Girls and boys will be delighted to hear that Santa’s coming ho ho home to the GAA Museum and Croke Park from November 27th! This Santa Experience is one Christmas ‘goal’ not to be missed!
An Elite team of elves from the North Pole are setting up their ‘Countdown to Christmas’ training camp at the famous stadium, where they will hone their Christmas and GAA skills and make final preparations for the magical worldwide journey on Christmas Eve. Every helper at this Camp is a member of the North Pole GAA Club, which is the most magical GAA club in the world.
On the Croke Park Santa Experience all visitors are VIP’s as they get fascinating behind the ‘winter wonderland’ scenes access. Your family will have the opportunity to get a pitchside ‘Elfie’ in the magnificent grounds, and you can see where the Elves tog out in their Christmas training gear at the Elf Dressing Room. You’ll also have time to ‘chill’ out in the Igloo Clubhouse, and you can test your own hurling, camogie and football skills in the North Pole Skills Zone. An All-Star Elf will even check your skills score card and will share some insider knowledge on treats to leave out on Christmas eve for Santa and his reindeer.
After all this festive fun has made visitors truly jolly, it will be time to finally take the much-anticipated ‘hurl’ into Santa’s very special Croke Park Cabin to meet the Bainisteoir of Christmas himself. Here, every child will receive a small GAA-themed gift and photos will also be available to purchase if you wish.
The Santa Experience also includes free admission to the newly refurbished GAA Museum, which gives a unique insight into the history of GAA in Ireland. Here visitors can see the original Sam Maguire and Liam MacCarthy cups and younger visitors can also pick up their Junior Explorer passport and follow a specially-designed children’s route through the museum.
After working up an appetite, finish off the perfect day with light refreshments and a festive snack in the museum’s Blackthorn Café. And before you leave, you can even pick up a stocking filler reminder of your big day in the GAA Museum Gift Shop!
Santa will arrive at Croke Park on Saturday November 27th and the Santa Experience will run on selected dates until Thursday December 23rd. The experience is run in groups, lasts for one hour, and is wheelchair and buggy accessible. Free parking is available outside the GAA Museum with entry to Croke Park at St Joseph’s Avenue (turn at the Daybreak Shop on the Clonliffe Road).
All tickets must be pre-booked online in advance at crokepark.ie/santa.
Tickets prices are:
– Adults: €11
– Children aged 2 upwards: €17 (including gift)
– Children aged 13 months – 23 months: €9 (including gift)
– Children Under 1: Free of charge and gift included, but ticket must be booked
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
The GAA Museum has signed up to the Failte Ireland Covid Safety charter and strictly adheres to all government guidelines. For dates, tour times and booking, see www.crokepark.ie/santa
