Lapland on a Budget ~ A Mums on the Run Group!

Oh, you want to travel to Lapland without breaking the bank do you? Long dreamed about a trip to the winter wonderland and home of the original Santa have you? Corrina has long shared her knowledge of how to do Lapland on a Budget on this here blog HERE. HERE and HERE , but of late has been gaining attention in mainstream media too - because she does what we've always tried to do - make the dream accessible for all! 

We've now added Lapland on a Budget to our umbrella of Mums on the Run groups and to say it's exploded is quite the understatement. Almost 7 THOUSAND members in a fortnight. If that's not indicative of a genuine Irish & UK desire to live the Lapland dream then I don't know what is. 

Give the Gift that Keeps on Giving (Without Leaving the Comfort of your Home!)

It's December 18th so I'll concede that from this point in we can call Christmas gifts 'last minute'. If you, like me, have been stricken by the dreaded lurgy this year then what follows might just be the saviour you need. I've collated a few ideas for gifts that keep on giving, the gift of a subscription (with the added bonus that you neither need to get dressed, nor sharpen your elbows to get them). Shall we begin? 

1. 3fe Coffee Subscription 

Arguably the best coffee in Dublin, subscriptions to 3fe game changing java start as low as €9 per delivery, or €65 for 6 months HERE. 

Imagine going about your day safe in the knowledge that a loved one is less likely to commit GBH because she's had her fix. That's money well spent in my humble opinion. 

2. Blooming Lovely ~ Bouquet Box Subscription

Source

You might have seen this past fortnight that the very generous Gal, Amy, at Bouquet Box sent me a perfectly packaged box of flowers. It's for that reason that I can confirm, this is one of the most delightful gifts you could possibly gift. 

At €16 per bouquet HERE, you can choose to have hand cut, expertly sourced, INCREDIBLY scented flowers sent weekly, monthly or fortnightly. Truthfully, having seen just how well these bouquets are presented and having had the entire floor compliment their scent for over a week, Bouquet Box is a doozy of a self gift too. (I'm choosing fortnightly to line up with my Pay Day, natch). 

3. Magazine Subscription  

Source

Granted we're all fiends for the online world but, on occasion it's still rather lovely to put your feet up and not be distracted by digital notifications while you read. That's where a subscription to a mag of your pal's preference comes in. I can still remember having the Story Teller books and tapes delivered as a child, such joy. 

Stuck for ideas on which magazine they might like? Stellar is Irish and always a safe bet, chock full of deadly features, fashion and fun. You'll get a whole year AND a nifty beauty gift for just €23 HERE. 

Another all-star publication is my subscription of choice, Psychologies. I'm not exxagerating when I say this magazine has changed the way I think about a lot of issues, and certainly the way I feel about myself. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving. I use Parcel Motel to keep my costs to a minimum for delivery HERE but even so, it's worth every cent. 

4. Odeon Limitless Cinema Card

Source

At this stage of the game I'm guessing our grá for cinema is pretty clear. To be fair, that's almost a universal trait. Regardless of pyjama clad Netflix binges or virus clad illegal streaming people LOVE the big screen. 

An Unlimited Card from Odeon cinemas (or the closest picture house to your lucky recipient) will always be a very welcome gift. Prices start at €19.99pm and include discounted treats (such as popcorn at just €48 per kernel as opposed to €50)


5. The Gift of Giving ~ Charity Donations

iStock Source

There are few among us that don't feel the overwhelming grip of capitalism, especially at Christmas time. If your loved one is of the giving disposition then a charitable donation (or subscription) on their behalf will be brilliantly received and an endless source of warm and fuzzies for you too. 

The key is to choose a charity close to their heart. Were I to receive a gift so thoughtful I'd happily nominate one of my three go tos: 

• Childline very gratefully receive donations HERE (having volunteered with them for a year I still donate AND fundraise for them, that says a lot). 
• Give 8 Repeal 8 would be thrilled with a pledge of €8 per month HERE until the 8th is repealed. I don't know many young women that wouldn't be delighted to put their name to this hugely valuable cause. 
• Pieta House do both life saving and life changing work, of which over 85% is made up by charitable donations. Your help, in your loved ones name could literally save a life HERE. 

Tell me, anything here you think might fit the bill for that last minute gift? 

If you tell me you've finished your shopping since July though you will be blocked, just FYI xo

Santa's Cove at Liffey Valley ~ Magical Enough for the Price Tag?

Last night we were invited to Santa's Cove in Liffey Valley for their preview, it would have cost us €137.50 for 1 adult & 5 kids, which is an exceptional amount of money to spend on the run up to Christmas, so did we think it was worth it? Unfortunately no and here's why...

How to do Lapland on a Budget & Make it Feel Like Anything But! (Part 4) Helsinki & A Magical Day Trip to Tallinn

We may have spent our last day in Rovaniemi but we’re not finished with Finland yet! This week I’ll tell you all about our visit to Helsinki & our day trip to Tallinn in Estonia. I’d highly recommend doing both as they cost relatively little, while you’re already in that part of the world you might as well see as much as you can.

Overnight Train Rovaniemi to Helsinki:

We boarded the VR overnight train at 20 to 6 in plenty of time for our 6:03pm departure time. We visited the supermarket to stock up on supplies for the return trip but we decided to have dinner in the dining carriage anyway as the Spaghetti Carbonara looked & smelt delicious. Priced at just €10 the portions were huge so the children shared one dish between two. Afterwards we had our own drinks and desserts that I had bought in the supermarket saving us about €30 on train prices. We skipped the free porridge for breakfast & treated the children to a McDonald’s breakfast when we arrived in Helsinki at 7am.

https://www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/frontpage

Where to stay in Helsinki:

If you’re travelling on a budget or you’ve a large family like we do Airbnb should be your best friend. I found this (https://www.airbnb.ie/rooms/13810669) lovely Airbnb just outside central Helsinki for just €172 for 7 of us for 3 nights but we only paid €137 for our stay as I earned €35 for referring someone to Airbnb. The bus runs in a loop from outside the train station to outside Anne’s apartment every 30 minutes or so & it’s only a 15 minute journey. Anne was lovely to deal with and we had everything we needed in her pristine apartment for our 3 night stay.

 What to do in Helsinki:

There really is a lot to do in Helsinki with kids, with thanks to Visit Helsinki we received 72 hour Helsinki Cards so we could cram in as much as possible during our short visit. With the Helsinki Card you can avail of free public transport, free entry to a variety of museums, discounted food, drink and shopping even discounted ferry crossing to Tallinn. 72 hour cards are priced €64 for adults and €32 for children aged 7-16. Under 7’s don’t need a card as they already avail of free public transport in Helsinki and free entry to most museums.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to see everywhere we wanted as our 5 year old Cillian caught a 24 hour bug on the train. We did however get to see the fabulous Christmas Market, ice skate at the train station, join a sightseeing tour bus, Ateneum Art Museum and a visit to Suomenlinna Sea Fortress including a visit to the Toy Museum and Military Museum. We missed out on the Natural History Museum, the Zoo & Children’s Town so they’re top of our list for next year.

Helsinki is really easy to navigate and getting around couldn’t be easier just hop on tram numbers 2 or 3 as they circle the city so they’ll get you to where you need to go. Make sure to visit the tourist information office on Pohjoisesplanadi 19 for information and some handy maps, we made great use of a day in Helsinki & Helsinki for kids maps.  

http://www.visithelsinki.fi/en

Kovanen:

A couple of weeks ago I told you about Kovanen providing us with complimentary VIP transport from Helsinki Airport to the train station and it was faultless so we decided to book them again for our early morning transport from our Airbnb to the Ferry terminal. We called them on their 24 hour customer care line and booked it at8pm the night before for 7am the following morning. The service was fantastic and cheaper than most other taxi companies. It cost us just €17 for the 7 of us whereas during our stay we hailed a cab at the train station and paid €23 for a shorter journey.

https://www.kovanen.com/en/

Ferry Crossing to Tallinn:

In my post last September when I was pricing this trip I told you about Tallink Silja as they allowed us the most amount of time ashore in Estonia. I had priced it at €117 for 2 adults, 4 children and 1 infant return. Tallink Silja very kindly gave us complimentary ferry crossing and upgraded us to comfort class, it’s something I probably wouldn’t have thought about doing as it’s priced at €20pp (under 5’s are free). I’m really glad they did as Comfort Class entitles you to sit in a segregated area on the ferry with amazing views of the Baltic Sea; you also avail of complimentary refreshments, snacks, newspapers and WiFi. We’ll definitely be purchasing Comfort Class next year when we return as at that time of the year the ferries were really full so it was great to be able to have a bit of privacy and extra room with the children for the 2 hour crossing.

We went over to Estonia on the Tallink Star 7:30am ferry and it was fabulous very sleek and modern with lots of shops that were very affordable. It even had a Burger King on board so there’s plenty of choice for food. We ventured outside on deck but it was Baltic so we made a quick retreat! We boarded Tallink Superstar for our return trip at 8:30pm it was bigger than Tallink Star, there was live music in the huge bar & auditorium at the rear of the ferry. There were lots of dining options on this ferry too with a buffet, sandwich bar, burger bar and a sit down restaurant there’s something for everyone’s taste buds. Our youngest boys had a great time in the play area. We bought a few toys and a couple of bottles of wine in the duty free on the way back as prices were great as did most of the ship as they duty free alcohol all but sold out! We checked in online 24 hours before we set sail and I found it really useful that we didn’t have to print boarding passes, I just downloaded them to my phone when I had WiFi.

https://www.tallinksilja.com/book-a-cruise

Tallinn Estonia

Seaplane Harbour:

When we arrived in the ferry port there were plenty of taxi’s available so we hopped in one costing us €10 to take us to Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour Museum. We absolutely loved this museum. We could’ve easily spent the whole day there. They’re very child orientated with loads of activities such as flight, torpedo and machine gun simulators. Children can drive remote controlled boats and even dress up in one of the many military uniforms and have their picture taken at a green screen so you can choose your background. We learned lots about submarines, seaplanes, icebreakers and even got to see a 16^th century ship that was on display. We received complimentary admission to this museum tickets are priced at €28 for a family pass or €32 for a family pass to both Seaplane Harbour and Fat Margaret Museum.

Fat Margaret:

We realised we could walk between these museums so we did just that and strolled 15 minutes to Fat Margaret Maritime Museum as we had also received complimentary tickets for this museum. The museum is spread out over four floors with exhibitions such as a captain’s cabin, a schooner mast complete with sails an early diving suit and over a hundred magnificent model ships but our little ones favourite part was the Viking era treasures from Estonia. If you do visit don’t forget to go out on the roof for an unhindered view out over the rooftops of Tallinn.

http://meremuuseum.ee/en/ 

Tallinn Christmas Markets:

Located in the Old Town Hall Square Tallinn Christmas Market is small but picture perfect. It’s the oldest capital city in Northern Europe and dating back to 1441 it’s the first place in Europe to have a decorated Christmas tree on display. We spent a wonderful few hours buying sweets, gifts and trinkets at some of the many stalls. I only wish we’d booked an overnight stay so we could explore some more as Tallinn is so beautiful. We had dinner in one of the restaurants dotted around the square before having a last look in the market before walking back to the ferry port to catch the ferry to Helsinki.   

https://www.visittallinn.ee/eng/visitor/discover/articles-guides/christmas-in-tallinn

Check back next week when I’ll conclude our Lapland posts with a rundown of what we wore & where I bought our ski wear hopefully saving you a few Euro!

*At the time of publishing today another Dad contacted me to say he's successfully booked Lapland using my tips. That brings our total to 71 families, SEVENTY ONE! I can't tell you how much it means to feel like I've helped to that extent. If you've ever used my tips or posts as a push to book your own holiday, I would genuinely LOVE to hear from you. It makes every minute of documenting our trips worth it*

If you’re new to Airbnb & would like €30 towards your first trip you can use my link below to claim your credit, I’ll also receive €30 for my travels that I'll blog about, so it’s win/win!! www.airbnb.ie/c/corrinas11

*** Disclaimer: As advised above we received a complimentary Helsinki Cards from Visit Helsinki, complimentary ferry crossing courtesy of Tallink Silja and tickets into both Fat Margaret and the Seaplane Museum. As usual all thoughts are my own, I was not asked to write this review. As ever, neither free services nor payment would ever sway my opinion. ***

How to do Lapland on a Budget & Make it Feel Like Anything But! (Part 3) SantaPark

Lapland really can be done on a budget! Over this series of posts I’m sharing exactly how we did it so you too can have a magical holiday in Finland. We flew to Helsinki from Dublin with Norwegian costing €826 for 2 adults & 5 children we then took the overnight Santa Express train to Rovaniemi paying €294, we stayed in an Airbnb beside the train station costing €219 for 2 nights.
Throw in a few extras like a couple of days in Helsinki and a trip across the Baltic Sea to spend the day exploring Tallinn and our total spend was less than €2k for a family of 7 for 8 days, a fraction of the cost of a day trip with a tour company. 

Last week I shared our experience at Santa Claus Village this week I’ll tell you how we got on at SantaPark when we took up their invitation to come visit while we were in Rovaniemi. 

How to do Lapland on a Budget & Make it Feel Like Anything But! (Part 2)

Welcome back to our epic adventure to Lapland on a budget. Thanks so much to each and every one of you who contacted me over the last week to say you’ve booked or will be booking a magical family trip to Lapland. I’m truly over the moon to help people see more of the world without spending a fortune.

Lapland isn’t just for kids; we saw lots couples or groups of people visiting without kids, they even went to see Santa! In total we spent 3 days and 2 nights in Rovaniemi. This week I’ll tell you about our Airbnb and the 2 days we spent in Santa Claus Village.

How to do Lapland on a Budget & Make it Feel Like Anything But! (Part 1)

Well the time has finally arrived for me to kick off a series of posts all about our Lapland experience. I’ve been overwhelmed with families contacting me saying they’ve already booked or are planning a trip this December based purely on my post detailing how I managed to save over 50% of the price of a day trip by booking it all myself, not only that but we went for 8 days and included a second Country for our family of 7 costing just €1,826! Catch up on that post HERE.

I’ll start by saying most people say it’s a once in a lifetime trip, I can categorically say it’s not as we’re going again in 2018 and quite possibly again and again! As usual I’ll detail all prices that we paid so you can plan your budget accordingly; during this trip we received some services complimentary as usual I’ll tell you exactly what we paid for and what we didn’t giving you an unbiased review regardless of whether we paid or not. 

Excitement Level: OFF THE CHARTS!

Flights:

Using Skyscanner I found a Norwegian flight from Dublin to Helsinki costing €118pp for the 3 hour 10 minute flight. A free carry-on bag per person weighing 10kg is included in the price we also checked in 2 bags costing €24 per 20kg bag return. With Norwegian you can’t check in online it must be done in the airport but it really was no hassle at all. Our flight was at 12pm so we arrived in plenty of time to check in at 10.30am. There was minimal queue at the check in desk, Norwegian staff were so helpful they even took all of the children’s carry-on luggage so they got to walk away swinging their arms.

I just kept our nappy bag for our toddler and a carry on full of food & things to keep the 5 children entertained for the duration of the flight. We were allocated a row of 5 seats together with an additional 2 in front, I was delighted to find that the extra seat in our row was unoccupied so our 2 year old got to stretch out beside me and have a nap.

Stone Travel Tip: You do not need rucksacks to travel to Lapland; we used two large rucksacks as we were afraid dragging a suitcase would be a nightmare. We were wrong while the paths are full of snow they are all compacted down so they're easily navigated with a wheelie suitcase. The same goes for a buggy; you do not need a baby carrier for your back we managed perfectly well with our buggy throughout the whole holiday.

Arrival in Helsinki:

There are a number of ways you can travel the 30 minutes to the train station in Helsinki from the airport such as bus, train, taxi or the way we did by private transfer. There are many companies offering this service a quick google search will return a comprehensive list.

One of most welcome sights after our flight was a gentleman in the arrivals hall in Helsinki holding an iPad with our name typed on the screen. He was our driver from Kovanen who had a VIP minivan waiting outside to whisk us to central Helsinki. 

We received a complimentary return transfer from Kovanen to see what we thought of the service. Our driver was professional and courteous at all times; He even helped load the luggage and the children onto the minivan. Our 5 little ones made short work of the complimentary chocolates and bottles of water on board. 

Free buggies in Helsinki

We also availed of the Kids plus service, for a fee of €30 they provide child seats for young children, they also receive a Kovanen branded teddy to take away with them and my lads loved them. In order to give a fair review of this company we made a separate booking with them for a transfer to the ferry terminal during our stay which we paid for and I’ll tell you more about that in a couple of weeks but rest assured it was every bit as comfortable a journey as our airport transfer.

Helsinki Train Station:

Thumbs Up for Helsinki, everyone - Close enough, Baby!

We arrived at the train station at 6.30pm, our train was departing at 10pm so we had a few hours to get dinner and have a short walk around Helsinki. In Helsinki Train Station you can leave your luggage in lockers downstairs, they have a few different size lockers ranging in price from €4 -€8 for 24 hours. We chose two €6 lockers to stow our luggage for a few hours, don’t worry if you don’t have change there’s a change machine at the door.

With our luggage safely stored we set off in search of a place to eat that would quickly satisfy 5 hungry children, we chose a pizza place just around the corner on Mannerheimintie located downstairs in the same building as Southern Fried Chicken just a few doors down from McDonald’s. I give you all these details so you can avoid the place!

It cost me just under €60 for a pizza and salad buffet including drinks. While they did make fresh pizzas for us the quality of the food just wasn’t good and the salad was either put out very early that morning or the day before. Afterwards we had a short walk around Helsinki looking at the fabulous Christmas windows in the large department stores and spent a little time watching the ice skaters behind the train station.

Helsinki Train Station

VR overnight train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi 

~ The Santa Express:

Next Stop, North Pole!

In my last post I gave you the low down of exactly how to get the best price tickets for the overnight train, it involved me booking a cabin for myself and the children then booking my husband into a shared cabin for a cost of €294 return for the 7 of us. 

The Seating Carraige

We got back to the train station at 9.30pm to wait for our train; we didn’t have to wait long as it arrived 5 minutes later. When you book online you can also print your tickets which is what I did, it gives you the number of your carriage and the number of your bed within that carriage. Make sure you have that to hand as there is nobody around to ask. As with all Finnish transport the train is highly efficient, our train departed the station at exactly 21.52 as scheduled, there was no whistle, bell or anything to signify we were about to leave, so keep that in mind if you want to jump off for a quick photo!

We boarded the train and set ourselves up in our cabins. They are small but doable; you can store your luggage under the bed. We also stored our toddler’s buggy under there too as we brought a small umbrella stroller for him. There’s a sink with bottled water in each cabin. The beds are dressed with duvets and pillows and the top bunks have safety straps for children. The loo was two doors down from us with minuscule a shower, you can upgrade to a cabin that includes a loo for €20 per adult return but to be honest it’s not worth it. There was a knock on our door about 20 minutes after we departed; it was the conductor to check our tickets.

Stone Travel Tip: Be sure to pack everyone's PJ's and Ski Gear at the very top of your bags so you don't have to go rummaging in tiny cabins. Ditto your toiletries.  

Taking the overnight train was a wonderful experience and we’ll more than likely do it again but I wouldn’t do it again with a 2 year old as I’m not used to co sleeping with him so I was half awake all night trying to keep an eye on him in case he fell out of the bed which he did twice but he landed on our coats that I had gathered there in case that happened. See I told you I’m rubbish at co sleeping. 

The Fully Stocked Dining Carriage

My husband got the children to sleep while I went and explored the train ending up in the dining carriage where I enjoyed the peace and a nice cold beer costing €6.90. Unfortunately there wasn’t a children’s carriage with a play area on our train as advertised on their website. 

Magical views from the train

The train stopped numerous times during the night at stations but not one of them was mentioned or any signal given that we were stopping so we could enjoy a night’s sleep (the children not me!). While you can purchase breakfast items on board such as pastries for about €3 each, free porridge is included in the price of your ticket, my advice would be to skip it as it was not nice at all and the coffee costing €2.50 was even worse. 

If you can stock up on pastries & smoothies before you board the train to have for breakfast in your cabin before you disembark. However lots of people brought their own breakfast to the dining carriage and nothing was said to them. 

We were due to arrive in Rovaniemi at 10.40am so we brought the children on a ramble through the train to stretch their legs after breakfast; it was on our walk that we bumped into a different conductor than the night before. She was lovely and stopped us for a chat as she is also a twin and saw my 10 year old identical twin daughters. It was only during this chat that she advised us that the train was over an hour delayed as they had to wait overnight for the driver that were changing shift. 

A short time later there was an announcement which was made in three languages but not English so we were lucky we had been told. My advice would be that if you see any staff chat to them and confirm your arrival time just to be sure.

I had said that I was half awake during the night but do you know what? I got to see some of the most magical scenes whooshing by our window during the small hours of the morning. The dense forests covered in thick snow, the occasional wooden house peeping out through the tall trees looking like something off a greetings card with Christmas trees covered in tiny white lights in their front gardens. Just gorgeous, not to mention the stunning sunrise we got to witness, everywhere we looked it was very surreal just like we were in a movie. 

Nous Arrivé!!

As we pulled into Rovaniemi Station I made sure the children were all suited and booted in their warmest ski gear before we set foot in the snow to experience Lapland first hand. Drop back next week when I tell you where we stayed & how we got on at Santa Village on our Husky and Reindeer safaris. 

Stone Travel Tip: If you don't fancy travelling by train, a budget alternative would be to grab cheap flights to Gatwick & overnight in an airport hotel, the cheapest I found was £30pn for 2+2. There's a direct flight from Gatwick to Rovaniemi but it departs at 5.30am. 

Our way above worked out at €250 less for a family of 7 & worth every minute! 

Drop back next week for the second installment. Tell us, have you been to Lapland? Would you consider it now? 

*** Disclaimer: As advised above we received free return transfers from Helsinki airport to central Helsinki. As usual all thoughts are my own, I was not asked to write this review. As ever neither free services nor payment would ever sway my opinion. ***

The Causey Christmas Experience

Over the past 10 years we’ve been to many Christmas experiences around Ireland and further afield, most years we do more than one experience over the festive season. We’ve been to Causey Farm Christmas Experience many times and each year it gets better & better this year we were invited down and I have to say they’ve outdone themselves. 

Where is Causey Farm?

Causey Farm is located in between Kells & Athboy in Co Meath about 40 minutes drive from Dublin or if like us you live near Athy it’s roughly an hour and a half drive. If you’re not driving you can take a Busáras bus to Kells & hop in a local taxi for the 5 mile journey to the farm.

What is Causey Farm?

It’s a family run farm that’s still owned and run by the Murtagh Family descendants of the local Kings/Chieftains of Co Meath. Today they are kings of their craft with three generations of the Murtagh family pitching in to make the farm a wonderful warm welcoming environment for young and old alike.

There’s always something to do on Causey Farm no matter the season, during the summer you can take the children on a Farm Experience day where you can milk a cow, paint a mural, participate in a bodhrán workshop, cut turf or just go bog jumping (how fun does that sound?!). They’ve lots of events and experiences to choose from on their website www.causey.ie. They even host hen parties and run the award winning Farmafobia in October; we haven’t been brave enough to visit that yet!

What’s Causey Christmas Experience really like?

Honestly?! It’s fantastic, as I said we’ve been a few times over the years but this year was the best so far. It’s billed as an hour and a half experience that guides you around the farm, where you’ll visit lots of places like the post office, the control centre, the elves bedroom and their workshop complete with lots of toys. Along the way you’ll get to meet a few farm animals, some you’re used to seeing on farms in Ireland others well let’s just say he had the hump all day! So be sure to bring comfy footwear, willies if you have them and wrap up warm.

Ground Control to Major Nick

There’s ample free parking available onsite, when you arrive be sure to check in at reception in the gift shop first then you’ll have time to run to the loo which is conveniently located in the front courtyard. I know I was glad to see the loo as my 5 little ones needed it after the car journey! They’ve a café onsite where you can purchase a range of delicious fresh homemade produce or just grab a tea of coffee to warm up.

I don’t want to spoil the surprises so I won’t tell you exactly what happens during the experience but I will tell you be sure to try the hot homemade mince pies which are served at the start of your journey around the farm, they are divine. As with all of these Christmas days out the staff/elves really can make or break the whole experience, the staff at Causey were fantastic and abundant, everywhere we looked there were lovely smiling elves ready to chat with the children. 

This year saw a few additions to the experience from previous years and it’s magical, I particularly loved the cottage with the roaring turf fire where we were regaled with stories old Irish traditions before the children got to make a wish while helping to stir the Christmas pudding.

It’s the first Christmas Experience we’ve been to that not only are you encouraged to take photos on the way around but they advise you to ask any elf to take a family photo of you, they’ll be happy to oblige. The only exception to this is when you’re with Santa; they’ve a professional photographer on hand to snap that special shot. 

Our visit lasted just under 2 hours as the children were having so much fun at snowball alley and the mirror maze. Sure there are little tweaks that can be made to enhance the visit like try to cut the wait time in the shop but really it’s nothing that’d put us off visiting again. I bought some fab decorations and blankets for the children in the shop as their prices are very reasonable. I would however have loved to be able to buy a Causey Farm ornament for our travel tree as a reminder of our wonderful experience.

How much is the Causey Christmas Experience?

Adults: €14, Children aged 2-12: €22, Toddlers aged 12-23 months: €8 & Babies 0-11 months are free of charge. 

We were invited so our trip was complimentary, it would have cost is €138 as we’re a family of 2 adults & 5 children. I feel this is a very fair price for the experience and the quality of the toys the children receive from Santa for those reasons we will be visiting again in the coming years.

Have you been to Causey Christmas Experience? What did you think?

(Edited to add: 

Huge thanks for all the messages about

our typo in the fifth paragraph, 

no idea how it slipped past both

of us but we laughed so hard that it's staying!)