When children from the midlands want to meet Santa Claus, they don't go into the local store or, indeed, to the stores in Dublin for the annual pre-Christmas chat with the man himself.
Instead, they go out to the bog late in the evening to meet him out on the tundra, where there is also a good chance of meeting a reindeer.
The trip to meet Santa has been arranged courtesy of Bord na Mona, which has been running special trains on Blackwater Bog near Shannonbridge, Co Offaly.
The bog-Santa was created some years ago as an off-season use of the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly bog train, which runs over 5 1/2 miles of tracks out into the bogland.
Over 30,000 people have travelled on the train to view the boglands and the number is increasing each year.
According to Clare Dowling, the tourism officer at the railway, the idea of putting on a special off-season tour to see Santa was highly successful this year.
"We decided to do something different, so we arranged that the train should not leave until darkness had set in and the children could get the Christmas feeling, " she said.
"The children were given a half-hour on the train and, 15 minutes after they boarded, the train stopped in the middle of the bog to pick up Santa," she said.
"The electricians had rigged up a lighted area in the middle of the bogland and it was marvellous to see the reaction of the children when the train stopped and he climbed on board," she said.
"We had arranged spot prizes for the children for things like being the best singer, and then all the children got a present from Santa."
She said over 800 children had taken the trip into the bogs in the run-up to Christmas, and demand was so high that she has no doubt Santa will be back in the bogs again next year.
Staff at the railway, which was set up as a tourism venture nine years ago, will soon be preparing for the new season, which begins in April.
"There is a growing interest in the bogs and those who come to Blackwater get a tour of all the area", she said.
In all, she added, there were 20,000 acres in the Blackwater bog where the train operated and the company tried to show as much of the bog as possible during the tours.
"The major problem we face is that we are a little bit off the beaten track and there is no public transport to the site."
"However, there is one private operator who brings coachloads of tourists to us from Athlone, and during the spring we get a lot of school tours."
Next season, she says, the railway will offer a "Tea on the Bog" trip.
"What we plan on doing is to take travellers out on to the bog and give them a picnic.
"People, especially those who come from the country, always say the bog is the only place to drink tea."
The Clonmacnoise & West Offaly Railway can be contacted at 0905-74114.