Skip to content
All articles

A Christmas tree made of 400 peggy squares

Christmas is one of the busiest and happiest times at Real Living. Residents and staff are very busy preparing for the magic season, putting up decorations, making homemade wreaths and covering the villages in tinsel and garlands.

A group of resident volunteers have been decorating all the Christmas trees at Pakuranga Park.

At Pakuranga Park Christmas kicked off a few months ago, when the residents started knitting hundreds of peggy squares to create a unique Christmas tree to decorate the Lounge. The impressive tree was assembled last week; it has 400 squares and it’s 2.7 metres high, so it almost touches the Lounge’s ceiling!

The tree has pride of place in the Lodge lounge and is admired by all.

The talent and creativity of our residents always shines at this time of the year. At Pakuranga Park the annual Christmas market had a vast display of homemade goodies and yummy treats. Residents and visitors alike had the opportunity to browse stalls with gorgeous jewellery, retro candles, hand-crafted kauri artefacts, fruit cakes and handknitted gifts.

Epsom Village also held a very successful market with shortbread, muffins, jams, pickles, unique decorations and homemade Christmas cards. One of the most impressive stalls was the one with wood artifacts. David is a very talented resident who every day spends hours in the village’s workshop creating stunning wood pieces such as ornamental vases, old-fashioned toys and novelty gifts.

The Chinese ball is one of David’s favourite creations, a concentric sphere that took him around 20 hours to finish.

David is also the designer of Epsom Village’s original Christmas trees, that are being decorated this week. At Real Living we love this time of the year, when staff and residents come together as a big family to celebrate the magic season. The organisation of the Christmas dinner is in full swing with most residents having already registered to participate in one of the most important events of the year.

If you’d like to know more about joining our community contact Syvlie on 027 314 5767 or email sylvie.borrett@realliving.co.nz

Latest articles

All News
Epsom Village hits the airwaves with The Breeze
News
News
01 October 2025

Epsom Village hits the airwaves with The Breeze

Who caught yesterday’s interview on The Breeze with Epsom Village? Robert and Jeanette had a lovely chat with our Village Manager, Lillian, and our superstar maintenance officer, Les. Les was featured in the Unsung Heroes segment of the programme, recognised for everything he does for our residents at Epsom Village and for always going above and beyond in his role. If you missed the programme, don’t worry — we’ve put it all together here for you to enjoy.
Read more
Excellence in Care
Remuera Gardens
News
Remuera Gardens
News
29 September 2025

Excellence in Care

Congratulations to the team at Remuera Gardens! We’re proud to share that our care facility, Kensington House at Remuera Gardens, has been selected as a finalist in the Excellence in Care Awards 2025 – Innovative Delivery Award. Our Holistic Dance Exercise Programme has earned this recognition, with the winner announced at the NZACA Conference, 29–30 October in Christchurch.
Read more
Pakuranga Park: 40 Years of Real Living
Pakuranga Park
News
Pakuranga Park
News
18 September 2025

Pakuranga Park: 40 Years of Real Living

Can you believe this is what Pakuranga Park looked like 40 years ago? Back in 1985, the idea of a ‘retirement village’ in New Zealand was still groundbreaking. Today, Pakuranga Park is a close-knit community of 400 residents, where staff know everyone by name. Guided by the values of Caring, Integrity, Gratitude, and Community, our team creates a village where life feels rewarding and truly connected.
Read more