Preparations are well under way for Tauranga's free Christmas dinner.

The event, in its 29^th year, provides a Christmas meal to people from all walks of life.

'This is the 29^th year that St Peters have hosted a dinner for the city and we are very excited about how well things are coming together,” says senior minister at St Peters, Simon Mcleay.

'We love to partner with people in the community to provide this mean for those who might otherwise miss out on a Christmas day meal.

'We usually see single older people, families, young people and people without a home joining us for a couple of carols and a lovely dinner from 5pm on Christmas day.

'We usually see about 200 people join us and our team of about 90 volunteers,” says Simon.