The festive season has well and truly arrived for one lucky Christchurch couple after winning a cool $1 million in Lotto First Division on Wednesday.

The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, were channelling the holiday spirit when they discovered the “life-changing” news.

“We were watching a Christmas movie and forgot about the draw,” the woman said. “It wasn’t until around 9.30 pm when we saw in the news that someone from Christchurch had won First Division.”

“We thought we may as well check our ticket, so we logged into MyLotto and couldn’t believe it when all our numbers started lining up.

“My heart was racing! It said we were a Major Winner, and when we saw we’d won $1 million, he started screaming and I burst into laughter,” the woman said.

“We kept replaying the draw – we must have replayed it about ten times!”

With their minds racing about the future and newfound win, the couple “went to bed a lot later than usual,” the woman said.

“My husband couldn’t sleep, but I slept like a baby knowing we’d won!” she laughed.

The next day, the news fully sunk in when the couple saw an email from Lotto NZ confirming they were New Zealand’s latest millionaires.

“That made it feel real. We’re back at work, but it’s hard to concentrate,” the woman admitted.

While the couple said the win has meant “Christmas has come early,” they are focused on helping others.

“We can’t wait to help our families. This will set us up well for the future,” the woman said.

In the meantime, the couple plan to celebrate with champagne and takeaways.

The winning Lotto First Division ticket was sold on MyLotto for the draw on Wednesday 6 December 2023.