It didn’t take me long to find my first indication of the season. A few doors down from our offices on Gloucester St, I found a Christmas tree in the window of the new library.
It was a great start, but across the road my cheer was dented by the ragged black fences around the Crowne Plaza quarantine hotel. Ho ho Covid.
My journey continued into Victoria Square, where we found banners on the lampposts featuring cheerful baubles, and then down Oxford Terrace, where rain-sodden bunting guided us to Cashel Mall.
ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff
Stuff reporter Charlie Gates went in search of festive cheer in Christchurch city centre. He was underwhelmed.