Santa Claus in Dublin

tom_tarbucket

The only place I know in Dublin where Santa Claus is located is Arnotts.

Where else around Dublin is he located ?

I want to be able to go in and take a picture with him and all that.

OU812

All over, but the one in Arnotts is the real one!

tom_tarbucket

OU812 wrote: »

All over, but the one in Arnotts is the real one!

but where.

I'm not a Dub and this is my first time having to think about Santy so I don't know where to go

January

Literally any big department store or shopping centre will have one.

Arnotts is free.

There's Clerys, Ilac Centre, Jervis Centre, St. Stephens Green, probably Brown Thomas, Blanchardstown Centre, Liffey Valley, Omni, Dundrum, Swords Pavillion, Charlestown Shopping Centre... take your pick.

There are also multiple Santa Experiences, Santas Playland in the Ambassador would be one example.

uck51js9zml2yt

There is also Dublin Zoo to make it a full day out. You pay for entry to the zoo and santy.

saggycaggy

We went to the Santa in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre last Saturday, he was brilliant and they had face painters and balloon artists there to entertain the children while queuing.

tom_tarbucket

saggycaggy wrote: »

We went to the Santa in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre last Saturday, he was brilliant and they had face painters and balloon artists there to entertain the children while queuing.

but how long were you waiting in the queue ?

saggycaggy

We were there at 11.45am just when Santa was arriving in the Centre and there was a crowd there to see him while he made his way up to his cabin.
We hung around a bit downstairs and then went up to the queue which was quiet long at this stage so we ended up queuing for just over an hour!

If I knew in advance that I'd be queuing for that long I can't say I would have stayed but I imagine it was just because so many were there to see him arrive and that it might be quieter at different times over the coming weekends.

It was a spur of the moment trip but my girls loved it and the face painting. I'm taking them to Tayto Park to see Santa this weekend ( booked well in advance) and meant to be great also!

iguana

I don't know if you have done this already but the one in St Stephen's Green is excellent. Real beard, very engaged with the kids, clearly loves being Santa, etc. In past years it's been extremely busy with 2hr+ queues being common. So this year they have a ticket system. You go up, and if it's busy they give you a numbered ticket and an estimated time to come back at. You might still be waiting 15-20 minutes when you come back but that's pretty manageable for a child in most cases.

OU812

In Arnotts right now. 2 hour wait but movies etc for the kids

tom_tarbucket

OU812 wrote: »

In Arnotts right now. 2 hour wait but movies etc for the kids

hope Santy was good.

how long was the actual wait ; )

OU812

Best in the business. Totally patient & caring. Actual wait was about one hour fifty minutes.

tom_tarbucket

iguana wrote: »

I don't know if you have done this already but the one in St Stephen's Green is excellent. Real beard, very engaged with the kids, clearly loves being Santa, etc. In past years it's been extremely busy with 2hr+ queues being common. So this year they have a ticket system. You go up, and if it's busy they give you a numbered ticket and an estimated time to come back at. You might still be waiting 15-20 minutes when you come back but that's pretty manageable for a child in most cases.

I did this today. cycled in to Stephens Green solely to get my ticket. picked up the ticket as 1:20pm. next free slot was 5:55pm.

landed in at 5:50pm and was 35 minutes until we seen Santy.


and the Santy was very good too. Very natural.

dori_dormer

We saw the Stephens green santa too today. Turned up At 10. Next slot 2 pm! Apparently there was a massive queue when the staff turned up at 9.30. Was told to come back at 2 and we'd have about a 20 min wait then. They were exactly right. Walked in at 2.20 on the dot.

Santa was brill. Really enjoyed him! We only had our 10 month old and he was lovely and chatted to us about nice traditional toys and thoughtful sentimental gifts that would last through the years. Great guy! He's from Maryland originally but has spent the last 19 years in Ireland.

They also very kindly gave us 2 photos! One of the 3 of us with santa and one just our little fella with santa. Wasn't expecting that but very kind and well be back next year definitely!

Mink

We're going to see Santa at the DSPCA Mount Venus Road, Rathfarnham hills on weekend.

You've to book in advance, think it was €25 for 2 adults & kid. He'll get a little pressie, storytime with santa etc.

Main reason we booked it is it's for a good cause as the bulk of that money goes to the shelter, the elves volunteer for example.

Also my son is 2.5 and I think he'll be petrified of Santa but we know he'll have great craic talking to all the dogs and other animals up there. So at least he'll have fun even if he doesn't go near Santa. Also no queue as it's prebooked.