Home Alone themed Toy Show starts Christmas
Ollie Hickey from Enfield, Meath on set with Patrick Kielty opening the Toy Show Appeal on this year's Late Late Toy Show. Picture: Andres Poveda/RTÉ
You could practically hear the boxes of Christmas sweets being opened across the country on Friday night in preparation for the most anticipated night in the Irish calendar - the Late Late Toy Show.
The special Christmas pyjamas that have been waiting to be worn were finally taken out of the closet and those fresh pairs of fluffy socks were opened as people settled into the sofa and tuned into RTÉ One for a night of nostalgia and pure Christmas cheer.
This year’s theme of Christmas movie favourite Home Alone went down a treat when announced ahead of the show on Friday and viewers were not disappointed as Patrick Kielty and a whole host of little Kevin McCallisters came together to protect the McCallister home from the Wet Bandits.
The Late Late Toy Show set was transformed into the infamous home of the McCallister family, with set designers really going all out to impress this year with iconic features such as the famous staircase, Christmas tree full of baubles, fireplace decorated with Christmas stockings, treehouse, and Buzz’s bedroom.
It felt like being transported into the movie, sharing in Kevin McCallister’s mischievous adventure as he plots his traps to keep Marv Murchins and Harry Lyme out of his home.
The show opened with a group of talented kids portraying the McCallister family boarding their plane at Dublin Airport in anticipation of their festive getaway before Mrs McCallister tells her husband she feels as though she is forgetting something.
Asking if she forgot to bring tea bags, put the washing out or turn the immersion off, she suddenly realises that they had forgotten… Patrick!
Cut to Patrick Kielty sliding down the staircase to meet a group of performers dancing and singing to popular numbers including Run Rudolph Run and Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.
The talented bunch were just some of the 250 rockers, drummers, Irish dancers, hip hop dancers, trad music players, toy testers and book reviewers selected to take part in the show this year out of a huge 100,000 applications.
Kielty welcomed audience members and those watching at home and abroad, with thousands tuning into the Late Late Toy Show from across the globe again this year through the RTÉ Player.
Patrick Kielty with Dory Hudson (8) from Tallaght and Jazzy on set of this year's Late Late Toy Show. Picture: Andres Poveda/RTÉ
This year’s eager toy testers showed us some of their favourite games, including the Beyblade X Xtreme Battle Set, Hot Wheels Monster Truck Epic Loop Bundle, FurReal Peanut the Playful Monkey and Real FX Disney Stitch Puppet Interactive Toy.
Irish toys featured on the show included Stomp Rockets and an Irish Bracelet Weaving set, to name a few.
The much-loved book section of the show returned with this year’s readers sharing mythologies and histories and reviewing The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers, The Story of Irish Rugby by Gerard Siggins and Nina Peanut: Mega Mystery Solver by Sarah Bowie.
The show also marked the fifth year of the Toy Show Appeal which sees people give generously to help charities and families across the country each year. The Appeal this year kicked off with a donation of €100,000 from Tesco Ireland.
The Late Late Toy Show officially marks the start of Christmas for so many of us Irish across the globe and this year’s show oozed festive fun and nostalgia.
Perhaps I am biased - as a 90s baby, Home Alone was a firm favourite of mine growing up - but this year’s Toy Show was truly one of the most special.
The Late Late Toy Show will be repeated on Sunday, December 8 at 3.05pm and Monday, December 9 at 11.05pm on RTÉ One. Audio Description (AD) will also be available for the repeat shows.
The Late Late Toy Show ISL is available to stream on the RTÉ Player following the live broadcast and will be repeated on the ISL block on Wednesday, December 11.
