Christmas Day is all about family and in Christchurch, one Driving Miss Daisy driver was determined to make sure nobody missed out on Christmas dinner with their whānau.
One group of passengers Anne Williams ferried across the city in time for lunch were five women using wheelchairs.
“I have done this for the last two or three Xmas days and it’s fun… they get out to see their families. Normally, their families would have to come to them,” Williams told 1News.
Another set of passengers was 89-year-old Lindsay Green and his wife Marie.
“Anne knows we appreciate her looking after us,” he said. “I’m sitting in this chair day after day so it’s great being able to get out in the fresh air and appreciate being with the family.”
Williams drove the couple to their family in Halswell, where they were greeted with hugs by three generations of their family.
“To have family around on this day is important. This is where all those special memories come from,” their grandson Kahu Luke said.
Another was Marilyn Gilroy, who was whisked to her family in St Albans.
“We’ve got 10 for Christmas and we’ve got five dogs so it’s quite chaotic, but fantastic to share it with everyone,” Gilroy’s daughter Jacqueline Spencer-Macleod said.
Williams said: “It makes you feel as if you’ve done something for them.”