No matter where you look these days, there is doom and gloom. . . the tech sector is haemorrhaging people, travel fears are crippling airlines and the tourist trade, and the general economic slowdown is holding back consumer confidence. It's nice to see that children's entertainment is still a booming sector.

Goffs in Kildare is hosting Santa's kingdom from the end of this month. Tickets for the event range from £12.75 to £22.50. With the waning of the Celtic Tiger, The Margin thought the show might have had difficulty meeting its target at those prices. No chance.

In less than two weeks, the organisers have sold every ticket for the event, which runs for more than three weeks. Who says times are hard?