December 2025

Celebrate the magic of the season at the  National Museum of Country Life, which will host a festive programme of events on  Sunday, 7 December, and Sunday, 14 December 2025.

A  special Christmas Market  will take place from  1pm to 5pm  in the courtyard of  Turlough Park House , featuring beautiful handmade crafts by local and regional artists — including candles, calligraphy, art, cards, textiles, and much more.

Children can enjoy  free informal pop-in workshops  from  1pm to 4pm , where they’ll create their own Christmas tree decorations with the guidance of a Museum Educator.

A  live crib will also be set up in the courtyard, giving young visitors the chance to meet the animals of the Nativity — sheep, goats, cows, and donkeys — and learn about their role in the Christmas story.

Families with children aged  5 and over  can experience the wonder of  Festive Tales  in the Museum Galleries, where storyteller  Fiona Dowling  will share traditional and contemporary Christmas stories at  1:30pm , 2:30pm , and  3:30pm.

On  Sunday, 7 December , join the  Christmas Decoration Hunt, as children will help to find twelve lost decorations hidden across three floors of the museum’s exhibition galleries.

The celebrations will conclude on  Sunday, 21 December, with two special  Christmas Choir Performances  at  2pm  and  4pm . The Mayo Male Voice Choir and the Cill Aodáin Choral Society  will fill the galleries with a beautiful selection of traditional and contemporary carols and choral pieces.