Snowflakes or Snowfakes? - by Dea Birkett

It was snowing outside Brown Thomas's in Grafton Street. It was snowing on the four-piece string quartet, busking Bach and Brahms before the entrance to the distinguished department store. It was snowing on the little boy in a stripey bobble hat, bouncing and strapped in his buggy. It was snowing on the toddler girl, dancing to the string quartet in her puffy jacket, so puffy that she could barely swing her arms.

This snow wasn’t general all over Ireland. And it wasn’t real. Above Brown Thomas’s sign I spotted the wind machines, pumping out the paper flakes. And I noted it was precisely 3pm. In Grafton Street, in the heart of Dublin, it only snowed on the hour. And every hour. Well, every shopping hour at least.

This snow was very odd, slightly irritating the skin, like little bits of scratchy white litter. But the dancing girl liked it, and so did my eight-year-old twins, as they tried to blow it back into the air with one big breath and gather the fallen pieces into their pockets.

I’ve written before about fake climates, like Lapland in Kent. How we love to go somewhere cold when it’s hot outside, and hot when it’s cold. (Read my 'Cold Comfot' blog) But that’s not the point I’m making here. The point is, of all the things we did in Dublin last weekend, that moment is the one the twins remember. They haven’t mentioned the Jungle Madness zone at the new(ish) children’s activity centre ENRG, nor Dublin Zoo (although they love zoos), nor even the funky Dublin City Gallery with the fab cafe. But they’ve told all their friends about the false flakes outside Brown Thomas’s.

And it’s been like that on most of our holidays. There’s been a moment, often a very small moment like this one, which they take home with them. So are we misguided to try and make our family holidays special? Kids don’t want to experience big sights or huge new adventures. They want something small that tickles their imagination – a magic moment. The problem is, you can’t plan for that.

For guaranteed snow, (in the UK), this festive season, head for Lapland UK in Kent, or the dazzling free Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park, or even one of the many snow dome, outdoor snow tubing or ice skating events across the country.