Christmas is in full swing in Melton, especially with Melton Baptist Church hosting its Op Shop Senior Citizens Christmas Lunch.
For many Melton senior citizens the annual event is an opportunity to enjoy a traditional Christmas lunch, including turkey and pudding, among friends.
Event organiser Rick Dickson said the event was an outstanding success.
“We gave them a full Christmas lunch that included roast potatoes, peas, pumpkin and Christmas pudding,” said Mr Dickson. “We did all the cooking ourselves. We’ve got a young chef, his name is Jason Tan, and he cooked two large turkeys perfectly.”
The lunch was attended by 63 guests and volunteers from Bacchus Marsh Grammar school.
“We had five girls from Bacchus Marsh Grammar school who dressed up in Christmas shirts and Christmas hats,” Mr Dickson said.
“They served the food and gave out the drinks and decorated the place – they were incredible.”
The staff of the church’s op shop inspired the name of this year’s Christmas lunch.
Mr Dickson said the op shop had been going for about 14 years.
“They have raised more than $125,000 in that time,” he said.
“It is a lot of work but they are there every Tuesday and every Thursday year round.”
Woolworth’s Woodgrove supermarket provided 95 per cent of the supplies and Coles contributed a gift card.
“It was an unbelievable success,” Mr Dickson said. “There wasn’t one person that wasn’t blown away with it all.”
Joanna Catalano
