A wonderful day out with the family.

I personally think that Christmas markets are one of the best ways to get into the festive spirit. The gorgeous lights, the buzz of the crowd, the stalls and of course all of the holiday themed food. I've been making a list of all the different Christmas markets around the country that I want to visit before the end of December and the Drogheda Christmas Festival is one of them. The Drogheda Christmas Festival will be taking place from Friday December 6th to Sunday December 8th. Supported by the Louth City Council and sponsored by The D Hotel, Scotch Hall, Drogheda Credit Union and other local brands, some of Drogheda’s biggest tourist attractions and shopping destinations will be magically transformed into a winter wonderland. This family-friendly event will see Mr. & Mrs. Claus making an appearance in front of a beautiful display of lights on St. Peter’s Church, West Street where visitors will also get the chance to enjoy a Christmas market of over 50 of the highest quality craft and food exhibitions. The promenade at the D Hotel and Scotch Hall Shopping Centre will see a stunning vintage carousel, an outdoor cinema which will screen some of the best Christmas films, live music and entertainment, a mini Christmas village and much more! To be fair they had me at vintage carousel but everything else sounds amazing too. I can see my kids being particularly excited about the mini Christmas village. Only 45 minutes out of Dublin and only a little over an hour away from Belfast, it would make a perfect Christmas day trip. Launching this Friday at 12 noon (and running till 7pm for the opening day) the festival will be open daily over the course of the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 11am - 6pm.