The countdown has truly begun for the most magical television night of the year but Toy Show host Patrick Kielty is well aware that this is more than just a night of fun and games - it’s also all about the festive feels.
The Co Down man will be making his third appearance as MC of what has long been an Irish institution this Friday night and he has a sense of the importance of the show, saying "there is an inter-generational nostalgia and sense of connection" to the evening.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment, he said: "There is an element of Irish Thanksgiving to the Toy Show, it’s a base camp for Christmas where families get together without the pressure of who’s cooking what and who’s coming over.
"The emotion comes with the anticipation and build-up and I think the Toy Show does something for Ireland that other countries don’t have, which is we’re now together, it’s time to look forward to this event and almost to give thanks for what we’ve got as we roll into this."
From small beginnings as a thirty-minute slot in 1975, the Toy Show has become a phenomenon, watched globally by an audience of well over a million every year.
Over the past two Christmases, Kielty has hit his stride as the latest host. He has blissfully ignored the old showbiz injunction that you should never work with children or cuddly toys and gone with the flow, making the show all about the real stars - the children of Ireland.
Asked if he has gotten the hang of it yet, he says, "Do you ever get the hang of it? I would say that the thing about the Toy Show is that because the title is the same every year, you can fool yourself into thinking that you think you’re going to be making the same show, so you should know what you’re doing.
"But you’re essentially starting from scratch every year - you’re doing a different show every year, which is exciting and kind of terrifying but less so as you go along."
And this is the kind of live, by-the-seat-of-your pants television where mistakes and bloopers actually add to the gaiety of the nation and the watching world.
"If you could publish that, that would be great!" Kielty laughs. "If you could just get that out there, our work is done here. Look, this is a show you can’t plan and it’s all the better for it. Script-wise, kids-wise, what you might ask, what they might say... so going with the flow is a good approach.
"But I think the other thing is if things do go wrong, people will forgive you for it... I think for the night that’s in it. There’s goodwill towards the show so that helps."
Of course, from the very excited kids and equally excited adults in studio and watching on at home, it all looks like it’s herding cats so planning for the Toy Show begins very early every year.
"I had the first call about this year’s show in June and by the time we came back in August, we had already decided the theme," Kielty says. "This year’s theme involved a good bit of preparation - there’s been prosthetic fittings and different things that had to happen so there are a lot of moving parts.
"Also, in the audition process, the production team know what a massive deal it is for someone to send in a tape to get on the show, so they really take time with that and go through them all properly so nothing falls down the back of the sofa and nobody is left disappointed, so a lot of work goes into it."
However, that all-important Toy Show theme is kept under Christmas wraps until the eve of broadcast, with even members of the Late Late team only finding out at the last minute.
However, our host did mention prosthetics - so will we be seeing PK as we’ve never seen him - or indeed wanted to - before? "You could be, you could be... " he teases. "We’ve done a little test to see if they work so there is a chance that my appearance may be altered and some would say for the better."
He is a bit of a twinkling dandy but over the past two years of hosting one of the biggest nights in Irish TV, Kielty has seemed reluctant to engage in a spot of singing and dancing himself.
"I think me and the audience have very much got a silent agreement that is not something they want to see and I am happy to agree with that. Hahahahaha," he laughs.
"I believe that with the talent that is on show from the kids, I have to very much know my place and unless there is a talent transplant between now and December 5, I would say most of the dancing will be from the kids."
This is a show with more costume changes than a Lady Gaga concert or an episode of Mr Benn so will he be slipping into something less comfortable throughout the night?
"The Late Late Toy Show team do seem to take a certain joy from seeing how many outfits they can get me in and out of," Kielty says." I would love to say they have got bored with that idea but they don’t seem to have yet so I think there will be a chance of a few J-Lo changes on the night."
And like Godzilla in Toy Town, over the past two years, Kielty has coolly laid waste to a perfectly good toy gymkhana, snapped the door off of a toy oven, and managed to casually mangle a skipping game.
"I normally break them in rehearsals," he says. "There’s always this look of panic, it’s happened a couple of times, when the toy researcher is looking at the producer, who’s siting in the audience, and the look is, ‘he’s broken that, hasn’t he? Is there another one...?’
"So, they now know and there’s normally another one on stand-by. I remember the first year I did the show, there was a little pizza dough oven and it worked every time in rehearsal but we couldn’t get to work on the night so there will definitely be more mishaps."
Kielty also singles out The Late Late Show Toy Appeal, which has raised over €26 million since its inception in 2020, as a key part of the show’s enduring magic.
"People really dig deep for the appeal for money that they don’t have at that time and it really shows the journey they are on throughout the show," he says.
As he prepares for another night of festive madness in Studio 4, PK also has a rather big decision to make next May when his contract as host of The Late Late Show itself is up for renewal.
He has brought a more comedic edge to proceedings during his tenure but he is keeping his cards close to his chest about whether he will be re-signing.
"Nothing’s forever," he says. "I enjoy doing the show but I am very conscious that when it comes to a show like the Late Late, you are the lighthouse keeper.
"There will be people there who have hosted the show before you and people who will host the show after you, so who knows what the future brings, but what I do know is that I’ve had an amazing time, I’m having an amazing time, hosting it."
Asked if he set out to shake-up the Late Late format, Kielty says, "I think that one of the things that you always have to remember is that with a show like the Late Late, we are so emotionally attached to it and we are emotionally attached to the history of the show.
"The one thing that I always sort of keep in the back of my mind is that when Gay [Byrne] started that show, there was no history.
"He was going into space for the first time. You know, it was a fledgling TV nation that was actually doing something new and different. And the brilliant thing that the show has always done is to reflect what Ireland is.
"I think that the show changes as Ireland changes and that is in terms of how people watch the show," he adds.
"I think the stuff that people want to watch on a Friday night has changed slightly the choices that they then have so I don’t think I came in with change in my mind. But I think if you're not moving forward, you're going nowhere."
Watch The Late Late Toy Show at 9.35pm on 5 December, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
