6 Dec 2023
Ho ho holiday fun
Throughout December there’ll be free activities and entertainment here at the airport to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year… Christmas!
Festive fun
- Breaking news, Santa has just lodged flight plans for a series of special visits to Christchurch Airport! From Monday 18th to Christmas Eve, Santa and his elves will be dropping by to say ho-ho-hello and give out treats. Make sure you snap a photo with them before they head back to the North Pole! Check out Santa's schedule on our events page.
- Fancy some arts and crafts? Pop by our Christmas craft station in the Food Court on Level One where kids can decorate their very own bauble decoration (perfect to pop on your tree at home or gift to someone special!).
- While you’re at the craft station, make sure your little ones enter our postcard colouring competition. Once they’ve coloured in to their heart’s content, they can pop their postcard in Santa’s mailbox to be in to win LEGO® or DUPLO® from Relay!
- Let Santa’s elves transform your little one (how about a reindeer, elf or fairy?!) with free festive face painting.
- It isn't Christmas without carols and this year The Vocal Collective will serenade us with all your festive favourites on Friday 22rd 12-12.30pm. Plus we'll also have other groups performing that week. Check out our events page for all the details.
- O Christmas Tree! Take a family photo in front of Christchurch’s largest Christmas tree! This towering tree is just outside the terminal and looks gorgeous sparkling at night. See if you can get your whole family, the tree and the Airways air traffic control tower in the photo.
Travelling with kids this holiday season? We have loads of other fun things to keep them entertained. Here’s the definitive guide to kid friendly fun at the airport this summer.
Little creators
- Grab a free Mini Explorer Passport Activity Book and a pack of colouring pencils from one of our information desks. They’re designed to keep kids busy with colouring-in pages, fun facts and even a postcard to send to friends and family around the world.
Games and puzzles
- Discover fun on a whole new scale. Challenge the kids to a game of giant chess or keep them busy with the giant Canterbury Planes puzzle, located at Domestic Arrivals.
- Kids bouncing off the walls? Channel that youthful energy into a ping pong battle. Our tables are free to use and you’ll find them just outside the terminal. Perfect for a summer’s day.
Explore and discover
- Flying internationally? Check out our brand new Parent Room in International Departures complete with play area, change tables, private feeding rooms, microwaves and junior toilet.
- Like colouring in? Get creative on our colouring wall. Complete with all things quintessentially Ōtautahi Christchurch, Kiwi and our airport, you'll find it in the Food Court on Level One.
- Experience art in a whole new dimension. Simply download the 'Plain Sight' app and head up to our Canterbury mural at Gate 15 or Orange-Fronted Parakeet mural under the Express Park building. View the murals through the app and see elements come to life before your eyes.
- Play with light and sound in the interactive Antarctic Walkway. Located outside Door 9, sensors throughout the walkway transform real life movement into light and sound. It’s fun all day and especially dazzling at night.
- Find all the ‘mini-me’s’ – our collection of bollards dressed up as various characters. From firefighters to pilots to All Blacks, kids love spotting them and guessing what they are. Located outside Doors 2 and 7.
- The sky is a busy place. Check out all the planes that are in the air around the world on the live flight radar, located in the Digital Innovation Zone on the first floor, near Domestic Arrivals.
Meri Kirihimete and happy travels!
