Season’s Greetings to everyone from the enchanted North Pole!

Once upon a time, Santa was a quick visit in a department store, at the end of a day of shopping. How times have changed. From Beyond to Winterval, Ciara McDonnell and Vickie Maye round up the best festive experiences. 

Look and feel gorgeous throughout the party season with long-wearing beauty that cares for hair and skin. Rachel Marie Walsh reports    

Did you know reindeer once roamed across our rolling greens fields? At least according to copywriter Robert L May. Dick Warner has more.

Scoil Aiséirí Farranree are hoping for an extra Christmas present this year - a number one single.

The mother of a boy with cerebral palsy who was awarded €5,500 by the Workplace Relations Commission said her family was “gutted” when his school would not allow him to bring his assistance dog with him.

Now that I’m old (and vulnerable) my state wants to keep me safe while they’re giving me stuff, writes Fergus Finlay

ENGLAND: A jelly replica of Buckingham Palace made from Pimm’s — complete with jelly corgis — has been unveiled in the run-up to the street party marking the Queen’s official 90th birthday.

It says everything about this season of surprises that West Ham were bitterly upset to drop two points and miss out on a place in the top four after a controversial equaliser from the penalty spot by Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas.

THIS evening as the light dies we’ll go looking for the reindeer in the Phoenix Park with our kids, writes Victoria White.

Why does Santa live in the North Pole – and how come adults never get to see him? These and other mysteries – such as just how fast his reindeer can fly, and how Mrs Claus feels about being home alone on Christmas Eve - are explained by the pint-sized Santa experts of Kilcrohane National School on West Cork’s remote Sheep’s Head Peninsula. Ailin Quinlan reports.

Some of the stranger stories from around the globe

A small village in mid-Cork is set to host the biggest model display of its kind in the world to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

IT’S been an emotional morning for the cast of Call The Midwife. Firstly, they were greeted with the happy news that Ben Caplan, who plays PC Noakes in the nostalgic nursing drama, spent the previous day in hospital, while his wife gave birth to their second child.

GERMANY:

ENGLAND:

USA: Body art is not for animals, at least not in New York.

Seasons greetings from everybody here in the North Pole to all you Irish Examiner readers.

Finns grab road safety by the fluorescent horns

The magic of Christmas is found nowhere more than in the hearts of children.

Hide the telltale signs of a heavy night. Lisa Haynes reveals the products and tricks to feign the benefits of eight hours’ sleep.

Christmas is coming and the list is getting fat — with cool, yuletide gifts handpicked by Esther N McCarthy for your Christmas time present perusal.

The concept of a regular season NFL game coming to Ireland has been given the thumbs up by three Minnesota Vikings stars who attended a Sky Roadshow event at Croke Park this week.

IF you have a bad case of the February blues, it’s likely that your skin has, too.

“Rudolph the red nosed reindeer had an unusually high red blood cell count in his nostrils, and if you ever saw him, you would think it’s to help regulate brain temperature in freezing conditions...”

Former footballer Fabrice Muamba showed he still has some fancy footwork as he kicks up a storm for 'Strictly Come Dancing' – just months after retiring from the pitch after his “death”.

Love is unpredictable, messy, sometimes violent and occasionally soppy.

VISITORS to Cork city’s Bishop Lucey Park are in for a memorable festive treat over the coming weeks.

Declan Cashin experiences a mouth-watering visit to Lapland, has to rein in his appetite a little, enjoys the sights and raucous nightlife but misses out on those bright lights

The suspect in the shooting of Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords pleaded not guilty in court, the 22-year-old’s first response to the charges.

LOOK, the truth is that I get a kick out of it, even if no one else does.

AN MP3 player, a Munster tracksuit and a good-looking boyfriend were among the wish-lists Santa got yesterday on his special visit to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital.

I HAVE always thought Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer needs someone to plant a corrective foot in his furry nether parts.