Christmas was a magical time. I fondly remember my mother mixing the Christmas pudding.
The exotic ingredients, candy-peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, spice, and bottles of Guinness. My mother letting me put my finger in the mixture.

Amongst my earliest memories was listening to Radio Eireann. Every Christmas Eve they had a programme from Greenland (and still do), where Santa received the children’s letters saying which toys they wanted.

I listened every year, one eye on the window, waiting for my dad to come home from work.
One of my best Christmas memories involved my dad taking me to see the moving crib in Saint Martin’s in Parnell Square.

He would say to me: “Son, be sure to go to sleep early tonight or Santa Claus won’t come with your presents.” My dad would help me write my letter to Santa.

One of my happiest Christmas’s was the year I asked for a motor-car. When I was asleep, my dad crept into the bedroom to put the car under my bed.

My father was a big man and he got stuck under the bed, waking me up. “Has Santa arrived?” I asked.

No doubt my dad was in a panic, afraid I would discover my present. Thinking quickly he said: “Santa has gone up the chimney. He is after drinking his glass of milk and eating his mince-pie” I went asleep.

When, later that Christmas morning, I opened my present, it was the best toy I had ever been given. A peddle driven car. A beautiful shade of red with the name ‘Royal Princess’ emblazoned in navy.
I remember trips to town with my mum to visit Santa. I always recall the vivid excitement of those journeys. McBirney’s on the Quay was a landmark site for Christmas shopping, with its illuminated figure of Santa on a sleigh.

Trips to McBirney’s were pure magic. They had a train, with a tunnel depicting various Christmas scenes, which would drive you through to meet Santa.

The Christmas food was terrific. In those days families only had turkey and ham once a year, not like today when it is a regular fare all year round.

My mother made a marvellous Christmas cake, the pristine white icing, the almond paste and the wonderful fruit base.

The tins of biscuits were eagerly awaited, Jacobs Afternoon Tea and my favourite, U.S.A. I was fascinated by the U.S.A tin, with the Stars and Stripes flag on the cover and the colourful figure of Uncle Sam.

So I have many cherished and happy memories of Christmas, which I still love, even as a grown-up.