Oddly enough, the chances of a white Christmas this year are higher the nearer you are to Lapland according to the latest predictions. Basically, the closer you are to Santy’s house, the more likely you are to get snow.
According to the folk in Met Éireann, those in the northern parts of Ireland are most likely to see the legendary white Christmas while the rest of us can look forward to rain, misery and the Christmas hangover by mid-afternoon.
But if you want to put a bet on it, Paddy Power are offering odds of 11/8 for a white Christmas in Dublin Airport.
In the run-up to the big day, the weekend promises cold and frost. Some hail and snow showers in exposed areas may fool folk into believing Christmas will follow suit and Saturday night will be very cold and frosty. However, by Sunday afternoon the rain will be back and things will be wet.
Christmas day will start with the same sort of sodden misery, and for most of us, little will change over the course of the day apart from our body weight. For the lucky few in northern parts, however, sleet and even snow around about Christmas pudding time may stave off the festive blues momentarily.
If you’re not "driving home for Christmas" but you have to get there somehow, buses and trains will take you and thousands of others to be with (or away from) loved ones.
Bus Éireann is preparing for the Christmas season when an estimated 200,000 passengers will be bussing home. Normal Sunday services will operate on December 23rd, while there will be some cancellations to the normal weekday services on Christmas Eve, including all Eurolines cross-channel services and some Expressway services.
Everyone gets the day off on Christmas day, even Bus Éireann, but a limited service will operate on December 26th. More information on the Christmas timetable can be found on leaflets available from all Bus eireann offices and depots.
Iarnród Éireann will be carrying up to 400,000 people on its Intercity rail services over the same period, with special timetables operating between December 20th and January 2nd. Full details of the holiday services are available from all Iarnród Éireann stations and offices.