Christmas RTÉ Guide

SteJer

With digital & free newspaper guides available these days do you still buy the Christmas RTÉ Guide?

It has always been a sign that Christmas is close in my house. It's the only RTÉ Guide we buy all year. I enjoy the annual search going from shop to shop trying to find it on first day it's available.

I still highlight all the programmes I'll watch over Christmas but as always I end up not watching half of them.

If I'm correct it should be available around December 6th this year. What do you think?

SteJer

SteJer wrote: »

With digital & free newspaper guides available these days do you still buy the Christmas RTÉ Guide?

It has always been a sign that Christmas is close in my house. It's the only RTÉ Guide we buy all year. I enjoy the annual search going from shop to shop trying to find it on first day it's available.

I still highlight all the programmes I'll watch over Christmas but as always I end up not watching half of them.

If I'm correct it should be available around December 6th this year. What do you think?

Same. It's something we always got in our house and continue to every year. We don't buy it at any other time but we're sticklers for tradition so my mam still always gets it. I love popping home in the lead up to Christmas and flicking through it with a cup of tea. Planning all the Christmas TV I'm going to watch and then never do.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

I reckon it's 10 years since there has been a RTE guide at home for Christmas. Might change that this year though!

gypsylee

Definitely a tradition in our house. Only time we buy it also.

Same old faces on the cover every year but it is definitely a part of Christmas tradition.

SteJer

gypsylee wrote: »

Definitely a tradition in our house. Only time we buy it also.

Same old faces on the cover every year but it is definitely a part of Christmas tradition.

Pat Shortt & Miriam O'Callaghan every year. Tubridy, Joe Duffy & Kathryn Thomas regulars too. RTÉ need some new "stars" for the cover.

Toto Wolfcastle

I always buy it but last year and the year before I said I wouldn't buy it again. That obviously worked out well! It's a bit rubbish but I do like the tradition.

Stillhouette

I have bought it a number of times and never looked at it. I think I will stick to online schedules this year

SteJer

SteJer wrote: »

Pat Shortt & Miriam O'Callaghan every year. Tubridy, Joe Duffy & Kathryn Thomas regulars too. RTÉ need some new "stars" for the cover.

When I think of it I always think of Dustin the turkey in a Christmas hat.

chuckles30

Yes - I still love it around the Christmas.

Irishgal2000

I get it every Christmas for tradition. Although I find the Sunday
Times TV Guide for the Christmas fortnight is more detailed with more stations listed.

Loughc

Toto Wolfcastle wrote: »

I always buy it but last year and the year before I said I wouldn't buy it again. That obviously worked out well! It's a bit rubbish but I do like the tradition.

Same. Nowadays I look forward to the Christmas crosswords they do in it.

DvB

Was a family tradition in ours back when I was a kid (70's - 80's) my dad would get the christmas RTE Guide, Radio Times & the ITV equivalent (cant remember the name of it now)... used to love flicking through the film lists to see what was coming up, back before netflix, android boxes, DVD's etc this was massive to see what you could look forward to watch for the next week or two... great memories!

I always used to get sad when it went beyond the last date of listings though, as I knew then that that was Christmas done for another year.

Haven't seen any of those magazines in years now & had actually forgotten all about them until coming across his thread... love this section of boards for bringing back memories.

SteJer

The Christmas RTÉ Guide will be on sale from Monday!

Loughc

SteJer wrote: »

The Christmas RTÉ Guide will be on sale from Monday!

What already?!?

SteJer

Loughc wrote: »

What already?!?

Yea it's very early this year. The listings won't cover New Years Eve and Day.

Loughc

SteJer wrote: »

Yea it's very early this year. The listings won't cover New Years Eve and Day.

What!! What a jib! What dates do they cover? Up to the 30th?

Red Kev

SteJer wrote: »

Yea it's very early this year. The listings won't cover New Years Eve and Day.

Christ above, that's so stupid. They've done it before. They're better off starting it on Saturday 24th and going through the New Years weekend. It's not as if many people will be home the week before Christmas anyway, so it's not much use to them.

RTE are so bloody infuriating sometimes.

SteJer

Red Kev wrote: »

Christ above, that's so stupid. They've done it before. They're better off starting it on Saturday 24th and going through the New Years weekend. It's not as if many people will be home the week before Christmas anyway, so it's not much use to them.

RTE are so bloody infuriating sometimes.

It will probably boost sales for the New Year edition!

Alicat

SteJer wrote: »

It will probably boost sales for the New Year edition!

Where's the fun in that?

I won't bother buying it, you'll only get two days out of it really. I just want the Christmas one for nostalgic reasons.

French_Girl

Alicat wrote:

Where's the fun in that?

Alicat wrote:

I won't bother buying it, you'll only get two days out of it really. I just want the Christmas one for nostalgic reasons.

Same here!

I got into a habit of buying it every year just for the nostalgic reasons. It was always a bit of fun.
Don't know what I'm gonna do this year...

hdowney

Jesus it's always crappy when it doesn't cover Christmas and New Years.

I'd say I'll buy it anyway. It's a tradition. I go thru it marking everything I want to watch (even though it doesn't cover that many stations anymore) and I do the puzzles. Might read the odd article if something interesting. It usually vanishes under a couch by Christmas Eve. This year I'd say I'll be lucky if it makes to it Christmas Eve (especially as it's out tomorrow!) cos I have a 6mth old pup who eats EVERYTHING.

SteJer

The search begins first thing in the morning. Easons on O'Connell Street usually have it the first day it goes on sale. It can take a few days to reach other parts of the country. I'll highlight all the programmes I'd like to watch but will end up not watching half of them.

When I was a child I anxiously waited for the RTÉ Guide to come out so I'd know what time I'd be up on Christmas morning. That time being when The Den started!

SteJer

Does Miriam O'Callaghan have a clause in her contract stating she must be on the front cover of the Christmas RTÉ Guide? At least there is no Pat Shortt this year. Although I thought that last year too until I spotted him on the inside cover.

touts

SteJer wrote: »

Does Miriam O'Callaghan have a clause in her contract stating she must be on the front cover of the Christmas RTÉ Guide? At least there is no Pat Shortt this year. Although I thought that last year too until I spotted him on the inside cover.

Who's on it? Can I predict:

Miriam

Joe Duffy

Ryan Tubs

Claire Byrne

Brendan O'Connor

Catherine Fulvio

Dathi O'Shea

Maura Derrane

SteJer

SteJer wrote: »

Does Miriam O'Callaghan have a clause in her contract stating she must be on the front cover of the Christmas RTÉ Guide? At least there is no Pat Shortt this year. Although I thought that last year too until I spotted him on the inside cover.

Unsurprisingly Pat Shortt is on it again. They seem to always find a spot for him. The RTÉ Guide must put himself & Miriam on it every year as they know people talk about that fact. Some serious lack of big names in the country when they roll out the usual heads every year.

kitten_k

Here is the cover

French_Girl

It's a beautiful cover, all right.

Just saw it in the local newsagents, had a quick browse but decided not to buy as it's till 30th only so not that keen, TBH.

Loughc

French_Girl wrote: »

It's a beautiful cover, all right.

Just saw it in the local newsagents, had a quick browse but decided not to buy as it's till 30th only so not that keen, TBH.

I'm gonna buy it, if only for the crosswords, puzzles and tradition sakes.

headnorth

Pity about no new years tv listings but all the tv guides(radio times,tv times and satellite & tv week) only cover up to friday the 30th