A Kiwi Christmas with a Difference: Local Stories, Reo Māori, and the Gift of Reading

This Christmas, Kiwi Christmas Books is calling on New Zealanders to give a gift that lasts far beyond the holidays: a brand-new book, written and illustrated here at home.

The children’s book-gifting charity — which has donated more than 54,000 books to families in need since its inception — launches its annual campaign on November 1st. Donations will ensure that children in refuges, hospitals, transitional housing, foster care and other community support services will each receive a brand-new book of their own this Christmas.

“Reading stories set in our own streets, forests and farms shows Kiwi kids that their lives, their voices and their communities matter,” says Kiwi Christmas Books founder Sonya Wilson. “It builds pride, belonging and identity, and it helps children fall in love with reading because they recognise themselves and their experiences in the stories.”

The initiative also supports local booksellers, writers, illustrators and publishers — industries facing huge pressure in the current economic climate. “Our independent bookshops are doing it tough, but they’re essential to our cultural life,” Wilson says. “By buying a book from your local bookshop for Kiwi Christmas Books, you’re helping a child in need and also keeping the doors open at the very shops that bring stories into our communities. It’s never been more important to buy local, read local, and support local. You’re supporting not only a child in need, but the whole creative ecosystem. It’s a win-win.”

This Christmas, the charity is particularly keen to receive donations of children’s books featuring reo Māori, which are consistently popular with the organisations they work with. “These books not only support literacy but also reinforce cultural identity and belonging, giving tamariki the joy of seeing their language and heritage celebrated in stories,” Wilson says.

For families in hardship, a Kiwi Christmas Books book is sometimes the only gift their child receives. For many children, it’s their first-ever book.

Auckland City Mission’s Kelly O’Hara told the charity, “For some whānau, the books were the core present their children received for Christmas. Being able to choose a book that suited their child brought dignity, excitement, and a sense of self-worth. The literacy and educational benefits cannot be overestimated either. It was a privilege to be able to connect whānau with this wonderful campaign.”

This sentiment is echoed by many of the 47 charities across New Zealand that Kiwi Christmas Books supported with books last year. Fiona Parrant from Birthright Hawke’s Bay Child and Family Care Trust said, “The smiles on their faces when they open their book are priceless. Some tamariki have never had their 'own' book. It's a gift, it’s knowledge, it's their own taonga, a book nurtures their imagination, supports their learning, and shows them they are valued and not forgotten.”

The Kiwi Christmas Books campaign has grown from its grassroots beginnings in Auckland to a nationwide effort involving dozens of bookstores, schools, and workplaces. Last year alone, 11,411 brand-new books were donated in 38 different towns and cities, reaching children in hospitals, refuges, refugee centres and families facing hardship in the wider community.

“Books are small gifts that carry big meaning,” says Wilson. “They create joy at Christmas, strengthen literacy, and remind children they are seen and valued. And when those books are written and published here in Aotearoa, they carry an even greater magic — they tell our stories.”

“Times are tough for so many Kiwi families. The right book at the right time can be life-changing. Books create moments of connection, imagination and joy — the very things Christmas should be about.”

The Kiwi Christmas Books campaign runs from 1 November – 10 December 2025.

How to help

• Donate a new children’s book through participating bookstores, schools or workplaces.

• Or donate directly via the website: www.kiwichristmasbooks.org.nz

For a full list of participating bookstores, charities and recipients, visit the website.