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While most kids are counting down the days to Christmas for presents and beach time, 12-year-old Max Smith has found another way to spend his summer – collecting discarded Christmas trees to raise money for charity and his future dreams.
Although Max lives in Auckland, he says Mangawhai is his favourite place in the world.
He and his family have spent every holiday and most weekends here for the past five years, soaking up everything the community has to offer.
“We love Mangawhai a lot,” he says. “I enjoy going to the beach, the markets, biking and MAZ. This year I started kayaking in the estuary.”
It was that sense of belonging that sparked his idea.
“I was thinking of a way I can help out the community, as well as earning some money,” Max says.
From that simple thought came a festive initiative – collecting people’s old Christmas trees for $20 each, any size, as long as it’s “not crazy big!” He and his dad will pick them up, and Max will take them to green waste for proper disposal.
But the budding entrepreneur isn’t keeping all the proceeds for himself. Max has decided to donate a portion to the SPCA.
“I thought it would be nice to help out the animals in need,” he says.
The rest of the money is going towards an ambition far bigger than his years. Max dreams of becoming a pilot and flying for Lufthansa one day.
To help get there, he has started teaching himself German using the Duolingo app, but the premium version comes with a price tag.
“The paid version has lots of features to help me learn, but it is expensive,” he says.
Christmas this year will be a full family affair, with relatives travelling from Australia, Wellington and Christchurch to Mangawhai.
“I can’t wait to show them Mangawhai,” Max says.
As for presents, he’s not hoping for toys – just a little support for his German lessons.
Before signing off, Max shared a heartfelt thank-you.
“Thank you to my Dad who will drive me around to collect the trees and to my Mum who helped me make the flyer and posted it on Facebook. And Merry Christmas Mangawhai. Thank you for this opportunity.”
