Trains, go-karts and a special visit from Santa were all part of the festivities when New Zealand King Salmon held its annual family Christmas party this December.

Mum and child on go kart

Go karts were part of the fun at the annual family Xmas party

NZ King Salmon programme manager and Christmas party organiser Simon Gutschlag says about 450 staff and family members attended the event, which was held at Tahunanui Beach’s fun park.

Party-goers were able to use the trampoline park and model trains, go-karts, bouncy castles and take part in a water fight. No Christmas party is complete without Santa, who caught a ride in a fire engine to Tahuna so he could do a lolly scramble which Simon says was “well appreciated”.

NZ King Salmon holds a Christmas party for families each year as a way to give back, and a highlight was seeing kids enjoy the party with a huge smile on their face, he says.

“Kids understand that mum or dad walk out at the door every day to work but don’t often get an appreciation of what they actually do. With this event we try to bridge that gap and show kids they should be proud of everything mum or dad does in those hours away from them.”

Salmon treats kept everyone well-fed throughout the event, which proved to be a good chance for families to literally taste the results of all the hard work put in through the year.

“I had one story relayed to me of a dad getting some food with his son and saying to him, ‘this is all dad’s work’. It’s great to have stories like that.”

Santa in front of a fire engine at the kids Xmas party

Santa and a fire engine at the family Xmas party