'A bottle of red lemonade for the children and a glass of whiskey for Daddy'

Sometimes, looking back is the best way to remind ourselves of the important things in life. Indulge yourself in some festive cheer with these reader memories of Christmas in Ireland

Decorating gingerbread cookies for Christmas.

Earlier this month, Weekend Magazine asked its readers to send in their best Christmas memories in order to be in with a chance to win a year's membership to Ballymaloe Cookery School's new Online Subscription Service, which entitles members access to live and archived cookery demonstrations, recipes, fireside chats with chefs from around the world and much more. Unsurprisingly, you answered in your hundreds - 600 to be exact! 

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the competition is Elizabeth Hawes, who is looking forward to a quiet and very simple Christmas in the country. 'I am delighted with very little,' she says. We hope it is Simply Delicious, Elizabeth. 

During a week of such unsettled feelings, it is more important than ever to focus on what really matters, and the memories sent in by our readers do just that. Gerry Kelly told us that as a student, he would travel by boat and train through Germany, the English Channel, through England and finally a ferry to Dublin. "This was a 24-hour non-stop, no sleep journey. I will never forget the first trip and in particular, the characters I met on the Holyhead ferry. Some of these lads hadn't been home in years and they told some pretty tough stories. I was flabbergasted when the entire carriage burst into tears on the journey from Dún Laoghaire into Westland row. I quickly raised my Irish Examiner and shed a few tears myself!"

Nannie Nelly in the Cork Opera House Panto, Cinderella. Picture: Clare Keogh

Sarah Coffey's festive highlight was going to see the panto in the Cork Opera House every year. "We would go out every year for Christmas Eve lunch and then I help my Dad with the icing for the Christmas cake on the Christmas Eve."

For Viv O'Brien, this week evokes memories of her grandmother. "It brings me back to her kitchen, where her baking would be in full swing, plumes of flour like fairy dust to us kids. Oh, the smell of cinnamon, spice and all things nice and if you were very good, she'd let you lick the spoon!"

Joy Clifford Vaughan told us how she had a lucky escape on a stealthy Santa-finding mission as a child. "One year my brother Robin and I decided this was the year we would see Santa Claus so we hid behind the sofa after our parents went to bed. Of course, we soon conked out! We awoke around 6am to discover Santy had been and gone and had got the better of us yet again. We quietly tore open our presents and stuffed the wrapping paper in the embers of the fire. Unfortunately, all the papers went aflame and caused a roaring chimney fire.... needless to say, our Mom and Dad were not best impressed and it was a ropey start to Christmas Day having nearly burnt the house down!"

Anna Maria Mullins has a special connection to the Irish Examiner at Christmas, as she explained to us in her Christmas memory. "My Auntie, Josie O'Connell, now deceased, was a prized baker in the Cork Examiner Christmas charity baking competition on many occasions. I remember visiting her home prior to Christmas and being allowed to stir some of the many cakes and puddings for good luck and being surrounded by the Christmas aromas which I have to say was a very pleasant replacement to the usual farming smells. I now have that very large bowl to bake with."

Traditional Christmas cake

Peg O'Riordan remembers going to the pantomime in Cork during the 1970s. "We had to go for a nap in the afternoon to be able to stay awake for the extravaganza that we were going to experience that evening. It was the highlight of the year and the excitement was indescribable."

Mary Tobin's Christmas memory dates back almost seventy years. "We got up early to milk the cows at 5.30 am, then we got washed and my father got the pony and trap ready and we set off for Mass in Graine. My mother tucked us up with old warm overcoats as the mornings were bitterly cold," she says. "The pony was tied up in a shed beside the church. All the neighbours were there and the excitement among the children was palpable. Santa had come and bought a present. After Mass, we went home and had a fry for breakfast. I can still remember the taste of it. We had a goose and ham for the dinner and the gravy was even better than Ballymaloe gravy!. Later in the afternoon, we got a bottle of red lemonade and my father had a glass of whiskey. We got sweets and biscuits which was a rarity. We played all day long with our Santa. We went to bed tired but happy. No sleep on Christmas Eve with pure excitement! So many memories."

For more information on Ballymaloe Cookery School's Online Subscription Service go to www.cookingisfun.ie