham, new potatoes, peas, carrots, roast pumpkin, and kumara made up the main course, followed by pavlova, fruit salad, and sticky date pudding with toffee sauce for dessert.
Organiser Jeanette Miller, of Alexandra, started the community dinner ten years ago with her late husband.
Yesterday, she said it was great to see everyone enjoying themselves.
• For German tourist Linda Reuning, Christmas in New Zealand did not feel like Christmas.
It was too warm.
Ms Reuning (23) said her family in northwest Germany would be celebrating Christmas with snow on the ground and a temperature of about zero - a far cry from yesterday morning in Oamaru, when it was 24degC.
Ms Reuning, who is in New Zealand for six months, and fellow German Hannah Buecker (20) - the pair met in Napier - arrived in Oamaru on Christmas Eve and celebrated Christmas, as was German custom, that day.
They were staying at Old Bones Backpackers, on the coast just south of Oamaru, and it was "definitely the best place" to stay for Christmas, she said.
They enjoyed a meal of lasagne on Christmas Eve, went to the beach which was very special, as Ms Reuning had never been to the beach at Christmas, and enjoyed a "beautiful" sunset.
Yesterday, she was planning to "just hang around and read and relax".
Despite more than 70 guests coming to dinner, there was also a relaxed atmosphere at the Orwell Street Chapel yesterday morning as volunteers prepared a massive community Christmas dinner.
A free dinner was held for the second year and numbers had swelled from last year's inaugural event.
The menu included turkey, ham, chicken, venison, pavlova, jelly and steamed pudding.
"How often do you get to share Christmas with people who start out strangers and end up being friends?" Pastor Tony Dudley asked.
People at the dinner were not just those in need, but also included families who wanted their children to help and serve others, and he was delighted with the support for the event.
