Dozen to-dos for the family

Before everybody is back into the routine of work and school, it is worth planning a special family excursion or two, writes SHEILA WAYMAN

THE DAYS ON either side of Christmas have a momentum all of their own: the huge build-up of anticipation followed by the lazy aftermath of downtime with the immediate family.

If you’re lucky, there will be peace among siblings for several days in a period of post-present contentment.

But there is only so much sitting around that a child can take before cabin fever sets in. When the accumulated screen hours – between the television, electronic games and internet browsing – are threatening to reach double figures within just one day, you know it is definitely time to get out of the house.

Fresh air and exercise are the number one priorities – and these come free in the parks, forests, mountains and by the beach. Winter weather doesn’t deter children as long as they have the right clothes – and the promise of hot chocolate at the end. Arranging to go with friends can transform reluctant walkers into enthusiastic adventurers – that goes for adults as well as children.

Before everybody is back into the routine of work and school, it is worth planning a special excursion or two. So here are a dozen suggestions for family outings to take you through the 12 days of Christmas. Don’t feel you have to add to the debts of the season to have a memorable time.

1 Free play

The huge improvement in the number and quality of local authority children’s playgrounds around the country is one of the less-acknowledged legacies of the Celtic Tiger.

If your children are frequent visitors to your neighbourhood playground, it is worth taking a trip outside your area to one or two they have not seen before. You might think a swing-is-a-swing and a slide-is-a-slide, but they will enjoy the novelty of a new setting and different equipment. Maybe combine it with a visit to friends or relatives.

Check the individual local authority websites for ideas of where to go if you haven’t got a word-of-mouth recommendation to rely on.

2 Forest parks

The former home of the 18th century poet Aubrey de Vere at Curraghchase Co Limerick is a favourite place of Helen Gaffney who co-ordinates information in the Limerick area for the children’s activities website, mykidstime.ie. There is something to suit everybody in this 600-acre park, 15 miles south-west of Limerick city, including gentle walks around the ruins of the house, two children’s play areas, walking and cycling trails. There is also a wildlife lake with swans and ducks.

Gaffney’s colleague in the Galway area, Etain Wilson, nominates another Coillte forest park, this time in Portumna, about one hour from Galway, as an outstanding family destination. There is a variety of trails, including one accessible to wheelchairs and buggies. “There is a nice playground in the town (behind the castle), which is great to visit after you’ve done the trails,” she adds.

These are just two of Coillte’s 11 forest parks around the country. (The one at Avondale House outside Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, is a favourite in our house.) All offer a good array of facilities for children, including playgrounds and marked trails that are graded, with distance and expected time specified.

Cost: a €5 car-parking charge applies at some of these forest parks. Information: see the excellent website www.coillteoutdoors.ie for full details of not just the forest park nearest you but all Coillte’s 150-plus recreational areas.

3 Phoenix Park

The biggest, free, recreational area in Dublin should not be left just to the locals. It is an ideal place to try out the new bikes and scooters. Off the main drag through the park, you can soon find quiet areas to explore – but bring the boots.

The visitor centre at Ashtown Centre reopens after Christmas on December 28th (it’s closed on January 1st), and the Victorian walled garden there might help bolster the family’s New Year resolution to grow your own in 2010. Farmleigh House is closed after Christmas until March.

Dublin Zoo is a perennial favourite with children and has its own charm during the bleak winter months. This year’s big attraction is the Sumatran tiger cubs, Emas and Wanita, who will be spending their first Christmas there. The latest arrivals are a baby giraffe born on December 1st and six African hunting dog pups. It’s closed from December 26th to 27th.

Cost: free – unless you go to the zoo where it's €15 for adults, €10.50 per child over three and €43.50 for a family (two adults, two children). Information: see www.heritageireland.ie, which is a comprehensive guide to the properties managed by the OPW all over the country, and also www.dublinzoo.ie.

4 Museum days

The recession should end the tendency to overlook our wonderful and free national museums for family outings in favour of the latest pay-to-see attraction.

For instance, Collins Barracks, just across from Heuston Station, is stunning from the moment you walk into its vast parade square. Forgive the gender stereotyping, but boys particularly love the award-winning Soldiers and Chiefs exhibition. The ever-popular “dead zoo” is also there while the Natural History Museum is being restored.

But that is just one branch of the National Museum. At the Kildare Street premises, the gold collection always fascinates children. Since admission is free, there is no need to overdose in one visit – there’s always the next time. There are children’s events throughout the school holidays but some require booking. It’s closed December 25th and every Monday.

Cost: all free – if you can stay clear of the coffee and gift shops. Information: see www.museum.ie or phone 01-6777444.

5 Titanic exhibition

Twelve exhibition galleries and more than 300 artefacts recovered from the wreck of the Titanic recreate the compelling story of the ill-fated transatlantic passenger liner. Bear in mind that while younger children will no doubt find some interesting things to look at, they may be impatient with older children and adults who will want to linger, read more and make the most of the visit to this exhibition at the Citywest Event Centre, Citywest Hotel. No buggies allowed in the exhibition area. Closed December 25th.

Cost: adult €18; child €12; family (two adults, two children) €54. Information: see www.titanicdublin.com.

6 Ice-skating

The 7Up Christmas on Ice is operating in five locations until January 10th: RDS Dublin; Liffey Valley Shopping Centre; Cork; Galway; and Letterkenny. Closed December 25th.

Cost: full price of 45 minutes ice-skating for a family (two adults and two under 12s, or one adult and three under 12s) in Dublin is €58. Pre-booking and going off-peak can bring this down to €40. In Galway the full price is €49.50 for a family, while it is €45 in Cork and Letterkenny. Information: see www.7upchristmasonice.ie for details on all five rinks or phone the central booking office 0818 717200.

Admission is cheaper at the Dublin on Ice rinks at Smithfield and the Beacon South Quarter in Sandyford, which are also running until January 10th (closed December 25th) and you get a full hour’s skating.

Cost: adult €12; child €8; so an average family is going to pay €40 (or €30 off-peak). Information: see www.dublinonice.ie or phone 01-8788008.

For less crowded ice-skating and quite a different experience, head for the Republic’s only permanent indoor, Olympic-size ice rink, in Dundalk, Co Louth. The Ice Dome’s public skating sessions last 90 minutes each. Closed December 25th.

Cost: adults €9; child €7; family (two adults, two children or one adult, three children) €30. Information: see www.dundalkicedome.com or phone 042-9337256.

7 Wax museum

Celebrity culture meets Irish history in the revamped wax museum, which opened just over two months ago in its new home off Dame Street in Temple Bar. It is spread over four floors but expect queues at busy times for the Wax Factor Studio where Jedward-inspired children can make their own pop video and upload it on to YouTube. Children aged seven-plus will also be absorbed by the interactive exhibits of the science area. Closed December 25th.

Cost: family ticket (two adults and two children) €30. Information: see www.waxmuseumplus.ie or phone 01-6718373.

8 Imaginosity

Teen and adult fiction writer Sarah Webb loves going to this interactive children’s museum in Sandyford, Co Dublin with her three-year-old and six-year-old. “It is good for imaginative kids,” she says, but as a parent you have to be prepared to interact with them – man the checkout as they do the supermarket shopping or watch their news broadcast. It is not a playcentre where you can just opt out and drink coffee.

Booking is recommended to avoid disappointing children, as no more than 160 people are allowed in the building at once and that includes staff.

Visits are restricted to two hours at busy times. Closed December 25th and 26th, and January 1st.

Cost: anyone over three €8.50; toddlers aged one to two €6.50; and a rather annoying €2 for babies aged six to 12 months. Post-Christmas workshops and interactive storytime are included in the admission price. Holders of same-day Imaginosity tickets get a 15 per cent discount on the Beacon South Quarter ice rink (see ice-skating) which is right next door. Information: see www.imaginosity.ie or phone 01-2176130.

9 JFK Arboretum

The John F Kennedy Arboretum, 12km outside New Ross in Co Wexford, provides a spacious and scenic setting for families wanting to safely walk, run or cycle off Christmas excess, with the lake area being a focal point.

The ducks will be delighted to see you with bags of bread. Winter flowering viburnums and mahonias are among the 4,500 types of trees and shrubs planted throughout the 600-plus acres – but don’t expect your children to thank you for a horticultural lesson.

A visitor centre houses exhibitions and audio-visual show and there is also a play area. Closed December 25th.

Cost: adult €3; child €1; and family €8. Information: see www.heritageireland.ie or phone 051-388171.

10 Aquarium

Galway’s Atlantaquaria is home to the country’s largest display of marine and freshwater life. The touch pools upstairs containing fish and crabs, etc, are especially appealing to children. Closed December 25th and 26th.

Cost: adult €10.25; child €6.25; and family (two adults and two children) €29. Information: www.nationalaquarium.ie or phone 091-585100.

11 Discovery park

The coal-mining tradition of Castlecomer, 15km north of Kilkenny city, is the theme for the Castlecomer Discovery Park which offers several different activities to families, who may come for an hour and stay for the day.

Inside, the “Footprints in Coal Experience” is a self-guided tour through a multimedia, interactive display which takes about 45 minutes. Outside there is an adventure playground, 6kms of nature trails and two lakes. Families can fish for trout – and take two home if they’re lucky. Refuel in the café between activities.

Reopens after Christmas on December 29th.

Cost: free if you stick to the woodland trails and adventure playground; €20 for a family ticket (two adults, two children) to the “Footprints in Coal Experience”; and €15 for up to four hours fishing (and two fish if you catch them).

Information: see www.discoverypark.ie or phone 056-4440707.

12 Gaol

Children are captivated by the austere atmosphere of former prisons. Even if they forget the details of a visit to Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, they are unlikely to forget the experience. Our adult sensibilities may flinch at stark reminders of past inhumanity in the name of politics but children deal with it at their own level. You’re warned it is cold here – so wrap up well. Closed December 25th-26th.

Cost: adult €6; child €2; and family €14. Information: www.heritageireland.ie or phone 01-4535984.

Likewise a trip to Wicklow Gaol – where the visitor experience is enlivened by actors recreating characters from its past – is well worth considering. The focus is on stories of prisoners deported to Australia and exhibits include a replica of a prison ship. Reopens on December 27th with special family event, “Wicklow Gaol’s Jail Break”, and a prize going to the winning family, noon to 4pm.

Cost: family ticket (two adults and up to three children) for event on December 27th is €15. Normal admission: adult €7.30; child over five €4.50; and family €19. Information: see www.wicklowshistoricgaol.com or phone 0404-61599.

Helpful websites to find ideas and information on children’s activities near you

www.fundays.ie

www.kidstime.ie