PM Jacinda Arden reveals how she tackles Christmas shopping: 'I’ve done a last-minute rush'

With just a couple more weeks until Christmas Day, Kiwis are busy shopping for gifts and making plans with family.

It turns out it’s no different for New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

She caught up with Blair Dowling and share how she’s fairing in the lead-up to the festive day.

When asked if the leader of Aotearoa is able to sneak out to Kmart in her PJs for some last-minute Christmas shopping like the rest of us, Jacinda revealed that her shopping tactics are sort of similar.

"Oh, actually, you’re not far off," Jacinda told Blair.

"I love doing all the [shopping in] the lead up to Christmas myself and so that has caught me out a few times. It has meant that I’ve done a last-minute rush.

"I do Christmas just like everyone else’s," she added, "In fact, I was just scribbling my list of the things that I've got left to do. But for me, I look forward to that time of year."

As for the day itself, Jacinda says she’s looking forward to simply spending time with family.

"I like really just to do very simple things at Christmas. So we spend time with family because we get to see, our family not as often as I would like throughout the year. 

"I like to cook because that's how I relax," she continued. "I’ll spend a lot of time with Neve because that's what I feel like I miss a lot of ... and hopefully do a bit of fishing."

Blair also asked the PM to reflect back on the year that was and for Jacinda, one of the biggest highlights was experiencing Matariki - which was officially turned into a public holiday for the very first time this year.

"I remember standing, out at a lookout in Wellington, watching fireworks with a bunch of families at the end of Matariki and just seeing kids, hearing families talk about the new holiday," Jacinda recalled. 

"I felt like it was a really important moment for New Zealand."

Listen to Blair’s full interview with Prime Minister Jacinda Arden above.