Christmas tech for kids: great gift ideas with safety features for parental peace of mind
It’s hard to hold back the tech tide from children forever, but there are safer options than smartphones out there
Christmas
Charlene McKenna: ‘Within three weeks, I turned 40, had my first baby and lost my father’
For the Irish actress this Christmas will be ‘incredibly bittersweet’ as she mourns the death of her dad and celebrates her much-fought-for daughter
Markets in Vienna or Christmas at The Shelbourne? 10 holiday escapes over the festive season
Shake up your usual Yuletide routine with these options, from off-grid cabins to grande dame hotels, and from lighthouses to pet-friendly retreats
Christmas TV ads 2024: Patrick Freyne on Marks & Spencer, Lidl, Boots, Amazon and more
Patrick Freyne: here are my favourite corporate psy-ops of the season – or Christmas TV ads, as I believe you call them in the suburbs
Australia is so very far from Europe and US, and yet is as deeply rooted in Anglosphere norms, customs and culture
If you’re having an out-of-body experience, pasta and cheese may not strictly fix it, but they certainly won’t do you any harm
Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point: Altmanesque seasonal comedy is a wistful riot of chatter and foods
Tyler Taormina’s Cannes contender is a trippy Yuletide vibe
Dublin Christmas lights switch on as traders nervously optimistic about business
Grafton Street set for festive season as children from Little Blue Heroes Foundation launch illuminations in city
The John Lewis Christmas ad is about shopping. Disgusting isn’t it?
John Lewis commits unforgivable sin of literally setting Christmas advert inside an actual branch of John Lewis
From enchanted forests to winter wonderlands: 12 Christmas experiences to try around Ireland
Christmas events: Helicopter rides with Santa, light displays in Dublin Zoo and Christmas markets
Gate Theatre stages classic children’s stories for Christmas: see human beans and under-the-floorboards Borrowers
Charles Way’s adaptation of Mary Norton’s stories create atmosphere of family love, adventure and discovery
Almost three-quarters of consumers expect Christmas to be more expensive this year
Slew of shoppers preparing to spend less amid hit to disposable income
The 12 savings of Christmas: When to shop (November), what to drink (not Champagne) and more
Oh come, all ye frugal, and tuck into this selection box of tips for avoiding financial distress during the festive season, from freezing your stuffing to buying the drink that’s very like champagne but much cheaper
Conor Pope calculates Christmas will cost a family of five €2,373. Here’s how it breaks down
The cost of a typical Irish Christmas for a family of five comes in at an eye-watering figure
Tesco looking to hire 1,200 temporary staff for Christmas rush
Supermarket group promises flexible hours and shift options in effort to attract festive staff for 178 stores
Simone Gannon: Four of the best beauty advent calendars
Mini packages for beauty lovers designed to be opened as a countdown to the festive season: what’s not to love?
Brendan O’Carroll apologises over ‘clumsy’ racial joke during Mrs Brown’s Boys rehearsals
BBC paused rehearsals of Christmas special over joke where ‘racial term was implied’
Tesco’s share of Christmas grocery trade rises to a quarter, highest since 2015
Like-for-like Irish sales up 5.5% for Christmas period
TV guide: 12 of the best new shows to watch
Highlights include Dancing with the Stars and a new series of Room to Improve with Dermot Bannon
Your gardening questions answered: How to compost a Christmas tree
There are several ways that you can put your old Christmas tree to good use in your garden
Pyrite: ‘I really couldn’t believe my luck when I found my dream home’
The emotional toll is clear though as she recalls how lucky she felt to purchase this house
It is so easy to disconnect, lose your bearings and yourself in these strange days and nights between Christmas and New Year
In a Word ... Sloth
Laura Kennedy: This time of year feels very familiar … and yet everything is different
In Canberra, Australia, everything except the people seems to be so much more intense than at home
Boy (6) travelling to visit grandmother for Christmas put on wrong flight
Maria Ramos’s grandson ended up in Orlando, 160 miles away from where she was waiting to meet him
Almost 1,100 children called support line over Christmas period
ISPCC reports 20% increase in number of calls to Childline between December 23rd and Christmas Day
St Stephen’s Day sales: Arnotts saves Christmas by honouring ‘massive’ discounts
Panicked bargain hunters feared missing out on discount televisions and matresses
The remains of the day: give your Christmas leftovers a lift
Turkey broth, and pea and ham soup, will stand you in good stead for a new year
Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special: Unless you’re a true believer, you will find this seasonal one-off a slog
Television: Brendan O’Carroll should be praised for addressing dementia sensitively but the show is sorely lacking in laughs
Hundreds gather in RDS for Christmas Day dinner for the homeless
More than 200 volunteers assist more than 550 guests at 99th meal event for the homeless run by Knights of St Columbanus at Dublin venue
‘A lot warmer than last year’: Swimmers take the Christmas Day plunge in Dublin Bay
Festive swimmers at Forty Foot in Sandycove enjoy sea temperature of 10 degrees, closing out a year of unseasonably warm Irish coastal waters
Tis the season to be jolly: 12 reasons Ireland should celebrate this Christmas
Ireland remains one of most peaceful and prosperous countries in world, according to most international metrics
‘Sometimes Christmas Day is not a great day at work – sometimes a patient may have had no visitors’
Nurse Colin Plunkett has helped to ensure the smooth running of operations at the oncology department in Tullamore hospital over Christmas
My first Christmas away from home, I wore nothing but a hat and sunscreen on a beach with two new friends
Rosita Boland reflects on two very different Christmases in far away places
We have two Christmases: the one we experience and the one we remember
Christmas is better expressed through poetry, not prose. Prose typically deals in the raw stuff of lived experience, while poetry is strained through memory
A Ghost Story for Christmas: A spooktacular serving of seasonal fun
Television: What a shame it would be if this is the end: Lot No 249 is a gift-wrapped helping of yummy mummy mania
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