Christmas Started Tonight In Ireland

When I was a kid, the first sign of Christmas was the Late Late Toy Show. The Late Late Show is a long running late night chat show that most of Ireland watched throughout the 60’s, 70’s 80’s and 90’s. It still runs today, and is the second longest running late night talk show in the world. To this day, it is broadcast live in from of a studio audience (except in current pandemic restrictions).

The Late Late Toy Show is an annual special episode in late November where all the good little children of Ireland are let stay up long past their bedtimes to see what the hot toys, games and books of the year are. It always has special guests, children presenting toys, musical pieces and other novelties to entertain. As a kid, it was magical. 

Recent years have been less than awe-inspiring. There was just something missing ever since Gay Byrne retired in 1999. All subsequent hosts just didn’t have the same skills and screen presence, and the Toy Show became a 2 hour advertisment for the toys companies that could afford to promote their stuff. While I was in college it was a joke, and in the last decade or two, I haven’t bothered with it. 

While browsing twitter earlier today I was alerted to the fact the this years show had just begun! Purely out of nostalgia, and expecting absolutely nothing, I fired up the RTÉ Player on my iPad and started watching, streamed live from Ireland, with my kids. 

And it. 

Was.

✨✨MAGICAL!✨✨

The musical numbers were utterly beautiful, and there were lots to enjoy. The show opened with the host and a bunch of kids in an elaborate set piece, and they later did an encore with Singing In The Rain. But by far the two most magical moments were the beautiful rendition of Rule The World dedicated to all those who can’t come home this Christmas and... well... it’s better not to spoil it, but this cover of a song by an Irish artist, called Giants. Seriously, if you ignore all other links in this post, don’t skip that one. It’s...special. 

And the kids! Every one of them was a character, a joy to see on screen. They could banter away and gave as good as they got with jokes and friendly insults! After each one, I thought they couldn’t top that, and then the next kid would appear and I’d have to grab my tissues again and try not to sob too loudly. The surprise guest for a little boy with brittle bone disease (the Late Late Toy Show always made bringing sick children a little extra joy a priority) was possibly the sweetest moment I’ve witnessed all year. 

The positive buzz online during and after the show was deafening! People all over th eWorld were live Tweeting it, myself included, and individual guest names were trending in Ireland, much to one 7 year old girl’s delight! Everyone was enjoying the love and heart that was on display throughout. In a year where a lot of families are feeling the pinch, it was very nice to see them take the focus off the toys and land it squarely on the children. 

All this and they raised €5.2 MILLION in about two hours for children’s hospitals across the country! Ireland has a population of about 5 million, and given that the donation drive remains open after the show, I can only imagine what it’s up to now! 

This year’s Late Late Toy Show was breathtaking, and my love and congratulations goes out to everyone involved. I’m so delighted I got to share it, live, with my kids this year. We will absolutely be tuning in again next year, and until then, we’ll be rewatching the hightlights on the RTÉ YouTube channel for some time to come. 

Oh! And the host, Ryan, said “Fuck” on live Irish television in front of a seven year old girl and absolutely everyone watching lost it, and we will all love him for it forever.