Ho ho ho! No I’m not Santa but I’ve been as busy as one of his little elves putting together all the best family friendly events to entertain the kids this Christmas and New Year in Dublin. Enjoy all the fun and festivities.
Check out all the events below and there's lots more events in my event calendar.
Day | 27 Nov - 6 Jan 2019
Time | 11:00am-6:00pm
Fee | FREE
This year The Moving Crib will be 62 years old! It has been a key feature of Christmas in Dublin for so long that parents and grandparents, who visited The Moving Crib as children, are now bringing their children and grandchildren to enjoy and re-live this amazing Christmas experience. This Dublin landmark is as captivating today as it was when it first opened its doors in 1956 and admission is FREE.
Day | Until Sunday 6 January 2019
Time | Various Times
Fee | From €15.00
Dive into an Ocean of Light at this year’s Wild Lights in Dublin Zoo, with an entirely new cast of illuminated giant silk lanterns celebrating the wonders of the life aquatic. From giant squid to polar bears, penguins, colossal blue whales and dainty seahorses, Dublin Zoo, once again, will be transformed into a world of illumination with lanterns tailor-made especially for this year’s event. Traditional Chinese performers, a craft market and an array of Asian food will make Wild Lights 2018 a truly unforgettable night where friends and families celebrate the festive season together.
Day | 25 November - 20 December 2018
Time | Various Times
Fee | From €19.50
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a visit to the Gaiety Panto! The Gaiety Theatre has hosted the annual Christmas Panto each year since 1873. Today, families come from far and wide to experience the Gaiety Christmas Panto and for many it has become as much a family Christmas tradition as Santa himself! This year’s fabulous Gaiety Theatre pantomime is The Snow Queen.
Day | Wed 5 - Sun 30 December
Time | Every Sat + Sun @ 2pm & 4pm | Plus School Day performances
Fee | Public: €12.50/€9.50* | 20% off for Members | Schools: €5
The Ark welcomes Branar Téatar do Pháistí back for the festive season with their gorgeous adaptation of Oliver Jeffers' best-selling picture book. Once there was a boy who was always looking up. He dreamt of having a star as a friend. This is the story of his adventure.Based on the beloved book by award-winning Irish author Oliver Jeffers, this adaptation combines puppetry with a magical original score by Colm Mac Con Iomaire. Directed by Marc Mac Lochlainn, Branar’s signature storytelling creates a show which reminds us all to follow our dreams. The perfect festive treat for ages 4+. This is a nonverbal, deaf-friendly show.
Day | 23 Nov - 20 Jan 2019
Time | Various
Fee | From €19.50
With all the wit, magic and fun that our audiences have come to expect from our hilarious panto, Robin Hood is the must-see panto of Christmas 2018. Starring some audience favourites and introducing stunning new talent, The Helix Panto always delivers the best family night out. 100% of the proceeds from this show will go directly to Temple Street Childrens University Hospital.
Day | 4 Dec - 13 Jan 2019
Time | Various
Fee | Family/Standard Tickets: €26-30.75
Everyone's favourite Panto is back with Snow White & The Adventures of Sammy Sausages and Buffy. The charm of this panto is lost on nobody. Alan Hughes as Sammy Sausages draws the kids into this colouring-book world and Rob Murphy as Buffy is a force of nature. Starring: Alan Hughes, Mary Byrne, Rob Murphy and Joe Duffy hilariously filmed as The Magic Mirror.
Day | Every Sat & Sun until 23 December
Time | 9am – 5pm
Fee | FREE
Killruddery’s Christmas Farm Market offers a Christmas gift bonanza and weekly oasis of brightly coloured local produce, grown both in their own Victorian Walled Garden and just a few miles from our home. Christmas gifts by amazing craftspeople including divine herbal tinctures, woodcraft, bound & custom notebooks, Connemara socks and a curated selection of children’s books and toys.
Day | 15 + 22 December
Time | 1.00pm - 2.00pm
Fee | €15.00
This festive science workshop will allow children to engage in the awesome world of chemistry, Explore Glittery Slime and be amazed by intriguing polymers. Children will Design their own electric Christmas cards and learn about light energy, Appreciate acid base reactions, Learn the Science behind suspension by building their very own snow globes, Explore bubbling liquids and Engineer k’nex Christmas trees in our k’nex team challenge. This festive workshop will definitely ignite the curiosity in every child. Allowing minds to Explore, Wonder and Question.
Day | Fri 21 - Sun 30 December
Time | 11.00am, 1.00pm + 3.00pm
Fee | From €17.50
Direct from the West End, the smash-hit stage adaptation of Michael Rosen’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is coming to Pavilion Theatre! Join them for an unmissable adventure through gigantic swishy swashy grass, the splishy splashy river and the oozy, squelchy mud in search of a bear. Brought vividly and noisily to life by Sally Cookson’s imaginative direction and Benji Bower’s versatile lively score, this production is the perfect treat for families and groups with children aged 3 and up. Expect catchy songs, interactive scenes and plenty of hands-on adventure!
Day | Fri 21 Dec - Sun 6 Jan
Time | Various
Fee | Family tickets from €21.00 per person
Ireland's funniest family Panto is back and bigger than ever - it's simply unmissable! This year The Olympia Theatre is home to the most star studded show in the country. There's something for everyone in this magical panto with stars of stage and screen, social media's biggest and brightest and one of Ireland's newest music sensations! With an All Star Cast along with the talented dancers and performers from Spotlight, you'll be dazzled this Christmas in a spectacular action packed Panto for all the family.
Day | Wed 19 Dec - , 2018 - Sun 6 Jan
Time | Various
Fee | €19.50 for all seats
This Christmas the Liberty Hall Theatre has got its tinsel back. Yep, there’s a panto coming to the Liberty Hall Theatre Dublin 2018. It’s 'Cinderella'. Praise be to Santa!Pantomime factory Tempus Productions has splashed out. Their production pulls out all the stops, boasting a star-studded cast this year including John Lovett (Red Rock, The Tudors & Panto Dame extraordinaire)And Eric Lalor (Comedian & Fair City Bad Guy)But is this a triumphant return to the North-side of the Liffey toone of the best venues in town? You’ll have to wait and see.
Day | Fri 21 - Sun 23 December
Time | Various times
Fee | €38.50, €45.00, €50.00 +
Dinosaurs will once again roam international soil when the globally-acclaimed production, WALKING WITH DINOSAURS - THE ARENA SPECTACULAR, based on the award-winning BBC Television Series, returns in 2018, starring Michaela Strachan as ‘Huxley’ the paleontologist. This jaw dropping experience comes to the 3Arena, Dublin 21st – 23rd December 2018. The $20 million production features new, state of the art technology, underlining its position as the biggest and best dinosaur show in the world.
Day | Fri 21 - Sun 23 December
Time | Various times
Fee | Tickets €25 (Child €19)
A heart-warming affair with NCH Christmas Orchestra and Theatre Lovett. Join The National Concert Hall for a heart-warming Christmas spectacle with fun and fanfares from our Christmas Orchestra. Theatre Lovett will bring some of our favourite things… parading Nutcrackers, a little match girl to lighten our hearts, classic Christmas songs and festive dance. Followed by the ultimate family classic The Snowman with Howard Blake’s score performed live by the NCH Christmas Orchestra under the baton of conductor Fergus Sheil. Plus Santa Claus of course and loads of laughs for all the family.
Day | Now until 13 January 2019
Time | Various
Fee | From €12.00
iSkate-on-Ice is presented to you by the same people that present Funderland - it is Ireland’s only OUTDOOR ice skating rink –offering an unrivalled ice skating experience. Skating sessions are generally scheduled every 75 minutes, commencing at 10am daily until 13th January 2019. For Junior skaters, iSkate provides a kiddie rink for children from age 3 upwards with its balancing aids and double-bladed skates. iSkate-on-Ice at the RDS will provide the ultimate outdoor ice skating experience this Christmas season.
Day | Now until 6 January 2019
Time | Various times
Fee | From €13.00
Get Your Skates On! Ice-skating comes to Malahide with a 600 square metre REAL ICE ice rink including a specially designed kiddies ice rink fully housed in a 1200 square metre all weather marquee in the grounds of Malahide Castle, Dublin. That means that rain, hail or snow you and your friends will be able to skate away to your heart’s content on the biggest temporary, ice rink to be installed in Malahide this year. So make sure to get your skates on and don’t miss out on this great family fun activity.
Day | Now until 13 January 2019
Time | Various times
Fee | From €13.00
One of Dublin’s best ice skating venue in Dundrum Town Centre is open from October 26th to January 13th 2019. They've got 500m² of crisp, white ice to get you skating from now until the New Year!
Day | Now until 6 January 2019
Time | Various Times
Fee | From €13.00
Blue Martini Group are excited to bring their experienced team of Ice Rink professionals to Liffey Valley Shopping Centre this Christmas, with the launch of Liffey Valley On Ice. With 500m² of crisp white ice to get you, your family, friends and colleagues skating throughout the festive period in West Dublin it's sure to be a family favourite.
Day | Thurs 27 - Sun 30 December
Time | Various times
Fee | From €22.00
Follow the yellow brick road over the rainbow and all the way to the National Concert Hall this Christmas for the musical of all musicals – the wonderful Wizard of Oz! Festival Productions – the team that brought you ‘Annie’, ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Oliver!’ - returns with this all-singing all-dancing production of the classic Judy Garland film, winner of 6 Academy Awards and much loved for generations. All the famous characters are here – the Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Good Witch Glinda, the Wicked Witch of the West, and of course Dorothy and her little dog, Toto! This lavish production features a star studded cast, spectacular costumes and sets, and the wonderful Festival chorus, dancers and orchestra.
Day | Sunday 30 December
Time | 2:30pm-3:30pm
Fee | FREE
Storyteller Paul Timoney invites children and families to join him for some Christmas tales and adventures, featuring LauraLynn's The Much More Magnificent Seven. This event is most suitable for children aged 6+, but younger children are welcome. Free, but tickets must be booked for all attendees.
Day | Monday 31 December
Time | 6:00pm-7:00pm
Fee | FREE
Dublin City will light up with excitement as the family-friendly Liffey Lights Midnight Moment – Matinee makes a highly anticipated return this year with a brand new early countdown spectacle set to amaze audiences. Families and friends of all ages can ring in the New Year together with entertainment starting at 6pm leading to the earlier countdown spectacle at 7pm. Your little ones will watch in delight and amazement as laser lights and aqua beams dance through the sky in perfect rhythm with the music as you count down to the New Year together.
For more events visit Dublin City Mum Event Calendar. Subscribe to www.dublincitymum.ie to receive my updates direct to your inbox. Tag #dublincitymum to share your adventures.
#whattodowiththekids #familyevent #thingstodo #dublinfamily #kidsevents #familyactivities #familyfriendly #familyfriendlydublin #indooractivities #outdooractivities #kidfriendly #restaurants #kidfriendlyrestaurant #daysoutwithkids #daysoutdublin #visitdublin #discoverdublin #dublin #dublinwithkids #dublincitymum #mumblog #dublinmum