Maeve Higgins Comedian The best part about Christmas is getting to wear wine velveteen dresses.

My parents and brother and sisters all have matching dresses with lace collars to wear especially every Christmas, then we all flounce up to halfnine mass on Christmas morning. Christmas dinner is super special, we have candyfloss and I make my famous cauliflower cheese. My cauliflower cheese is so famous that it was recently pictured in a 'Celebrity Exposed!'

type magazine stumbling out of a London nightclub looking bleary eyed and sweaty. I don't care what people say, there is a direct correlation between how much somebody loves you and what they give you as a Christmas gift. One Christmas, somebody gave me a Bodyshop gift basket. I immediately knew they cared so little about me that at my funeral they probably wouldn't even fake sob. They would just look grimly on and wonder if there was soup and sandwiches after the service.

Twink Actress and entertainer Rather than most people who waffle on about humanitarian issues, the spirit of Christmas for me is a nice warm brandy with cloves.

Maureen O'Hara Actress I've already got my Christmas present this year - I had a successful cataract operation on my eye and now I've got my sight back. It's a miracle. It's like magic, being able to see properly again. Christmas in our family was always about the birth of Christ, Santa Claus and growing old enough to be allowed go to midnight mass. I think it continues to be a religious holiday, because it's all about love of each other in the family. It's certainly not about the snow. I don't mind the rain, but don't give me snow. That's a recipe for a messy, muddy Christmas - a lot of feet-wiping and changing of clothes, and a very dirty house. Rain suits me fine.

Gay Byrne Head of Road Safety Authority I enjoy Christmas. I think, in behind all the hoopla and singing and dancing and spending, most people go out of their way to be nice to each other, to be good to each other and probably to be loving to each other. If every day could be Christmas, it would be wonderful. But that's wishful thinking. No matter what you say or what religious belief you have, Christmas is about the birth of a child 2,000 years ago - and that birth changed the world, and the way we live. Ireland has changed, but I believe that people do still strive very hard at Christmas and Easter to make a special effort to stay in touch with the church. Me, I'll be spending it at home. Very nice, and very boring.

Ben Dunne Businessman Christmas is a joyful time, a time to remember the people that have departed from this earth and a time for a bit of meditation. Most of all, it's a great time for kids and I think the spirit of Christmas is very much alive for them. I look at my three-year-old grandson now and his excitement reminds me of how I used to be at that age. He is so excited by the tree and Santa Claus coming and it's all still magical to him. Even for people who are not regular church-goers Christmas can be still a religious time when everyone goes to mass together. I'll be staying at home this Christmas with the family. I spent it in America two years ago - never again.

Mario Rosenstock Comedian There's a difference between what I'd like to think of Christmas and what Christmas actually is. In reality, it's people trying to shove more and more products into your face and make you buy them. But it really should be about Christian giving and charity. In reality, Christmas is about everyone sitting around a table and drinking and eating in excess. It should be about the people who can't do that, the people who have nothing. That's why charities like St Vincent de Paul are so important at this time of year.

For myself and my wife, it's become the main holiday of the year, so we're doing the same as last year and taking a trip to Dubai. There will be snow, inside. Artificial snow, and ski slopes and turkey and everything else you could possibly want. I cannot wait.

Fr Peter McVerry Charity worker I hate Christmas. It's too much pressure on the people I know and work with and I'm always delighted when it's over. People come under enormous pressure from the children and their family to buy expensive presents and they feel very embarrassed when they can't afford to buy them. Dignity is at stake here and when they can't afford things at Christmas they feel inadequate. There's always an increase in petty theft and shoplifting at this time and I know people who won't visit their family at Christmas because they can't afford presents for them. So many people I know would love to fall asleep from 1 December to 1 January. Around 6pm on Christmas Eve I always think, it's 366 days until next Christmas.

Patrick Guilbaud Restaurateur For me, Christmas means happiness with my family and, of course, a good dinner. We all sit down together, have some fun and enjoy a delicious meal.

It's a great day.

Glenda Gilson Model and TV presenter Christmas means being with your family and your friends and basically spending time with your loved ones. It has got more distracting in recent years when people get caught up in what to buy each other. Last week, I found myself worrying over presents. Then I visited Crumlin Hospital for Sick Children and I realised that my problems were nothing. There are N1 children fighting for their lives in there and Christmas is going to be incredibly difficult for them and their parents. It can be a very unhappy time for many people. Having said that, Christmas is my favourite time of year. When I was a kid I just loved it so much, and even now I get so excited about it. It might have got very commercial, but I still love it.

Andrea Roche Model I think the spirit of Christmas is dead these days. I'd say it died in the last decade or so because we've all got so materialistic. Spending a fortune has become more important than the actual giving of a present on a smaller level. For our age group, Christmas is now more about socialising and meeting up with friends more than anything else and, in a way, it has got a bit out of control. It was different years ago, when Christmas was more about spending time with your family. I suppose we all had less money then but it made things a bit simpler. Now Christmas is about spending about Euro5,000 on presents and going out and that's just ridiculous.

Pamela Flood TV presenter The spirit of Christmas is very much alive, and I'm glad to say that as I have got older, it has become less about the presents and more about the family. Every year, my dad and brother and boyfriend are always asking me what I want, and there's nothing I really need. I don't mean to say I have everything I ever wanted, but the important thing for us now is just spending the day together. We always have a very traditional Christmas, and every year has to be the exact same - big dinner, sit on the sofa watching films and fall asleep. I think there's more pressure to impress these days. I think the Irish love Christmas for what it is and enjoy it.

Fergus O'Riordan Dublin The spirit of Christmas is still alive and well. It's more about friends and family these days than it is about getting presents. Christmas means going out loads with your circle of friends and indulging in lots of good food and drink. It's a great time of year for catching up with people as well.

Religion still plays a big part and for people who don't really go to mass it's a good time to make the effort. It is starting a lot earlier these days and there's a lot of hype from practically the start of November, but in a way that makes it all the more enjoyable. The build-up adds to the excitement.

Mind you, the letdown when it's all over is terrible. Nothing worse than post-Christmas depression.

Brian McGrath Dublin Christmas has definitely got more commercial these days. There's more pressure, there are higher expectations and kids get ridiculously expensive presents. There's a lot of keeping up with the Joneses and all the kids have to have the latest Playstation every year. Back in the day, you'd be lucky if you got a bike. I used to go to mass when I was a kid, because I was made to. I never go now, not even on Christmas day. I know I probably should but it just never happens. This year, it will just involve sitting around with the family to a big dinner and a few drinks. We'll have all my nephews and nieces over, which is good craic. It's all about the kids.

Tim Doyle Australia We were just talking about how expensive Christmas seems to be over here. There's a lot of spending going on today. I know in Sydney the shops can be pretty busy around this time of year, but here it's bursting at the seams. Town is crazy. We're supposed to be buying presents but I don't know if we'll have much luck today. The Irish also go mad for decorating the streets, which is nice, but a little excessive. Christmas in Australia is very different. Because it's summer, we celebrate it differently and it's probably the only day in the year when Australians eat turkey. Here you eat turkey all the time. My wife is Irish and she loves spending Christmas here. She thinks Christmas isn't Christmas when it's hot outside.

Kelly Quirke New Zealand Christmas is extra special for me this year because my whole family are coming out to spend Christmas with me in Ireland. When you're away from home, you really appreciate what you've left behind and I'm dying to see them all again. I like to think that Christmas is still all about your family and love and peace. It's very exciting being in Ireland for this time UK of year because it's so cold. I never imagined it was going to be freezing like this, but it's great. In New Zealand it's always boiling hot at Christmas, yet everyone still has snowman decorations. I've always found that weird, so it's great to be in a country where it might actually snow for Christmas.

Rania Haydar Dublin We're all carol-singing here today in aid of our organisation Move (Medical Overseas Voluntary Expedition) so for us the spirit of Christmas is all about fundraising. I'm a fourth-year student in Trinity College and we're fundraising so we can all go abroad next year to provide medical equipment and assistance in underdeveloped countries. I'd like to go to Laos, I think. There's a lot of help needed over there, but everyone in our class will go somewhere different. There's a great atmosphere on Grafton Street today and almost everyone is being really generous.

Claire Hopper Christmas is all about family and mince pies and everything nice. I just had a lovely long lunch with my friends and it was lovely to meet up. When people come together at this time of year, it's more special than normal. I think Christmas brings out the best in people. It's a time for appreciating all the good things in your life and you find that everyone, even strangers, are that bit nicer and happier. It can get a bit commercial at this time of year, but I think you can avoid that yourself and just concentrate on what is really important - your family and friends and loved ones.

Aisling Callinan Rathfarnham, Dublin This Christmas, the spirit will be all about getting a kiss from somebody special. Somebody new. I've just got rid of an old boyfriend.

So a kiss would be nice. I'll be spending the holidays down in Kerry with my aunt and uncle and family. On Christmas eve, I'll go to midnight mass, but not out of choice. I'd much prefer to be in the pub with the rest of my friends in Dublin. But I'll be at mass in Kerry. I try to go to mass during the year as well, but I'm only 23 and the religious part of Christmas is more important to my mum. I do think it has become very commercialised, but I like that. I love buying presents and just having a great time with family and friends.

Michael Hernon Lexington, Kentucky I just flew in from Lexington, Kentucky, where I live now, so I was very lucky to be able to land last night, in the fog. It was atypically warm in Kentucky, so no white Christmas there either. It's not important, really, the weather. The spirit of Christmas is being good to me so far. It's about friendship and peace, and the birth of Christ.

And, of course, eggnog, and mistletoe, and bloody Marys and general misbehaving. The spirit of the holiday has changed a lot in the last 20 or 30 years. Christmas used to be much simpler, much more of a friendly occasion. Now there's a party every day, which is crazy. It's all about shopping and spending, when it should just be about family.

David Larkin Co Cork This year I'm on call for Christmas Day. I work for the national grid, so I'll be working to make sure we all have electricity at the crucial Christmas time. Of course, that also means that I really don't want there to be a white Christmas. A nice calm sunny day would suit me best. Because I'm on call, the spirit of Christmas won't be the same.

Normally, it's the one time of the year that I get to go down to Cork to see my family. Still, my daughter Luka is six-years-old now, so she's old enough to get really excited about Santa Claus and that makes the whole holiday much better. Except for when I get woken up at four o'clock in the morning, when she's looking for her presents.

Audrey Joyce Irishtown It's all about family, really, isn't it? Family and friends and just trying to catch up with everyone. It's about getting dressed up for Christmas mass, even though I always feel really guilty going to mass because I only go at Christmas. I think it makes it extra special when there are children in the house, because they get so excited about Santa. They know about Santa before they know about Jesus. There's a lot of talk about the amount of money that people spend, but I like having a big run-up to Christmas. If you're doing Christmas shopping a month before the day, then you're already getting excited about it, so it just makes it better.