There’s nowhere quite like Cork when Santa is on his way.

Wrap up warm and take a winter walk in Fitzgerald’s Park. Pack a flask of hot cocoa to drink al fresco while the kids run wild in the playground…

2. Get your skates on

Take the whole family to Cork on Ice… a winter tradition on Leeside. All levels of experience are catered for, so older kids can show off their best moves while little ones find their ice legs in the Penguin Club.

Ice skating can burn more than 600 calories per hour so it’s a brilliant way to use up some of those excess Christmas calories during the holidays.

They serve a mean coffee too in The Summit Cafe, FYI.

3. Stock up on spiced beef

For such a delicious dish, it’s odd that most of us don’t enjoy spiced beef once a week all year ’round. Still, cooking it just once a year does give it a special kind of magic. Cork butcher Tom Durcan starts preparing his spiced beef in October, mixing a top secret spice cure to marinade a whopping six tonnes of meat for Cork’s Christmas dinner tables.

4. Visit The Giving Tree

Choose a gift to bring along when you visit The Giving Tree. Run by Saint Vincent de Paul, last year The Giving Tree collected more than 5,000 Christmas presents, which were distributed among children in need.

5. Brave the icy sea for a Christmas Day swim

Every year, hundreds of brave volunteers don their togs and plunge into the ice sea on Christmas Day to raise money for charity. With swims in Myrtleville, Youghal, Garryvoe and Robert’s cove, to list but a few, it’s a brilliant way to get your blood pumping before a delicious Christmas dinner. Even if you’re not swimming yourself, it’s a fun afternoon for a spectator.

6. Stroll Pana on Christmas Eve

With all the shopping and wrapping done (probably), Christmas Eve is a time to kick back and soak up the atmosphere on Cork’s busiest street. Grab a hot chocolate, stop by the crib on Daunt Square and check out the carol singers near the Tree of Remembrance. Afterwards, head for Glow on the Grand Parade to ride the ferris wheel and buy a bag of roasted chestnuts.

7. Celebrate Women’s Little Christmas

What began as a rather antiquated tradition of giving the women of the household a ‘night off’ from their domestic duties after Christmas is now a firm fixture in the social calendar in Cork. A brilliant excuse to get the gang back together, Women’s Little Christmas or ‘Nollaig Na mBan’ is celebrated in bars and restaurants all over the city and county on January 6th, but you could always invite the girls ’round to devour the last of the Chocolate Kimberleys over coffee too.

Cork on Ice is now open at Mahon Point. To book your tickets, visit the website.