When I was small, I don’t remember my parents ever holding Santa over us at this time of year – there was never a sense that if we didn’t behave, the man in red wouldn’t deliver. Yes, he was magical and all-knowing, but it was all very positive – there was no threat of an …
Dear An Post, For twenty-five years, you’ve been organising Santa replies to letters from children all over Ireland, and for that, I thank you. It’s a kind, altruistic gesture at a time of year that thrives on kind, altruistic gestures. So this isn’t a complaint – it really isn’t. It’s more of a plea. You see, …
Before kids, I was adamant that Christmas shouldn’t start until December – the second week would be just fine thank you very much. Jingle Bells on the airwaves any earlier than that just felt wrong. Christmas was about nights out as much as nights in, about finding the perfect sparkly dress for the office party, …
We were twenty-five minutes late leaving the house. Not a good start. Dun Laoghaire to Malahide is long journey. But Sunday morning means light traffic. Or so we hoped, as we made our way towards the M50, promising the kids we’d definitely make it on time – that there was no way we’d miss their appointment with Santa. We’d …
Taking kids to visit Santa in the run up to Christmas – a tradition that’s been around since the 19th century in the States, and presumably almost as long here in Ireland. I have gorgeous memories of going to see “Santy” in Switzers in Cork in the 1980s – I can’t remember any of the …
It was going to be the best Christmas ever. We say that every year of course, and every year we mean it. But last year was definitely going to be the best Christmas ever. We had planned everything in tiny detail – not remembering any of that “if you want to make God laugh, tell him …
As an antidote to yesterday’s slightly downbeat post, here’s something more festive: five things I didn’t know about Christmas until I had kids. 1. There’s a reason kids go to bed early on Christmas Eve Before having children, I wondered about the emphasis on getting kids to bed earlier than usual on Christmas Eve – why all …
An invitation to a charity event in the Disney Store popped into my inbox – their “Share in the Magic” campaign. Children welcome. But on a Wednesday evening. A work-day, a school-night. This would be tricky. But where there’s a will there’s a way, and where there’s Mickey Mouse and a Christmas postbox and three small Disney-loving children, …