Late Late Toy Show host Patrick Kielty shares his annual Christmas morning tradition of visiting his local Dundrum pub, plus how sons Milo and James are getting more interested in the show
Late Late Toy Show host Patrick Kielty(Image: Evan Doherty)
Patrick Kielty has confessed that he believes the Christmas celebrations kick off a bit too early, but once the Toy Show wraps up, he fully immerses himself in the holiday cheer.
The comedian always spends Christmas with his family in his hometown of Dundrum in Co Down, and there are certain traditions he’s fond of keeping alive.
After the hustle and bustle of hosting the Toy Show, Ireland’s most viewed annual television event, Patrick’s sons Milo and James take great delight in their dad being the show’s presenter.
Discussing his plans for this year’s festivities with RSVP Magazine, Patrick said: “It’ll just be the usual, family getting together and that sort of thing.
“Generally I find everything starts too early. Once the Toy Show is done and you get that out of the way, you can think further down the line.”
Delving into his yearly customs, the TV host added: “Tradition is normally Dundrum. There is a very nice local pub down the road.
Patrick Kielty has opened up on his plans for Christmas Day(Image: Evan Doherty)
“I live outside the village, more in the townlands, so this would be more the bar that the farmers would drink in.
“They open every Christmas morning for one hour. There is normally a walk down there for a sneaky pint before someone tries to burn the turkey. So that’s a tradition I love to follow every year.”
After three years of steering the Toy Show, Patrick’s sons Milo and James are showing an increasing interest in his work, reports RSVP Live.
He jokingly commented: “I mean it’s a cool thing if dad can get them near the toys! There’s a very limited level of credibility that goes there.
“They were very impressed last year when we had the Olympians running through Smyths Toy Superstores – which is just the Mecca, Croke Park, Wembley Stadium, for kids. They were stunned the kids could go in and pick whatever toys they wanted.
“The main game that’s currently happening is trying to find out the theme of this year’s show. I’ve gone into full interrogation-you-will-not-break-me mode.
“The first year, the idea for them was that I was hosting a toy show. Second year, I was doing The Toy Show. Now they are more in the know, the onion sort of unpeels.
RSVP December 2025 cover
“We’ll be in the car doing the school run and the question of the theme comes up. They think they can catch me out now and have started working as a team.
“They veer from being impressed to wanting to know more, which is always dangerous.”
Patrick prefers watching the programme back with his two lads rather than having them view it live on the Friday evening.
He explained: “I like to watch it with them. Last year I got a kick out of seeing their faces watching me dressed as Kevin from Home Alone.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.