Santa is set to gift most of the country with the one thing that we’ve all been hoping for – glorious sunshine and ‘typical’ summer conditions.

But the Christmas Grinch might also appear later in the day, with isolated showers for some parts in the afternoon.

Christmas Day brings mostly fine conditions for the North Island - including the Auckland, Northland and Waikato regions - with a few isolated showers possible, mainly inland.

Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, and the Wairarapa may see some scattered showers in the afternoon but these will pass in the evening.

A mix of fine spells and afternoon and early evening showers are expected for the South Island, especially inland.

Marlborough, inland Otago and Southland may see scattered showers with a chance of them becoming heavy and thundery in the afternoon, especially for the Otago region.

Everywhere in the country is set to creep above 20C during the day.

 “The best weather can be found in coastal areas, so if people are packing for a classic Kiwi Christmas on the beach, they should make sure they’ve got their hats and sunscreen along with their pavlova,” MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker said.

“There’s a risk that some of those showers will be heavy and thundery so people are advised to check the most up-to-date forecasts for their area on the MetService website.”

This is due to a low-pressure system sitting off the east of New Zealand.

Boxing Day race-goers are in for a treat, especially in the North Island with mostly fine conditions. There may be a chance of some isolated afternoon and evening showers, again especially inland.

The South Island will experience some cloud in the morning with isolated showers developing, especially in the afternoon.

Niwa is predicting the weather to progressively get more hot and humid over the holiday period, especially after Boxing Day, which will affect coastal sea temperatures.

Our coastal waters are already running warmer than normal with temperatures forecast to increase over the coming week. Warmer waters mean coastal places can stay warmer overnight but it also provides more moisture for those afternoon showers to pop up, MetService says.