Brace yourself, it's about to get hectic. With the festive season bearing down fast, it's time to get your diaries out and your outings booked, writes Sandra OConnell
LUNCH WITH FRIENDS
Most of the fun in the run up to Christmas is meeting up with friends you only see rarely – and possibly love all the more for that. Everyone’s in good form, there’s loads to catch up on and, if you pick a well located restaurant, you can do a mad dash round the shops while you’re at it.
On that front, Fire Restaurant in Dublin’s Mansion House (mansionhouse.ie) on Dawson Street is hard to beat. The food’s good, the atmosphere’s great and you can gallop down Grafton Street afterwards.
It’s offering four sittings between noon and 2.30pm before Christmas, with a festive menu at €32.50. To make an event of it, book December 16th (a Friday) and enjoy a long lunch with Tommy Tiernan for €78.50.
Staying in Dublin, but with an eye on Henry Street for shopping, the Tea Room at the Clarence Hotel (theclarence.ie) makes a luxury option for a Christmas catch-up. It’s running a good-value three-course lunch menu – including free-range turkey – for €19.95, midweek.
Alternatively, the Cliff Townhouse (theclifftownhouse.com), sister property to the five-star Cliff House Hotel in Waterford, has a four-course lunch menu for €30, from noon to 3.30pm, beginning on December 1st.
Down in Cork, Augustine’s (augustines.ie) restaurant – previously located opposite the church of the same name on Washington St but now in the Clarion Hotel on Lapps Quay – is breaking with tradition on another front too.
Usually, owners Brendan and Carol Cashman only open at lunch for private bookings. This year, however, the duo is unlocking the doors for the fortnight before Christmas, starting on December 13th with a festive menu.
If however you’ve got friends dotted around the country, pick a central location and head to Feargal and Fiona O’Donnell’s award-winning Fatted Calf (fattedcalf.ie) in Glasson, Co Westmeath. Formerly a pub, it’s informal, but the food is fantastic, and for Christmas they’ve a great value €25 three-course lunch menu. Pick up some fancy home-made edible gifts. In fact, why not make a night of it and repair to the incomparable and authentic Grogans Pub across the road afterwards. Then stay overnight in the luxury family-run Glasson Hotel and Golf Club (glassongolfhotel.ie) which is offering excellent value on overnights stays at the moment.
DINNER WITH FAMILY
If it’s family-friendly you’re looking for, you can’t beat the Italians – even those based here.
Ristorante Rinucini (rinucini.com) in Kilkenny is precisely as you’d wish on that score. “Like all Italians, we just love kids,” says director Ricardo Cavaliere, who runs the restaurant with his parents.
While the Christmas menu won’t be featuring turkey and ham, it will be featuring authentic Italian festive fare, he says, with mains from €16 to €25.
In Waterford, Arneau Mary and Patrice Garreau’s restaurant L’Atmosphere (restaurant-latmosphere.com), which reviewer Georgina Campbell crowned Atmospheric Restaurant of the Year this year, won’t be bowing to Irish festive norms either.
But, says Patrice, it will continue offering the amazing value it does all year round. A three-course early bird, including a glass of wine, for €20 is a gift in itself.
Given that you’ll be all hammed up and turkeyed out on Christmas Day, it might be nice to take a break from festive fare in Galway’s Asian Tea House (asianteahouse.ie), with mains ranging from €14 to €20 – and, again, not a Brussels sprout in sight.
For something a bit more partyish, La Peniche (lapeniche.ie) might just float your family’s boat.
Situated on the Grand Canal in Dublin, this restaurant on a barge has a two-course Christmas lunch menu for €21.50 and a three-course option for €27.50. There’s early boarding at 5.30pm, but to make a real night of it go for a 9pm boarding and linger after the cruise finishes up.
Also in Dublin, The Farm (thefarmrestaurant.ie) on Dawson Street has a three-course dinner with tea or coffee for €39.95. In line with its ethos of offering locally sourced, home-made and, where possible, organic ingredients, this Christmas you’re looking at free-range turkey and organic bacon. There are great vegetarian options, too.
CHRISTMAS AWAY
Connemara is magical at Christmas and this year, the winter part of the Connemara Four Seasons Walking Festival gives the perfect opportunity to walk off your indulgences.
The event runs from December 28th to 30th, with walks – and talks about walks – supported by hotels in the area, including Clifden Station House, Abbey Glen Castle, Ballynahinch Castle, Lough Inagh Lodge and Cashel House Hotel. Walking packages start at €199 per person staying two nights, including breakfast, dinner, packed lunches and guided walks.
Or stay for Christmas proper at nearby Renvyle House (renvyle.com). Guests here are invited to arrive on Christmas Eve for a hot punch reception followed by candlelit dinner, with entertainment from local carollers.
After an Atlantic swim on Christmas morning – how bracing is that? – it’s hot whiskies and hot chocolate all the way, followed by afternoon tea, canapés and champagne and a family dinner at 7pm. If you’re staying on, there’s a guided walk, a children’s club, a Christmas quiz and a visit from the Wren Boys too.
A two-night, dinner, bed and breakfast package, arriving on Christmas Eve, is €422 per person. Children under six can stay free and family rates are available so it’s worth calling to discuss. There’s a very traditional two-night Christmas package available at the luxurious Lough Erne Resort (lougherneresort.com) in Fermanagh, too. It includes mulled wine and mince pies on arrival, Christmas-Eve dinner, transfers to local church services, Christmas-Day lunch and a buffet dinner. The price here is £340 (€397) per night, based on two sharing.
Staying with loughs, Solis Lough Eske Hotel in Donegal is offering four nights for the price of three if you arrive on Friday 23rd. Otherwise, arrive on Christmas Eve and then sit back and relax for the three days, and nights, of pampering at €1,340 per couple.
In Dublin the Radisson Blu St Helen’s (radissonblu.ie) has a Christmas-Eve dinner, with the option of either Christmas lunch or dinner the following day, from €285.
To stay in the heart of the city, opt for two nights at the Shelbourne Hotel (Marriott.com) on St Stephen’s Green. Its package includes breakfast, a five-course Christmas lunch or dinner and a visit from the man in red. Rates start at €327.
Bewleys Hotel in Ballsbridge (bewleys.com) is also open over Christmas, with mulled wine on arrival and a five-course lunch, including a half-bottle of wine, at €99 per person. Stay from €149, including buffet dinner if you’ve any room left, and breakfast the next day.
NEW YEAR’S EVE
There’s nothing nicer than starting the New Year away. For those who love travel, it means starting as they mean to go on.
This year, New Year’s Eve falls on a Saturday, and guests arriving at Harvey’s Point (harveyspoint.com) in Donegal for its traditional ball – including six-course meal – are greeted by a bagpiper heralding the way to a champagne reception. The two-day package costs €495 per person sharing.
The Heritage (theheritage.com) golf and spa resort in Laois is offering two nights’ accommodation including dinner on New Year’s Eve with champagne, from €288 per person.
In Monaghan, the Nuremore’s (nuremore.com) New Year programme has music and dancing with two nights’ BB plus dinner starting at €440 per couple. Stay just New Year’s for €320.
Dingle in Co Kerry is famous for its celebrations, and if you fancy making a holiday of it, Trident (tridentholidayhomes.ie) has holiday homes in the Dingle Harbour Cottages development, sleeping six, available over the period priced from €675.
Or let someone else do the washing up and stay at Benners Hotel (dinglebenners.com) in the town for €364 for a double, for two nights.
Achill Island has also developed a name for itself as a good place to see out the old year and welcome the new. At midnight, pipe bands get piping while the following morning there’s an annual swim at Golden Strand in Dugort.
If you’re on a modest budget, a three-night package in the Achill Cliff House Hotel (achillcliff.com), including breakfast and two evening meals, is €199 per person sharing.
Staying west, the Twelve Hotel (thetwelvehotel.ie) in Barna, Co Galway, has a slew of awards under its belt and so might make a great place to ring in the New Year. At the time of writing, it still had some rooms left for December 31st, with a late dinner followed by dancing in the hotel disco, in a two-night package at €315 per person sharing.
The D Hotel (thedhotel.com) in Drogheda is hosting a residents-only ball with a package that includes a five-course meal, big-band entertainment, bubbly at midnight and a DJ into the early hours of 2012, priced from €119, including breakfast and late check-out next day.
Finally, lest our old acquaintance with luxury be forgot entirely, Ashford Castle (ashford.ie) is as opulent a spot as you’ll find from which to ring in the New Year. It has a one-night New Year’s Eve package – basically a 24 hour luxury transfusion – for €896 per person, including a black-tie banquet.