Dublin at Christmas with kids: how to plan a magical family Christmas trip to Dublin
Visiting Dublin at Christmas with kids: an essential guide for visitors. Festive events, weather, and what you need to know to spend Christmas in Dublin.
Dublin is great at celebrating Christmas.
Winters in Dublin tend to be cold and dark, but Christmas here truly is a triumph of light over darkness.
The city centre streets shine under the sparkle of twinkling decorations, shop windows shimmer in gold hues, and Dublin’s interiors envelop you in the warmth of cracking fires and the perfume of mulled wine.
For me, this is by far one of the best times to visit Dublin. At Christmas, you can enjoy all the city’s top attractions and experience fully the famous Irish hospitality and the country’s love for celebrations.
I love this time of the year in this city and, in this guide, I share attractions, places and events you can enjoy this year. I hope you enjoy it. Nollaig Shona Duit! (this is Merry Christmas in Irish!)
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Top things to do Dublin at Christmas
Check out the Christmas lights
Christmas lights and decorations make their appearance in Dublin in early November and they add cheers and a welcoming touch to the main shopping streets in the city center especially.
Grafton Street, Henry Street, South William Street, and Capel Street are lovely streets to see the light in all its splendour.
Grafton is draped by lights wishing you Nollaig Shona (this is how you say ‘Merry Christmas’ in Irish) and in the smaller alleys, such as Johnson’s court, the lights fill the sky like little sparkly stars!
Top Dublin hotels dress up for the season and large shopping center and iconic stores such as Dundrum and Brown Thomas go all out with decorations that range from pretty lights to full on dispay of winter wonderland scenes and more!
See the Wild Lights at Dublin Zoo
The Wild Lights of Dublin Zoo are a very different type of lights. They come back during the Christmas season to make the zoo magical by night!
The event is great fun for adults and kids – just make sure you wrap up as it outdoors so it can get pretty chilly!
Wild Lights at Dublin Zoo take place during December (selected days) and the first week of January, closing on Sunday 5th January.
You can find info and tickets here.
Enjoy the light show a Merrion Square
On selected evenings Merrion Square hosts a lovely light events so that you can walk around this lovely city center green areas and admire a seasonal light show >>> https://dublinwinterlights.ie/installations/merrion-square-park/
Check out a Christmas market
Dublin has some cute Christmas markets that add to the festive feel. Some you may like are:
Christmas at Dublin Castle: this is a lovely event in the beautiful grounds of Dubin Castle, where you can find stalls with handcrafted gifts, crafts and, of course, seasonal warming food treats.
Christmas Spectacular, Smithfield Square, German style Christmas market with stalls with crafts, stocking fillers, food etc
Botanic Gardens Eco Christmas Craft Market held on Saturday and Sunday, December 14 and 15, 10am to 4.30pm
The Fumbally Market, Portobello – Friday, December 6 (12-7pm); Saturday and Sunday, December 6 and 8 (10am to 6pm)
The MART Christmas Market, Rathmines, Daily until December 22, 1-7pm
Christmas market at Rathfarnham castle – 8th December
Go for a kid-friendly Christmas afternoon tea in a beautiful Dublin hotel
Afternoon Tea is a special experience to have with kids: the beautiful cups, trays and bitesize sandwiches and mini cakes are a real treat and the environment adds to the fun! Depending on the vibe you prefer, you may look into
Afternoon tea at The Merrion or at the Shelbourne Hotels, two of the best and most luxurious hotels in Dublin and a traditional destination for high tea.
While not specifically geared towards children, the events are family-friendly: booking is mandatory, and tell them the age of the kids when making your reservation.
Afternoon Tea at Pink – as the name suggests, this afternoon tea happens in a very pink setting, with almost everything Barbie color -the cake frosting, the lights, the flowers and of couese the teapots and cup! Pink is family friendly and has guests of all ages.
Vintage Tea Trips – a very different and fun way to have tea on a Dublin bus!
Take a hot chocolate (or macaroon or cannoli) break
While you explore Dublin city centre, make sure you take the time to stop in at least some of its gorgeous cafes.
In the last few years, Dublin has truly reinvented itself as a gourmet lovers city and the cafe culture is blossoming.
If you like chocolate, you should try the Irish famous handmade chocolate at Butlers on Wicklow street, but more delicious addresses should be added to your chocolate hungry list:
Great addresses for a chocolate fix in Dublin are:
- The Sweetest Thing, 17 Bachelor’s Walk, Dublin 1
- Accents Lounge, St Stephen’s Green Lower, Dublin 2
- La Duree, 1-3 South Willian Street, Dublin 2
- Ciao Cannoli, 1 Coppinger Row, Dublin 2
Go ice skating
During the winter, Dublin had a few ice skating rinks popping up in town: Dundrum on Ice is probably the easiest to reach by public transport also for visitors and Blanchardstown also has a rink open until mid-January
Meet Santa
Did you know that Santa loves Dublin?
He sure does and it’s not difficult to meet him in the fair city.
You are spoilt for choice for a good Santa experience: here are some of the addresses where you can find him.
- Elf Town, Royal Dublin Society, RDS, 4 Anglesea Rd, Ballsbridge, Dublin, D04 N2A4
- Christmas Experience at Airfield Farm: Airfield Estate, Overend Way, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Ireland, D14 EE77
- The Christmas Experience at Malahide Castle
- Santa Experience at Croke Park: Croke Park, St Joseph’s Ave, Dublin
- Santa’s Grotto at Epic Ireland: The Chq Building, Custom House Quay, North Dock, Dublin 1, D01 T6K4
- Santa at Leisurplex (several locations): Stillorgan, Tallaght, Blanchardstown, Coolock & Cork Dublin
Head to the National Concert hall for their ‘This Way to Christmas’ event
Dublin is a very musical city and, at Christmas, you have special events that tap into the spirit of the season!
A really cute, festive family concert is the This Way to Christmas show at the national Concert all, with a livle Orchestra playing Christmas songs and magical characters narrating your way through them. We went last year and it was a great way ti kick off the season: the event is perfect for small kids and primary school kids especially. Info and tickets here
Go to the Panto
The Panto is another Christmas tradition.
This year, The Gaiety Theater has a performance of Peter Pan. Address: South King Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
The Helix shows Rapunzel. Address: DCU, Collins Avenue, Dublin 9
Great Dubin attractions to visit in Dubin with kids this Christmas
Of course, if this is your first visit to Dubin, you can also enjoy Dubli’s top attractions at this time.
The ones I like the most with kids of all ages are:
The Book of Kells immersive experience, which uses lights and videos to literally immerse you into the fantastickl and historic book of Kells – you feel like you are in it!
EPIC, the beautiful permanent exhibition about the Irish diaspora, where you can also trace back your Irish ancestry (also, there is Santa here this season!)
Dublin Castle, since at this time you can experience both the castyle itself and its lovely Christmas market
The Guinness Storehouse, becasue despite being abotu an alcoholic beverage, it is a fun and buzzy place also for kids and has stunning views from the top floor bar (kids are offered a soda). The building is stroller accessobpe and they have family tickets so kids are not just tolerated, they are actually welcome!
Where to stay in Dublin with kids this Christmas
Dublin is a very expensive city when it comes to accommodation, and Christmas is a busy time so don’t be surprised is even mid range hotels hit a very high budget point.
Some great hotels at different price points you can enjoy this Christmas are:
The Merrion Hotel, 5 star iconic Dublin hotel in front of the Government Building in the city center (one of the most prestigious addresses in the city) goes all out for Crhistmas with stunning decorations, lovely afternoon tea events and family friendly packges.
The Mespil Hotel is an excellent family address, with family rooms and a good location close to the city center yet quiet and away from the busy streets and city party areas.
Christmas brunches and festive meals
Dublin restaurants go all out when it comes to Christmas decorations and you won’t have difficultiea finding beautiful places where to have a festive meal at this time but make reservations as the whole Christmas season is a popular day to go our and places do fill up. Special Christmas lunch events you may like are in The Garden Room at the Merrion | Herbert park Hotel | Clontarf castle
Dublin at Christmas need to know
If you are a visitor coming to Dublin over Christmas, a few additional pieces of info will come in handy.
Christmas is a big family celebration in Dublin and this affects opening hours of shops, public transport and services.
Do book Christmas eve dinner and Christmas day lunch in advance (or buy your grocery early) not to go hungry!
If planning on dinners out this season, book in advance and be prepared to leave a booking deposit, especially in the more sought after establishments in the city center.
Christmas is high season in Dublin and advance booking of accommodation and attractions is recommended.
The weather in Dublin at Christmas
This December has been very cold in Dublin, more than other years.
If visiting Dublin in December, make sure you pack:
- Warm shoes for you and the kids (water resistant and with decent grip: boots and winter trainers work well)
- A warm coat with scarf, hat and gloves
- Very warm blanket for the stroller, with rain cover
Snow is not common in Dublin city center but we had some this year: in town, this was a dusting but on the Dublin mountains, it was enough for kids to make snowmen and go sledding! If you have a car and snow gear, this is a great time to go outside of town and get some fresh air to Ticknock or the Hellfire Club.
I hope you will consider spending Christmas in Dublin. Happy holidays!
