It's the first of December. Time to think Christmassy thoughts and sprinkle good will on all. Isn't it? Jeanette McManus called Liveline to share her experience of a worrying new trend she's spotted in recent years: adults being charged to take their children to visit Santa. Her local hotel charges €12.50 for adults and €17.50 for children. (By my maths that's €30 for one adult and one child. Cancel Christmas!)
"It's magical for children, not so much for adults. But, we do have to bring our children there, we can't allow them go in by themselves."
Joe wondered what Jeanette got for her €12.50. The answer – a glass of mulled wine. As she pointed out herself, it's not much use if you're driving and in any event, it's a lot of money for a plastic cup of mulled wine.
"I did ask, could I send in my two children and they said no."
So parents are a captive audience, so to speak – they have to stay with their children during the "experience" and they're now being charged for the privilege.
Jeanette decided to research "Santa experiences" and could only come up with one – in Walkinstown, Dublin – that didn't charge for adults. Everywhere else she found had a charge for adults accompanying children. Most of the experiences Jeanette researched lasted for about half an hour, with around five minutes being spent with Santa himself, so it's not bad for the children as such, but it's a different story for the adults. And it's a trend Jeanette, for one, is not happy with.
"I wouldn't mind the children being charged a little bit extra, but I just think it's crazy [adults] having to pay to see Santa."
It’s well worth a listen back to!
Photo Credit: Getty Images