It's not just humans who get the gift of Christmas. Santa has made an early gift drop-off at Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park.
Much like children on Christmas morning, zoo animals also rush straight to the presents.
Mrs Claus was on hand too, making sure it was a safe delivery of the special snacks.
Across the park, it was the gorillas' turn to receive some treats. The Newshub camera operator even caught a glimpse of 'Santa' laying out the final touches.
"Yeah that's right we have Christmas a day early," Orana Wildlife Park's Nathan Hawke said.
It didn't take long for the gorillas to find their loot and just as soon as it was found - it was gone.
"I guess their little extra is something different to what we might expect, ice blocks with vegetables in them may not be our go-to but our animals love that," Hawke said.
There was slight drama though when a present for one gorilla fell into the hands of the other.
The giraffes were feeding off the festivities too and the volunteers also revelled in the joy.
"I'm all dressed up because it's Christmas Eve! And I intend to wear these tonight when I go to a party and then I'm going to wear them to church," one volunteer said.
The tallest mammals on earth were more than happy to play along.
"I think it's really cool especially because they don't know it's Christmas so they think they're just getting spoilt today," one person said.
Another said it's good because it means "spending time with the family for Christmas".
The festive season brings all shapes and sizes of the animal kingdom together.
"We've also seen year after year a few families have made it a tradition so we're seeing some same families that are coming," an Orana Wildlife Park employee said.
For a taste of a Kiwi Christmas feast of a different kind and a day early.
