It’s December 1st and therefore, time to officially get festive. This weekend, it’s all about The Toy Show, saving Santa Clause and seeing Hugh Grant dance – as only he can – as Love Actually hits the big screen again, says Jennifer McShane. 

ON TV:

The Late Late Toy Show

Some love it (others not quite so much), but The Late Late Toy Show is an Irish staple at this stage. Tonight, details are kept largely under wraps, but we do know they are taking us Under the Sea as the theme is based on Disney’s The Little Mermaid – one of Disney’s best, it must be said. Expect cuteness overload – tiny tots dressed as starfish? We live in hope! – plenty of Christmas jumpers and kids so talented, they put the lot of us to shame. The Christmas run-up has officially started…

The Late Late Toy Show is on tonight, Friday, at 9.35pm on RTE One 

The Santa Clause

Ah, a true Christmas classic. Tim Allen shines as a grumpy divorced father who faces a dilemma one Christmas Eve after accidentally startling Santa and causing him to fall to his death. What’s he to do? Much to the delight of his young son, his only option is to put on the red suit, jump into the sleigh and finish the round himself. A hilarious, family favourite worth taping to watch a repeat over the Christmas break.

The Santa Clause airs on RTE One on Saturday at 6.35pm

ON SCREEN:

Love Actually 

So many love (there’s no way the pun was to be avoided) this movie but Love Actually didn’t sit well with all viewers when it was first aired 13 years ago because, for all its good intentions, it had some problems. All the men end basically up with “prizes” in the form of women by the end (spotted on a Reddit thread), and, as is the norm in a Richard Curtis film, it’s almost entirely about middle-class white people in North London – but it gets many things right and is hence, a beloved favourite. The women shine (Emma Thompson, always), it’s genuinely funny, and the dialogue is snappy, heartfelt and what we need to see and hear when the real world gets a bit much. And even though those place cards are still ever-so-slightly creepy, that particular scene pulls at the heartstrings every single time. Get ready to watch and feel merry.

Love Actually is showing at The Light House Cinema, tomorrow, Saturday, December 2nd at 3.15pm